MARYLAND-based folksinger Judy Cook plays four Scottish dates on her latest UK tour. Cook has family roots in Virginia and has done extensive research on songs and ballads from both sides of the Atlantic, with particular interest in songs of the American Civil War. Her true-to-the-tradition singing and honest presentation have won praise from fellow performers including Peggy Seeger and Sara Grey. She appears at Quarter Acoustic Music Club in Hamilton on Tuesday, March 28; Edinburgh Folk Club (Wednesday 29th); Acoustic Music Club, Kirkcaldy (Thursday 30th) and Frigate Unicorn, Dundee (Friday 31st).

judycook.net

SENIOR students from Sgoil Chiùil Na Gàidhealtachd, the centre of excellence in traditional music at Plockton head out on the school’s annual tour this month. The tour calls at three venues in the Borders – Eyemouth Hippodrome on Monday, March 27, Kirkhope Hall, Ettrickbridge (28th), and Stichill Village Hall (29th) – before finishing up at The National Piping Centre in Glasgow (30th). The National Piping Centre concert is a fundraiser for the Friends of Plockton Music School, a charitable trust that provides financial support for the centre’s touring and recording activities, and will include former students of the centre plus a quartet of established musicians, Innes Watson, Mike Vass, Innes White, and Michael Ferrie. The students will also do schools workshops along the route during the day.

musicplockton.org