Kris Drever

Tall and somewhat lanky in build, Kris Drever hardly appeared destined in 2007 to rank among the leading young voices revitalizing British folk. Still, his unhurried vocal delivery, nimble guitar work, and quietly inventive settings quickly won over fellow musicians while resonating with younger listeners drawn to music rooted in tradition, depth, and personal heritage. Although raised amid Orkney’s active folk circles as the son of Ivan Drever, Wolfstone’s singer, he first dismissed that world for the heavier sounds of Pantera and Metallica. Guitar study began at age thirteen, yet only after he turned seventeen and moved from Orkney to Edinburgh in 1995 did he commit seriously, immersing himself in the weekly gatherings at Sandy Bell’s pub. He added banjo and double bass at the Tron Ceilidh House, where his command of jazz, traditional, and rock idioms quickly made him a fixture in the city’s expanding session network and led to professional calls from various Scottish ensembles.

At those same Friday sessions he encountered Irish singer, flautist, and whistler Nuala Kennedy together with Edinburgh fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson; the trio formed Fine Friday, blending traditional pieces with songs by contemporary writers such as Boo Hewerdine and Steve Tilston. The group toured across Europe and Australia, issued the albums Gone Dancing in 2002 and Mowing the Machair in 2004, and earned a nomination for Best New Band at the 2004 Scottish Folk Awards. Alongside Kennedy he joined the acoustic outfit Harem Scarem, appearing on their 2002 release Let Them Eat Fishcake, and later teamed with fellow Orcadian and Harem Scarem fiddler Sarah McFadyen, also of the pop band Aberfeldy. The pair recorded the duet album Sarah McFadyen & Kris Drever and inaugurated their own weekly Sunday afternoon session at Edinburgh’s Royal Oak.

Additional credits accumulated with the Battlefield Band, Cathie Ryan, John McCusker, and Karine Polwart, while wider horizons opened through jazz-fusion touring alongside Canadian fiddler and trumpeter Daniel Lapp and English accordionist Martin Green. A high-profile U.S. and Cuban run with the dance production Celtic Fusion showcased music composed by his father Ivan, and further partnerships involved the Gaelic band Tannas plus duets with Irish accordionist Leo McCann and Irish-American singer-songwriter Tim O’Brien. He also became a member of Kate Rusby’s band; during a 2005 Derby concert Rusby invited him to perform a solo number that persuaded audience member Tom Rose, founder of the Derby indie label Reveal Records, to offer him a solo recording deal.

Though he had never before played a solo gig, Drever accepted and recorded Black Water under John McCusker’s production. The late-2006 release assembled a distinguished cast of British folk players including Eddi Reader, Andy Cutting, Roddy Woompack, and Donald Shaw; its fresh treatments of traditional numbers such as “Patrick Spence” and “Green Grows the Laurel,” together with contemporary selections like Boo Hewerdine’s “Harvest Gypsies” and Sandy Wright’s “Beads and Feathers”—the latter issued as a limited single—quickly drew attention. At the 2007 BBC Folk Awards he received the Best New Act prize and performed live with Rosanne Cash. Already looking forward, he had formed the band LAU with Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke, whose debut album Lightweights & Gentlemen appeared to strong acclaim, while all three musicians also participate in the occasional left-field seven-piece folk-jazz ensemble Parallelogram.