In photos: Kirsty Law, Meander
Through May and June 2024, Scots folksinger, song-maker and storyteller Kirsty Law led a performative walk along the entire River Tweed from source to sea.
Along the way, Kirsty wrote songs, gathered sounds and met with fellow songwriters who joined her for the journey and took part in a series of extraordinary collaborative performances in unique river locations.
Throughout her work, Kirsty Law explores subjects such as queerness (especially in the context of rural communities), folk traditions and their contemporary cultural resonance, Scots language, landscape, politics and hope.
Itinerary
10th May: The Wee Crook, Tweedsmuir
The first night of Meander saw an intimate acoustic session, sharing songs, stories and music from the local area.
12th May: Traquair House, with Sam Gillespie
After spending the day walking together, Kirsty and Sam Gillespie embarked upon a beautiful musical conversation together, sheltered by the ancient low twisting yew trees of Traquair.
21st May: Abbotsford
At Abbotsford - home of writer, storyteller and folk song collector, Walter Scott - Kirsty led the group on a song walk, teaching the gathering songs in Scots language.
22nd May: Buccleuch Arms, St Boswells with Rory McLeod
In St Boswells, Kirsty was joined by fellow folk singer Rory McLeod for an intimate evening of songs inspired by the Tweed.
1st June: Norham village green, with Siobhan Wilson
Another sunny evening, this time in Norham, as Kirsty was joined by the beautiful voice of Siobhan Wilson for a joyful, song-filled summer evening.
2nd June: The Final Flotilla
Meander came to a conclusion not beside the river but on the river with a song-filled canoe trip from Norham to Berwick-upon-Tweed. Kirsty had written a song especially for the trip and everyone was singing it together as they swept under the arches of Berwick Old Bridge and out into the estuary, with the song reverberating through the archways.
Walking the Border
“As we walk, our conversation meanders with the river, across art and life and what holds the two together. Anything that straddles a border is irresistible to us both and, I suspect, to most people who enjoy breaking rules – which is to say, most people…. Every border can be ignored, until it can’t. We’ll walk the border anyway.”
~ Harry Josephine Giles
Click here to read Walking the Border, a commissioned response to Meander by Harry Josephine Giles.
Kirsty Law, Meander - The Wee Crook. Photo: Connecting Threads
Kirsty Law, Meander - Abbotsford House. Photo: Connecting Threads
Kirsty Law, Meander - Traquair House. Photo: Huia Takau
Kirsty Law, Meander - Traquair House. Photo: Huia Takau
Kirsty Law, Meander - Norham Village Green. Photo: Jim Gibson
Kirsty Law, Meander - Norham Village Green. Photo: Jim Gibson
Kirsty Law, Meander - The Final Flotilla. Photo: Pauline Plenderleith
Kirsty Law, Meander - The Final Flotilla. Photo: Jo Helfer, Connecting Threads
Kirsty Law, Meander - The Final Flotilla. Photo: Jo Helfer, Connecting Threads