Latest news with #BloodyScotland
Daily Record
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Top jazz musician set for music nights at historic Stirling city centre hotel
Dom Pipkin has been signed up for the opening by the new owners of the Golden Lion venue in the city. One of the world's greatest jazz and blues musicians is to launch a series of lounge music piano nights at one of Scotland's most historic hotels. Piano player and songwriter Dom Pipkin has been signed up for the opening by the new owners of the Golden Lion in Stirling. Pipkin has been described by Blues in Britain as 'one of the world's greatest exponents of New Orleans piano' and will be performing on Wednesday July 9. Hotelier and entrepreneur Gary Atkinson said: 'We're thrilled to have a true British jazz legend tinkling the ivories as we create Cronies Piano Lounge - a new home for superb music and classic cocktails. 'My partner Ros and I have had the pleasure of seeing Dom perform initially in Ronnie Scotts in London, with Morcheeba in Cologne and, of course, in our Aberdeen hotel a few times. Once he dons that iconic hat and starts to play his unique mix of Big Easy sounds and songwriting with blues, it simply takes your breath away. 'The Golden Lion is the oldest building on King Street and has famous connections to Rabbie Burns and we hope that we can create our own piece of history and culture by introducing a vibrant music and arts scene for a modern discerning local clientele. 'We are already eagerly awaiting the appearance of Rebus creator Sir Ian Rankin at this year's Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival in September. He will be joined at the hotel by singer-songwriter James Yorkston, Mull Historical Society's Colin MacIntyre and author Natalie Jayne Clark for The Whisky Night – a late-night dram with a blend of lively banter and songs.' Gary is no stranger to the hospitality and music scene, having previously owned and ran hotels and many premium stadiums, hosting some of the greatest artists including Oasis, Harry Styles, Bruce Springsteen, and Beyonce. Pipkin studied jazz at the Royal Academy of Music and has played prestigious venues such as the acclaimed 'Piano Night' in New Orleans. He is also a touring member of Morcheeba, performs with his band The Ikos, and has played with numerous leading artists including Ray Davies and David Byrne. He has shared stages with legends such as Allen Toussaint , Dr John and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, with Grammy award winner Jon Cleary inviting him to jam whenever he's in town. Fans include Jonathan Ross, Hugh Laurie, David Arnold, and Jamie Cullum. Pipkin first discovered the New Orleans style in the early 90s and has become a regular performer in that city, with appearances that include the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. A fixture on the European blues and boogie-woogie festival circuit, he has played thousands of club in a career spanning nearly three decades. During the Covid lockdown he performed more than 120 broadcast shows from his home and completed his solo album 'C'mon Sunshine' - an all-original collection of songs on the subject of hope. On screen, Pipkin stars in the Netflix thriller, Black Doves, and A Thousand Blows by the creators of Peaky Blinders. Pipkin will also return later in the year and the hotel is recruiting a regular line-up of top pianists to perform Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons and evenings, and Sunday Jazz Lunch. A full entertainment and event schedule for Cronies will be released shortly. The 66-bedroom hotel is almost 240 years old and features a majestic golden lion above the entrance porch. With its central location, it has been a long-standing favourite for diners, travellers and for friends to catch up, including Burns and his Cronies. In August 1787, he and his travelling companion Willie Nicol stayed at The Golden Lion and in the evening they were joined by local businessman Christopher Bell. At the time the Castle was very rundown and this inspired Burns to write the famous 'Stirling Lines' and etched the verse on a pane of glass in his second-floor bedroom. 'Here Stuarts once in glory reign'd, And laws for Scotland's weal ordain'd ; But now unroof 'd their palace stands, Their sceptre's sway'd by other hands. The injur'd Stuart line is gone, A race outlandish fills their throne An idiot race, to honour lost : Who know them best despise them most.' Realising his lament for the deposed Stuart line and shock at the dilapidated state of the Castle had caused offence, Burns returned to the hotel in October and smashed the pane of glass with the butt of his riding crop. Gary shares: 'Our Cronies bar and restaurant was named in honour of our Burns heritage and aimed to capture that spirit of revellers getting together to put the world to rights. We are bringing in a Baby Grand Piano and aiming to attract a younger generation to chat over great cocktails, coffees, relaxed dining and enjoy the stylish ambience. 'We're proud to be part of such a great city, working with local tourism, businesses and the council to put the emphasis on superb hospitality and help promote Stirling for both local and Central Belt residents, as well as a UK and International visitor destination.'
