Performing to a sold out room, this was the fourth night of their UK tour celebrating the release of their latest album ‘Riverwoods’ – a musical response to the feature-length documentary of the same name made by rewilding charity ‘SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’, and recently featured on Channel 5. Hailing from Northern Scotland, the trio consisting of Ewan MacPherson (guitar and vocals), Jenny Sturgeon (keys, guitar and vocals) and Lauren MacColl (fiddle, viola and vocals) had driven down from Malton, Yorkshire, where they had performed the night before. They enjoyed possibly the most laid-back soundcheck I’ve ever experienced and I greatly admired their wonderful footwear (seriously groovy Dr Martens) and awesome set list holder (magnets – genius!). Lauren was telling me about her fiddle which dates back to the 1800’s! That just blows my mind. Think how many beautiful stories that instrument could tell – how many people have been soothed by its lullabies or danced to its jigs. Fascinating.

A capacity crowd of keen supporters came out to the Froize on the first evening of British summertime to have their souls soothed by the delicate and cafefully crafted tunes and songs of Salthouse. Playing songs from across their broad range of albums, a pin-drop quiet audience was lulled and transported to the Scottish highlands and islands, to meandering rivers, to cosy firesides, with ethereal melodies, gentle harmonies, and the soft and unique timbres of their voices. I find there is just something wonderfully calming about a song sung with a Scottish accent. They describe their work as “New songs that sound as if they’ve always been here. Ancient ballads woken up. Poems given the melodies they’ve long deserved” and I would say that is the perfect way to sum up their sound.

I don’t know about you, but every so often, I get this feeling that I’m witnessing something very special … a little shiver creeps up my spine and it makes me feel very lucky to be alive … this was one of those nights (and no, this isn’t the crazy ramblings of a sleep deprived mother having a few hours ‘off-duty’ (although it does describe me perfectly)). I’m just so sad that I had to leave at half time to put Gracie to sleep, but Jon reported that the second half was equally as enchanting.

As always, David had cooked up a storm in the kitchen feeding everyone a delicious range of dishes – Lasagne, Lamb Tagine, Sag Paneer Curry, and … most popular … Venison stew. He never lets us down does David.

We all wish Salthouse well with the rest of their tour.

Looking forward to listening to this album now …