Kirsten Adamson is the daughter of Scottish rock legend Stuart Adamson (Big Country/
Skids). With her emotionally charged, powerful second solo album, the award winning Landing Place, she proved that the Adamson musical genes are firing strong in a new generation, with a gift for melody and a distinctive voice and delivery which have been compared with classic vocalists like Emmylou, Dolly and Kate Bush. Released in Feb 2023 it received glowing reviews and was supported with sold out tours and a rapidly growing fan base around the UK.
Following a stunningly successful Crowdfunder campaign she is now working on the follow up album, Dreamviewer, with producer Joe Harvey-Whyte, scheduled for release in Autumn 2025.
Meanwhile, she has been writing prolifically, and is releasing a series of three EPs with
songs inspired by the lonesomeness of being on the road and lessons in love that life has thrown her way. They will be released digitally at first (6 Dec, 7 Mar, 9 May), with a CD compilation of all three available from May 2025.
The first of these is Paint With The Colours, a 4 track release, and a gentle introduction to Adamson’s next body of work, which ranges from delicate folk ballads right through to euphoric heartland Americana rock, all featuring her distinctive, spinetingling voice.
Paint With The Colours – Lead track. Inspired by traditional folk poetry, this is the story of two star crossed lovers, one a singer and the other an artist. Melancholy piano and hauntingly beautiful guitarswells accompany Adamson’s crystalline vocals and draw the listener in to this tragic tale. “living is messy, loving is art, paint with the colours of my heart”
Grandfather’s Accordion – Written after inheriting her Grandfather’s accordion on his passing, the instrumentation is performed by Adamson and co-writing partner/guitarist Jon Mackenzie on two guitars that dance around each other in harmony. The drone of the handed down accordion blends with the guitars and Adamson’s vocals, evoking nostalgia for times gone by while reminding us that we don’t have time to waste. “Worn down buttons on my grandfather’s accordion, they say a lot about my life”
In Your Arms – This track has all the ingredients of an old country ballad including soaring harmonies reminiscent of The Trio (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt). In a moment of solitude Adamson indulges in the idea of being lost in the arms of a lover. Musing over why they are drawn to one another and futilely daydreaming of when they will meet again. “So I just sit here, play my Martin guitar, with the sun on my face, think about where you are”
Halfway To Buffalo The final track on the EP wasn’t inspired by Buffalo the US town, rather by Buffalo Springfield and an old Barbara Keith song entitled Detroit Or Buffalo. The spareness of the instrumentation accompanied by harmonica, evocative of Springsteen’s Nebraska, sets the melancholy tone. “I am standing at a crossroads where the city meets the sand, pulled in your direction by the tide. Staying here is lonesome, leaving is a crime, but if I can’t have you my heart will do the time”
Live dates include upcoming appearances with Horse (Stirling, Twickenham, Hastings), and shows at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections (17th Jan – Songwriters in the Round (with John Douglas and Boo Hewerdine), 1st Feb – After The Last Waltz, 2nd Feb – with Dean Owens & The Sinners).
