Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, Jim Malcolm opens 2015 for the Pasadena Folk Music Society in two weeks on Saturday, January 24 in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) at 8:00 p.m. Since leaving the renowned group Old Blind Dogs (coming on May 9th!) he has criss-crossed the world with his one-man show and he generally makes it to our corner of the globe in January.
Jim is a multi-talented fellow with a great voice and he is easily capable of writing fine songs about his travels and life observations. Listen to his song “Fields of Angus” and be transported to the beautiful Scottish countryside. His most recent two recordings, Still, and the just-released The Corncrake, collect over a score of fine traditional songs, including the beautiful “Jock o Hazldean,” a Child ballad from the 1700’s. Jim is very adept at helping us Yanks understand the Scottish jargon as he pokes fun at differences between Scottish, Irish, and American culture. He is uproariously funny, as you can see in a clip from his DVD Bard Hair Day, in which he takes on the character of the great Scottish poet, Robert Burns, having fun in the introduction, then singing a beautiful version of “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose.” (Don’t miss the end of the video!) Those who were in the audience for his show a few years ago will not soon forget when he donned the wig and became Robert Burns here at Caltech.
Tickets are $15, with $5 tickets for Caltech students and children. Call (626) 395-4652 to order them and for further information. You can buy tickets online till 2 days before the show at and you can also buy them at the door on the night of the show.
This show is just the Folk Music Society’s kick-off of a great series of Celtic shows culminating with Jim’s old group, Old Blind Dogs in May. And in less than one month, we’ll have the Celtic Fiddle Festival, featuring Irish fiddler Kevin Burke, Christian Lemaître (Brittany), André Brunet (Québec), and Nicholas Quemener (Brittany). And we’ve just squeezed in a show with the great Uilleann piper, Paddy Keenan on Saturday, March 14!