Broadcast Partner
12.55 - 13.35 | SUNDAY | STAGE 2
It is said that a change is as good as a rest, and for Katie Doherty it is both a rest, and a change, that provide the backdrop to her latest album And Then. Back in 2007, Doherty became an award-winning songwriter, and released her debut solo album Bridges to much acclaim - including airplay from BBC Radio 2 - leading her to share stages with the likes of Karine Polwart, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Ray Davies. Life however - as it has a habit of doing - got in the way, putting the brakes for the moment on a soaring trajectory. New roles as composer for many Northern Stage productions, as well as MD for a Royal Shakespeare Company production, may have slowed her output but they have also broadened her knowledge and love for music.
It was after the success of November Club’s rural touring musical Beyond The End of the Road, for which Katie composed the score, that a spark was ignited and The Navigators emerged. Shona Mooney on fiddle and vocals (The Shee, former BBC Radio Scotlands Young Traditional Musician of the year)and Dave Gray on melodeon and vocals (Världens Band) elevate Katie’s songs, and the trio often sound much bigger than a three.
It perhaps should not be a huge surprise then that much of Doherty’s new album is rooted in her keen observation of the concept of change. Whether the focus be on the changing seasons, life circumstances, the passage of time, or the shifting of social attitudes and behaviour, on And Then we see Doherty shine a light on how it feels to be part of a world that can be hard
