Tom Fairnie is a highly regarded Scottish songwriter whose latest CD, Lightning In The Dark, was produced and engineered in Austin, Texas, by Grammy-nominated producer, Merel Bregante. It features musicians who have played alongside Doc Watson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Jackson Browne to name but a few.

The story of how Merel came to hear Tom’s music and then invited him to Austin to record, and how Tom’s friends, family and fellow artists and performers supported him through crowd-funding and fund-raising concerts to get there is an inspiring tale; put simply, the songs inspired it; and this is your chance to hear them.

Tom’s melodies cut across genres and he co-writes many of the songs with fellow poet, Bob Shields. Their shared fondness for Americana and Scottish folk music gave rise to this particular mixture, which Merel christened Celticana.

Songs like Isn’t That The Way?, Lightning In The Dark, The Winter Of ’72 and Lightning All Over Sunnyland create images of musicians drawing on their roots, joining together on the back porch and enjoying the sheer pleasure that music inspires. No One Knows The Night, If You Go West, Better Times and Liberty speak to a different shared heritage, one that includes the diaspora, poverty, loss and longing and the struggle towards freedom.

The artwork by Ronnie Elliot draws on native art to express our need to emphasise our identity and communicate. Filled with great songs, great words, with meaning and enjoyment, this CD is the very soul of Celticana.

Slainte, Y’All!

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