Star-spangled Saturday at Orkney Folk Festival

A star-spangled affair at Picky brought a night of Americana to Orkney Folk Festival on Saturday. 

String-breaking sets and a tale of rebellion at Brodgar were the cola and fries on the side of a gut-busting happy meal served up by visitors from across the pond.

But it was an invasive species that stole the spotlight at the start of the evening in the form of Cameron Stoat — the mascot of the one local act, Stoatfinger.

The trio, who hold court at the Royal in Stromness most weeks, lassoed us in for a pit stop tour of stateside folk. 

Damn Tall Buildings come from a place where the buildings are pretty damn tall, so raising the roof of the Pickaquoy Centre seemed effortless. 

Indeed, as the trio huddled round a single microphone to deliver a “consortium of sound” from across the USA, their fervour saw a guitar string split mid-set.

If the welcoming atmosphere of the festival itself weren’t enough, the emergency substitution of a guitar from Stoatfinger surely sealed the special relationship we have with performers from across the pond. 

After all that excitement, it was pleasant to chill out to the contemplative song making of Kenneth Pattengale. 

Don’t let his quiet appearance deceive you though — he’s been up to mischief at Brodgar!

Kenneth conceded he’d done “the most American thing” and ignored a sign urging visitors to let the grass rest at the world-famous Neolithic ring. But, I the audience would agree, the LA-based singer more than made up for this indiscretion on stage. 

Closing the show were yet another trio — this time from the Deep South.

Hailing from Louisiana, Dirk Powell, Cedric Watson and Amelia Powell were a force to be reckoned with — delivering a fusion of folk exemplifying the cultural mash-up of the Bayou. 

Read more of our coverage from Orkney Festival here.

Pick up The Orcadian, next week. for five pages packed with folk.