Scottish folk music with acclaimed duo this Saturday at Carson City's Brewery Arts Center

The Brewery Arts Center Celtic Series goes Scottish this Saturday as folk music by the acclaimed duo Alan Reid and Rob van Sante take center stage at Maizie Harris Black Box Theater in Carson City.

Alan and Rob will present an evening of old and new music at the Brewery Arts Center, featuring Alan's compositions, Battlefield Band favorites, and songs from Rob. The Saturday, March 10 show begins at 7 p.m. and combines open-tuned lead and accompaniment guitar work from Rob, Alan's keyboard, guitar and accordion, and fine harmony singing from both.

Glasgow native Alan Reid was a vital member of renowned Scottish powerhouse ensemble, Battlefield Band, from its inception in 1969 until his departure in 2010. In that time, he toured all over the world and made almost 30 recordings with the band, working with such artists as Garrison Keillor, Van Morrison, and Mike Oldfield. They won numerous awards in Germany, Britain, and the U.S., and throughout that time, Alan was at the heart of the band, his keyboards underpinning the bagpipes and the fiddle. Being the first to use keyboards as an integral part of a traditional folk band, Alan’s contribution to Battlefield Band’s story has ensured its significance in Scottish culture as well as its influence on many of today's Celtic musicians, such as Brewery Arts Center favorites, Molly’s Revenge.

Alan’s peers have long respected his singing, illustrated when he was invited to participate in the Linn Recordings series on the complete works of Robert Burns. Moreover, his songwriting has grown in stature ever since the 1980s when his songs first appeared in the Battlefield Band repertoire. These works are lyrical, steeped in history, strong in storytelling, and melodically rich.

In 1998, he released his first solo album, “The Sunlit Eye,” featuring new songs and tunes, and he followed it with a song and tune book “Martyrs, Rogues and Worthies” in 2001. Later that decade, he recorded three albums, "Under the Blue" and "The Rise and fall o’ Charlie" which showcase much of his original work.

In 2010, Alan joined forces with Rob Van Sante, a skilled songwriter and guitarist from the Netherlands. In 2012, the duo released an album on the life of Scots-born mariner, John Paul Jones, a long term project for which Alan composed the music. Commissioned by Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, and the duo performed a musical drama based on the story with script written by Alan.

"...The Pleasure Will Be Mine, one of (Reid's) loveliest compositions its winsome melody, vivid vernacular lyrics and tender sentiments, an ideal match with his warm, gentle voice, echoed in later highlights such as The Riccarton Tollman's Daughter, while his storytelling took on a darker hue in What Can A Lassie Dae?, and the slippery-slope momentum of The Arran Convict..."—The Scotsman

Dutch-born Rob van Sante is a guitarist of skill and subtlety. His mother was a child prodigy on piano, so it is no surprise that music has played an important part in his life. During the 1970's, 80's and 90's he toured extensively throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

He has worked with such stalwarts of the British Folk and Jazz scene as Danny Thompson, Jon Strong, Tom Napper, Tom McConville, Kate Rusby, John McCusker, Gordon Tyrrall, Tim Wood, Patsy Matheson and many more.

Rob had worked for Battlefield Band for 13 years as their sound engineer for both live and recorded work. He accompanied them on all their tours as their 'fifth' member until he left the band in 2010.

When Rob is not on the road, he can be found at work in his recording studio in his adopted hometown of Leeds, recording and producing albums for local, national and international musicians.

Rob has appeared on many albums displaying his virtuoso vocal ability both as a lead and harmony singer, also showcasing his undoubted instrumental skills to a variety of projects. All these strands come together to make a perfect foil to Alan and his music.

Alan and Rob are in constant demand for concerts and festivals, which also include workshops on John Paul Jones, song writing, and DADGAD-tuned guitar.

"Rob provides beautiful guitar backing (and forwarding!) on guitar which he jokingly referred to as his high strung wife. To continue this image, he stroked her with gentle passion eliciting sighing harmonies and driving rhythms as the mood warranted. He sings in an intrinsically British traditional style delivering songs with heartfelt sincerity, according to The Beat Magazine, London, Ontario.

"...It says much about the bond Alan Reid and Rob van Sante have forged that when they get time off from the prolific Battlefield Band, as founder member and sound engineer respectively, they simply change roles and keep working together. Many a band, given the chance, might want a holiday away from each other, although the Batties have long fostered something of a family atmosphere. 

There were times here when the level of performance was more akin to two pals having a song together, rather than creating the spark of two musicians really on their mettle. Reid, however, does tend to sing out more in this situation and led several rousing choruses, chiefly in the extracts from the duo‛s Jacobite song collection, The Rise and Fall o‛ Charlie.

Away from the mixing desk, van Sante is a capable guitarist and vocal harmoniser, and his singing of The Rout of the Blues, an army mobilising song learned from the classic album of the same name by Robin & Barry Dransfield, was a welcome return for an often overlooked gem.

Most of the repertoire, however, came from Reid, who plays guitar as well as the more familiar accordion and keyboard in the duo, and showed his ready eye for song ideas. There was much evidence, of well-practiced ways with melodies, with The Last Lighthouse Keeper, fulfilling the ‘give ‘em something to hum on the way home‛ dictum..." Rob Adams — The Herald, Scotland Scottish Folk Music

The Celtic Series presents great Celtic artists on the second Saturday of every month through May. Upcoming shows in the Celtic Series feature the best in local, regional, and international Celtic musical artists. In April, the Brewery Arts Center is excited to present the soulful music of the Fortunate Strangers, featuring powerful, west coast singer of Scottish ballads, Celia Ramsay.

May brings the 2018 Celtic Series to a grand finale with the New World String Project, featuring Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter joining forces with Stu Mason and John Weed of Molly’s Revenge. Tickets are already selling for these incredible shows, so reserve your ticket now.

For further information on the Celtic Music Series, please contact Gina Hill at Brewery Arts Center. (775) 883-1976 or email at gina@breweryarts.org