By Stevie Connor.
Scottish folk act, The Paul McKenna Band, are gearing up for the release of a brand new EP this spring and have unveiled the first single from the new body of work.
Taking on Dougie MacLean’s Solid Ground, the captivating five-piece – fronted by one of Scotland’s most eloquently expressive vocalists and songwriters – have released their own version of the much-loved Scottish song on.
Formed in Glasgow in 2006, The Paul McKenna Band sees Paul McKenna (vocals, guitar) come together with Ewan Baird (percussion), Conor Markey (banjo, bouzouki, guitars), Conal McDonagh (pipes, whistles) and Robbie Greig (fiddle).
The members are bound by a shared love of Scottish and Irish traditional music and contemporary, dynamic compositions, all underpinned by expert playing and Paul’s stunning vocals, which are expertly applied in their newest release.
Having admired and shared many stages with Dougie MacLean, the band had always loved the sound and message behind Solid Ground. Although they have only ever released original songs up to now, they felt it was a fitting track to apply their expressive style to.
Paying homage to the land we all live on, Solid Ground tells the story of sharing and living on the land of your family and ancestors and that spiritual connection to our surroundings and heritage.
Paul McKenna said: “We’re so excited to be releasing our first batch of new music in over three years and have been working away on an EP which we’re really proud of. Solid Ground is a song which really struck a chord with all of us, and seemed to fit our style and approach from the second we started working on it. It’s a real joy to kickstart the year sharing our version of this track and heralding the release of some wonderful new music over the coming months. We’re looking forward to performing this for the first time at Celtic Connections and to starting 2024 in style.”
Scotland’s Paul McKenna has long been ranked among our finest younger singer songwriters, armed with a powerful yet intensely emotive voice and passionate social conscience, a combination that’s brought frequent comparisons to the great Dick Gaughan. Performance highlights over the years include Edmonton Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival and Woodford Folk Festival.
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