HE may be a pop superstar but George Ezra is a huge fan of Scottish folk group Kinnaris Q.
Describing them as “some of the musicians I admire most”, Ezra has invited them to play in his Hertford hometown this week, as well as use his state-of-the-art studio free of charge to record new music.
The multi-platinum-selling artist first met Kinnaris Q when they were invited to play on a documentary about his walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats for Amazon Prime – an invitation that band member Aileen Reid initially thought was a wind-up.
It turned out to be genuine, and Kinnaris Q are the only Scottish band whose music was kept on the End To End documentary, produced by Catherine Miller who also produced the hit Freddie Flintoff documentary.
Ezra said later: “From the very start, their energy was infectious and, combined with the sheer brilliance of their music, made it one of my all-time favourite musical encounters.”
Kinnaris Q were filmed playing outside in Glencoe, not long after the Covid lockdowns.
“The whole day was magic,” said Reid. “It was funny because I was wearing a white dress and George was in his walking boots, shorts and T-shirt so some of the people who walked past didn’t know who he was and thought we had just got married.
“The band is in the documentary for a brief five minutes or so but we spent a full day together blethering about lots of things, particularly about an instantaneous change as soon as they arrived all by foot into Scotland – people were so friendly and good craic.
“Needless to say they absolutely loved Scotland and that strangely made my heart sing.
“We spoke about how living away from our hometowns for years made us realise how much we loved where we came from – Glasgow, for me and Hertford, for George.”
Reid said the love of their hometown had led Ezra and his sister Jess to celebrate their roots through the creation of a free magazine to nurture the community spirit in Hertford.
“Through this, they’re bringing us down to perform in a local venue,” Reid said.
This week’s gig sold out quickly with tickets priced on a “pay as you feel” basis.
“George’s priorities are to put on good music in Hertford and enable people to experience a gig who otherwise might not be able to afford it,” Reid explained.
Both the gig and the free studio time are a welcome boost for Kinnaris Q, with Reid pointing out that the pandemic and cost of living crisis have hit the music industry badly.
Ticket prices are now so high for big concerts that fewer people are turning up for regular gigs from less well-known musicians.
“Live gigs are almost dead for people, it’s awful,” said Reid. “There’s a big chunk of young people who didn’t have that natural experience of going to festivals and gigs because of the pandemic.
“All of that stopped for several years so that culture has been skipped for that generation yet it is so important for anyone within the music industry.
“I don’t just mean musicians and bands, I mean engineers and the cleaners who clean the venue.
“Everybody is on what feels like a bit of a sinking ship because that was our main income.”
Streaming has also wiped out music sales, but if musicians don’t stream then they automatically cut themselves off from a huge audience.
“We are blessed to have a talent but that is not the sole reason we make music,” said Reid. “We have children, we have homes and bills to pay. It is not just a hobby for us.”
With studio costs also extremely high now, the invitation to record at Ezra’s has been welcomed by the band, who also see it as a chance to work with new people and bring their music to a new audience.
“It’s totally magical and brought us a bit of faith in humanity,” said Reid. “George and his sister Jess have been absolute diamonds and such generous supporters of our music and more.
“Since day one, we’ve run the entire KQ operation ourselves – no agent, no label, no management – so to be offered this opportunity purely out of respect for our craft and musicianship has been mega. What a boost!”
Originally called Kinnaris Quintet, the name is being shortened to Kinnaris Q in order to allow more flexibility in the line-up.
“It opens us up to work with guests rather than keeping it to a quintet all the time,” Reid explained.
Although the gig in Hertford on Wednesday is sold out, the band can be seen in Edinburgh at the preview night for the Edinburgh International Festival on July 30.
www.eif.co.uk/events/preview-night-kinnaris-quintet