The Herald Scotland
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
World famous jazz artist announces gig at historic Scottish hotel
Pipkin has been described as 'one of the world's greatest exponents of New Orleans piano' and will perform in Stirling next week. The event will take place on Wednesday, July 9 and hotelier Gary Atinson cannot wait to welcome him to the hotel, which has connections to Rabbie Burns and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. He said: 'We're thrilled to have a true British jazz legend tinkling the ivories as we create Cronies Piano Lounge - a new home for superb music and classic cocktails. 'My partner Ros and I have had the pleasure of seeing Dom perform initially in Ronnie Scotts in London, with Morcheeba in Cologne and, of course, in our Aberdeen hotel a few times. Once he dons that iconic hat and starts to play his unique mix of Big Easy sounds and songwriting with blues, it simply takes your breath away. 'The Golden Lion is the oldest building on King Street and has famous connections to Rabbie Burns and we hope that we can create our own piece of history and culture by introducing a vibrant music and arts scene for a modern discerning local clientele. Read More 'We are already eagerly awaiting the appearance of Rebus creator Sir Ian Rankin at this year's Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival in September. He will be joined at the hotel by singer-songwriter James Yorkston, Mull Historical Society's Colin MacIntyre and author Natalie Jayne Clark for The Whisky Night – a late-night dram with a blend of lively banter and songs.' Pipkin has played prestigious venues throughout his career and as well as being a touring member of Morcheeba as well as his own band The Ikos, he has played with artists such as Ray Davies and David Byrne. He has been performing the New Orleans style since discovering it in the 1990s and is a regular in that city. On screen, Pipkin stars in the Netflix thriller, Black Doves, and A Thousand Blows by the creators of Peaky Blinders. Pipkin will also return later in the year and the hotel is recruiting a regular line-up of top pianists to perform Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons and evenings, and Sunday Jazz Lunch. The 66-bedroom hotel is almost 240 years old and housed Rabbie Burns during a stay there in August 1787 when he wrote he even wrote the famous 'Stirling Lines' and etched the verse into a pane of glass on the second floor, which he then later destroyed. Mr Atkinson added: 'Our Cronies bar & restaurant was named in honour of our Burns heritage and aimed to capture that spirit of revellers getting together to put the world to rights. We are bringing in a Baby Grand Piano and aiming to attract a younger generation to chat over great cocktails, coffees, relaxed dining and enjoy the stylish ambience.' 'We're proud to be part of such a great city, working with local tourism, businesses and the council to put the emphasis on superb hospitality and help promote Stirling for both local & Central Belt residents, as well as a UK and International visitor destination."
Rhyl Journal
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Author Liam McIlvanney longlisted for book prize named after his father
Lin Anderson and Alan Parks are also on the 13-strong longlist for the 2025 McIlvanney Prize which was unveiled by the Bloody Scotland festival on Tuesday. The writing duo Ambrose Parry, consisting of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, also makes the longlist. The accolade recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing and is named in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the godfather of tartan noir. The list features five authors who organisers say got their first big break when they were shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Callum McSorley was shortlisted for the debut prize in 2023 when he went on to win the main McIlvanney prize, while Tariq Ashkanani and Allan Gaw have both won the debut prize – in 2022 and 2024 respectively. Heather Critchlow and Daniel Aubrey have both previously been shortlisted for the debut prize. Festival director Bob McDevitt said: 'Supporting new writers is at the heart of Bloody Scotland and it is great to see so many authors graduating from the debut shortlist to the main prize and slugging it out with more established names. 'I'm glad I don't have to pick a winner from this excellent crop of crime novels.' The winner of the prize will be announced on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling on September 12. The longlist was chosen by a panel of booksellers, librarians, broadcasters and bloggers. DV Bishop, who originally won Pitch Perfect at Bloody Scotland in 2018, is one of only two authors who appears on the longlist for the second year in a row. Douglas Skelton, who has now been longlisted for the prize six times, also appeared on the longlist last year. – Works and authors named on the longlist Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani The Dying Light by Daniel Aubrey Carnival of Lies by DV Bishop Unsound by Heather Critchlow The Moon's More Feeble Fire by Allan Gaw The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney Paperboy by Callum McSorley The Good Liar by Denise Mina Gunner by Alan Parks Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry Midnight and Blue by Sir Ian Rankin A Thief's Blood by Douglas Skelton
The Herald Scotland
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
I love the Scottish bookshop that only sells romantic fiction
