RANT- Music @ Melrose Corn Exchange

Overview

Scotland’s ‘chamber-folk’ quartet RANT – who last year celebrated a decade of music-making – are coming to Melrose in 2024 on the release their brand new album ‘SPIN’.

A bold, ambitious and reflective collection, SPIN is an album of reinterpretation – RANT’s take on influential tracks from their formative years. Music of bands and players from across the globe who inspired them individually and collectively. The album is a tribute to those influences, and whilst nostalgic by nature has a fresh, confident, energised approach synonymous with the band’s well-established resonant sound.

With 3 acclaimed albums under their belt – RANT remain at the forefront of the Scottish fiddle scene. The meeting of four of the country’s finest players, the quartet use just their fiddles to weave a tapestry of melodies, textures, layers and sounds.

Bethany Reid from Shetland, Anna Massie and Lauren MacColl from the Highland peninsula of the Black Isle, and Gillian Frame from Arran join forces to showcase the combined resonance of their instruments with repertoire unearthed from both old collections and their own contemporary writing.  RANT create a sound which is both spacious and lush, yet retaining all the earthy bite and spark of a traditional Scottish fiddle player.

Known for their love of playing in beautiful spaces, their 2019 album  – ‘The Portage’ – was recorded in the renowned Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, the only church in the world to be designed by architect, artist and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The recording – a stark and honest reflection of their live sound – was awarded ‘Top of the World’ status from Songlines Magazine.

Since the release of their debut album ‘RANT’ in 2013 which won them critical acclaim in the form of a Herald Angel Award for outstanding performance across all the Edinburgh Festivals , the band have made major festival and concert appearances across the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. They provided strings for Julie Fowlis’ Gach Sguel album, and their music has been used for both BBC and ITV national television programmes.

Their live set – whether on the festival stage or an intimate church –  reflects years of honing their sound together and their love for the music of their respective home regions through their writing, repertoire and stories.

Doors Open: 19.00
Band on Stage: 19.20
Duration: Two Hours with Interval
Age: 14+

Book your tickets here. 

“Chamber-folk of the highest order” Scotsman

“An irresistible journey through reels, strathspeys and jigs” Songlines

“It is honest, deep instrumental music at its finest.” Folk Radio UK

“The album feels alive” Irish Music Magazine

“This is powerful and evocative music that is invigorating, bewitching and beautiful.” Folk Radio UK

“Absolutely compelling” Songlines

“Sheer class” ***** The Herald

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