Double Bill: Fergus McCreadie (The Shieling Album Launch) + Laura Jurd (Rites & Revelations Album Launch)

With a unique blend of Jazz and Scottish folk inspired by his country’s sublime landscapes, pianist Fergus McCreadie’s music captures the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide, with an appeal that extends far beyond the constraints of genre.

Released to instant critical acclaim, Fergus’s 2022 album  Forest Floor catapulted him into the international spotlight. The album topped the UK Jazz & Blues charts, prompted sold-out performances across the UK, praise from BBC 6Music, The Times, NME and earned him a 2022 Mercury Prize shortlist nomination, the 2022 Jazz FM Instrumentalist of the Year Award as well as the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award - the first jazz artist ever to be awarded the prize. Fergus’s latest album Stream (2024) continues his exploration of the nature and landscapes of Scotland, this time delving into the essence of water. Fergus McCreadie is an official Yamaha Artist.

Following the success of his three albums – Cairn, Forest Floor and Stream – pianist Fergus McCreadie returns in 2025 with The Shieling, an album that marks a change in process for him and his longstanding trio. The Shieling reflects a deeper sense of space, rootedness, and stillness, recorded in a remote cottage studio on North Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, and produced by celebrated musician Laura Jurd.

Sharing the bill is visionary trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd, launching her new album Rites & Revelations. The project marks her most personal and visceral work to date — an earthy and emotionally charged blend of jazz, European folk, and Renaissance influences. Written with patience and intention, the album distils Jurd’s voice into a bold artistic statement, with deep modal harmonies and vibrant rhythmic turns that embrace both light and dark in moments of high drama and staggering beauty. It captures the raw energy of a band shaped through extensive live rehearsals.

Known for her Mercury-nominated work with Dinosaur and acclaimed collaborations with the London Sinfonietta, National Youth Orchestra and Ligeti Quartet, Jurd is a leading voice in UK contemporary jazz. Rites & Revelations – featuring long-time collaborators Corrie Dick and Ruth Goller alongside Martin Green and Ultan O’Brien – is brought to life by an ensemble that blends deep-rooted folk textures with Jurd’s genre-defying trumpet sound. Guitarist Tara Cunningham joins them on stage for this special performance, bringing the album’s vibrant energy fully to the stage.