But it isn't just the cities the indies are colonising. Far from it. London dominates, unsurprisingly, but data shows that in Scotland it's the south-west which leads the way – also unsurprising given that it hosts Wigtown, home of the Wigtown Book Festival and Scotland's acknowledged book town. There's an almost equally good spread across the Highlands and Islands. A newer development in the world of independent bookshops is the rise of outlets catering to niche tastes or particular genres, a sure sign of confidence in the market. With the boom in the romantasy genre and the rise of TikTok as a means of promotion and the dissemination of pithy reviews there has been a slew of romance-centred bookshops opening across the Pond and inevitably the trend is now reaching these stores. Read More: In Edinburgh you'll find Book Lovers Bookshop, which was the first in the UK to open and which specialises in romance fiction. The capital also hosts Rare Birds, which specialises in writing by women. For those wanting something with a keen political edge there's Glasgow's venerable Calton Books. It styles itself 'the best wee radical bookshop on the planet', though if you wanted to test the theory you could also head for Lighthouse Books in Edinburgh. Sci-fi, comics and graphic novels? Hit Edinburgh's Transreal Fiction or Glasgow's City Centre Comics. We have nothing in Scotland to match Cambridge's crime specialist Bodies In The Bookshop – but it's surely only a matter of time. Blood list Stirling's crime fiction festival Bloody Scotland has just announced the 13-strong longlist for the prestigious McIlvanney Prize. It contains a pleasing bevvy of heavy hitters – Ian Rankin, Denise Mina, Alan Parks and Ambrose Parry all feature, as does Liam McIlvanney after whose father the prize is named – while DV Bishop, whose Cesare Aldo novels are set in Renaissance Florence, makes the longlist for the second year running. Sir Ian Rankin (Image: PA) Among the other contenders are Lin Anderson, Daniel Aubrey Heather Critchlow, Allan Gaw, Callum McSorley, and Douglas Skelton, while Edinburgh-based Tariq Ashkanani steps up having won the Best Debut prize in 2022. He's one of five longlisted authors who have been previously shortlisted in that category. Quite the production line, then. 'It is great to see so many authors graduating from the debut shortlist to the main prize and slugging it out with more established names,' says festival director Bob McDevitt. 'I'm glad I don't have to pick a winner.' No indeed. That invidious task falls to the judges – BBC Radio Scotland presenter Nicola Meighan, journalist Arusa Qureshi and crime blogger Gordon McGhie. They will announce their decision on September 12, the festival's opening night. And finally I admit I had grave doubts about how Lana Del Rey would come across at Hampden Park. For over a decade now nobody can touch her for moody, Goth-tinged torch songs wrapped up in a lyrical and aesthetic conceit which turns LA into a hazy and sometimes hazardous playground. A singer with her feet in the 2020s and her beehive in the mid-1960s, Del Rey is quite simply incomparable. But intimacy is her calling card and that's difficult to achieve in a stadium setting. So how did it go? The Herald's Gabriel McKay was there to see. Elsewhere music critic Keith Bruce travelled to the East Neuk Festival for the opening concert which featured the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing with Sean Shibe, one of a series of concerts Edinburgh's guitar wunderkind is giving across the programme. The theatre are hotting up as well – literally as well metaphorically, given the weather – and critic Neil Cooper has been busy. In Glasgow he caught a performance of Peter Arnott's dark and troubling monologue The Inquisitor at Òran Mór in Glasgow while across the city at the Tron Theatre he was in the audience for Douglas Maxwell's heart-warming Man's Best Friend. At the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, meanwhile, he watched a production of Ali Milles' The Croft, a ghost story set against the background of the Highland Clearances.
North Wales Chronicle
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Author Liam McIlvanney longlisted for book prize named after his father
Lin Anderson and Alan Parks are also on the 13-strong longlist for the 2025 McIlvanney Prize which was unveiled by the Bloody Scotland festival on Tuesday. The writing duo Ambrose Parry, consisting of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, also makes the longlist. The accolade recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing and is named in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the godfather of tartan noir. The list features five authors who organisers say got their first big break when they were shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Callum McSorley was shortlisted for the debut prize in 2023 when he went on to win the main McIlvanney prize, while Tariq Ashkanani and Allan Gaw have both won the debut prize – in 2022 and 2024 respectively. Heather Critchlow and Daniel Aubrey have both previously been shortlisted for the debut prize. Festival director Bob McDevitt said: 'Supporting new writers is at the heart of Bloody Scotland and it is great to see so many authors graduating from the debut shortlist to the main prize and slugging it out with more established names. 'I'm glad I don't have to pick a winner from this excellent crop of crime novels.' The winner of the prize will be announced on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling on September 12. The longlist was chosen by a panel of booksellers, librarians, broadcasters and bloggers. DV Bishop, who originally won Pitch Perfect at Bloody Scotland in 2018, is one of only two authors who appears on the longlist for the second year in a row. Douglas Skelton, who has now been longlisted for the prize six times, also appeared on the longlist last year. – Works and authors named on the longlist Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani The Dying Light by Daniel Aubrey Carnival of Lies by DV Bishop Unsound by Heather Critchlow The Moon's More Feeble Fire by Allan Gaw The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney Paperboy by Callum McSorley The Good Liar by Denise Mina Gunner by Alan Parks Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry Midnight and Blue by Sir Ian Rankin A Thief's Blood by Douglas Skelton
