John Smith brings evening of songs and storytelling to Mareel

You might not have heard of John Smith, but that’s okay.

“I’ve never heard of you either,” the singer-songwriter told a near full house at Mareel on Friday night. “This way we’re starting on an even footing.”

The same could not be said an hour and a half later — after an evening of songs ranging from intimate folk to bluegrass-touched Americana, peppered with anecdotes from Smith’s years on the road.

It was the musician’s first visit to Shetland after tours which have taken him across Europe and the breadth of the US.

“I don’t get a lot of time off when I’m gigging: usually you arrive and you sound check and you see a hotel,” Smith told The Shetland Times from the cliffs of Eshaness on the afternoon of the concert.

“So I gave myself an extra day this time just to see a little bit of the island.”

Touring to Shetland does also present its challenges.

Half of Smith’s latest album, The Living Kind, was recorded on a hollow-bodied steel Telecaster guitar, and the other half on an Falstaff acoustic.

“With Logan Air you only get one guitar, so I’ll be doing as much as I can on my acoustic guitar with a few subtle effects processes. It’s all about finding the possibilities and the limitations on a solo tour.”

Read the full interview in next week’s edition of The Shetland Times, out Friday 24th January.

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