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A haven of music in the Borders is the String Jam Club which meets on the last Saturday of every month in Bank Street, Galashiels. This club which meets upstairs in The Salmon Inn, Bank Street, Galashiels was launched in 1997 by singer-songwriter Allie Fox, who is the host and resident musician. The String Jam Club is famous for showcasing great eclectic music and for its friendly atmosphere.

"The Borders haven of acoustic music." (The List)
Scots Trad Music Awards Club Of the Year Nominee 2007
Voted the 2nd best gig in the whole of the UK by the Guardian
for info call: 01750-720538


Saturday 29 November 2008, Doors 8.00 p.m.

KARINE POLWART TRIO

Karine Polwart is one of the all-time favourite guests at String Jam Club and they are thrilled to be welcoming her back for her third visit. She will be performing songs from her latest album ‘This Earthly Spell’ accompanied by her brother, Steven on guitar and vocals and Inge Thomson on accordion, vocals and percussion. It’s been a good year indeed for the Borders-based singer, who not only gave birth to her first child in 2007 but also managed to record two new albums on her own label imprint Hegri Music.

Following the fireside intimacy of Scottish traditional album ‘Fairest Floo’er ‘ (2007), ‘This Earthly Spell’ reinforces Polwart’s reputation as a humane and perceptive songwriter who draws on indie and roots influences as much as folk traditions. Deep wide-ranging themes and musical influences are at the core of Karine’s music, but it’s the eerie and atmospheric parable ‘Tongue That Cannot Lie’ that reveals Polwart’s background as a former philosophy teacher and her ongoing fascination with moral ambivalence. Inspired by the supernatural legend surrounding thirteenth century Scottish Borders poet and prophet Thomas The Rhymer, it also distinguishes her as a stunning, ambitious and captivating storyteller, without any sentimentality or clichÈ.

It’s three years since Polwart scooped a trio of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including ‘Best Album’ for her debut ‘Faultlines’ and ‘Best Original Song’, an accolade she won for a second time in 2007. In the meantime, she’s released two further solo albums, ‘Scribbled in Chalk’ and the aforementioned ‘Fairest Floo’er’, and collaborated with the likes of Roddy Woomble and cult Glasgow indie outfit Future Pilot AKA. Karine shows no sign of slowing down:

“More and more I feel like an album captures just a wee slice of time. I’m already working on new ideas and will be making new songs available through my website on a monthly basis this year for people who’re interested. I think it’s more and more important now for songwriters like me to offer something more than just a static piece of work.”

"Grippingly understated storytelling." THE TIMES
"Polwart's skill is to make these deeply personal tales utterly universal. " TIME OUT

thanks to Ali Fox for these words Advance tickets £12 from The Salmon NOW

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