Siskin Green are a contemporary Scottish folk trio, drawing on themes of faith, feminism and justice.

Jane Bentley (percussion and vocals), Suzanne Butler (fiddle, guitar and vocals) and Margaret McLarty (guitar, banjo, piano and vocals) weave close harmony singing with evocative folk instrumentation. Fiery protest songs are balanced by re-imagined hymns and their own new material, in a sound that moves between earthy and ethereal.

Initially a lockdown phenomenon, the band formed to arrange and perform music for BBC Scotland’s ‘Reflections at the Quay’ TV programme during the pandemic: finding such a chemistry together that they decided to continue their musical explorations. Since then, they have been featured on BBC One’s ‘Songs of Praise’ from Iona, the Small Voice podcast, and have started booking festivals and gigs around Scotland and beyond.

Folk, feminism, faith

In writing and selecting songs, Siskin Green ground their material in folk music, then engage their listeners in matters of faith: reaching out beyond boundaries of ‘church’, ‘religion’ and dogma to embrace the concerns of our daily lives. Social justice, equality and inclusion are central themes across the album – as a recent (atheist) audience member described:

‘I had the pleasure recently of seeing Siskin Green in concert. They’re the kind of Christians who put love- actual fierce and abiding love and not “I’ll pray for you”- before petty arguments about whether or not there actually is a god. Their music moved me to tears. I have more in common with them than I’ll ever have with Richard Dawkins.’

Female writers and musicians have been under-represented in the creation and performance of religious music, mirroring the situation in the arts, religion and society as a whole. The band challenge this with a collection of songs of depth, simplicity and courage that springs from contemporary and historical women’s voices. Old hymns are recast and reimagined alongside contemporary material – all speak to the concerns of today.

CDs available from Bandcamp

Downloads and streaming available from all major online platforms