Reely Jiggered

We were delighted to perform at the stunning venue of the Oran Mor in Glasgow for Burns Night. This iconic building has murals by the late, great artist Alasdair Gray, the Glasgow-born writer and artist. He was responsible for the stunning ceiling mural in The Auditorium, one of the largest pieces of public art in Scotland, commissioned for Òran Mór by Colin Beattie. We met Alasdair's assistant and artist in his own right Nichol Wheatley who painted the fantastic series based on Robert Burns poem "Tam O'Shanter".

It was an evening full of culture and talent. We shared a table with celebrated actors Dave Anderson (Taggart, City Lights), Iain Robertson (Band of Brothers, River City, Iain Robertson Rambles) and Brido Hingwy also known as Brian O'Sullivan. 

Scottish Award winning folk rock band, Reely Jiggered have had a busy year with performances in Pakistan, Northern Ireland, main stage performances at summer music festivals around the Scotland and are just back from performing in Kenya. Now, fresh from the studio, they are releasing their second Christmas single, “In t h e B l e a k M i d w i n t e r ” recorded by Tomekeeper Productions. They have created their own Celtic Christmas Show with a home town show in 2023 and tour of Scottish venues in 2024.

In December, we were thrilled to receive a message asking us if we were free to perform in Nairobi, Kenya for the Caledonian Society of Kenya founded in 1907 to promote the study and celebration of all things Scottish!

We travelled all day on the Thursday and arrived (without our luggage!). On Friday, we got up early, bought some clothes and headed out to the Giraffe Centre and got to feed some giraffes! Next up was the Nairobi National Park where we saw rhinos, hippos, zebras, crocodiles and felt like we were in "The Lion King". Our hosts were so generous with their time and helped up make the most of our time before we performed.

On Saturday, we went to the Lion's Hospital Ballroom for our soundcheck and could hear a choir rehearsing. We had a fabulous time listening to their beautiful voices. We played for them too and really hope we can perform together at some point! The gig on Sarurday was amazing and we loved every minute of it, even meeting a girl from Gourock (our home town!)Thanks to everyone who made this happen. We can't wait to go back! 

In May we were delighted to be flying out to Pakistan again to perform for the British High Commission and perform for children from the Moshal School in Islamabad. The children were amazing and their Director was so inspiring! She started the school from 1 child 16 years ago and now has 750 in this school and over 800 in another.  

Afterwards we performed at an event promoting Scottish Culture in 40 degrees! Thanks to everyone who made this happen!  

Check out our new funky merchandise! We have beanies, skip caps, varsity jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, baby grows and of course our CDs.

Have a look at our store and see what takes your fancy!

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Over the summer months we've been super busy making some brand new music videos including stunning Scottish scenery!

We would love you to be part of our Reely Jiggered Clan! Join us for one evening a month and see a new video before it is released to the public. We will also share with you some hilarious behind the scenes footage, stories and banter. There will also be a fan Q & A. 

This series of virtual event will be held on zoom and will give us a change to get to see all your faces! 

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When Scotland locked down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we decided pretty early on that we wanted to think outside the box and create an event that would help us to (a) keep performing and (b) spread some good vibes to people around the world. And so, Live on the Drive @ 5 was born. Every Saturday since the lockdown, we have set up our PA system on the driveway and given a concert for our neighbours and streamed it on Facebook Live to thousands of people all over the world. 

Tricky Terrain is the award winning folk rock band’s third album. This album takes its inspiration from the band’s travels and their home by the River Clyde. Alison McNeill’s compositions and lyrics are a reflection of the landscape, the people, the light and the water. New works are supported by atmospheric arrangements of songs of a past resident of the band’s coastal home – Robert Burns.  This album is current, exploring politics, mental health and world issues. Sewn into this latest output is a celebration of Scottish Culture and Cultural Diversity. 

"The album opens with the single, ‘Walking Boots’ – an excellent choice. Written by Alison, it starts with drones, pounding percussion and seagulls but is rooted in the Argyll & Bute landscape. I should say before going any further that Alison is a trained soprano with a remarkably powerful voice and here she explores sonic palettes previously the preserve of Kate Bush. The second song ‘Searching For You’ is very much in the same vein. Next is the title track, a long instrumental medley beginning with a middle eastern sound and leaping from style to style. 

‘Lost In Time’ finds us back on Clydeside and then things begin to change a little. We are in Burns country and Alison takes ‘The Deil’s Awa’ at a tongue-twisting pace over a stunning arrangement followed by ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ – another vocal tour de force. There are two more instrumental sets: the piano and fiddle duet ‘Sunset Over Gourock’ and ‘Countdown’, including tunes by Charlie McKerron and Ian Lowthian.  Alison’ final composition is the wonderfully titled ‘I’m Not A Passenger, I’m Part Of The Landscape’, a song about not standing still and letting life run over you. 

Finally, and worth the entrance price on its own, we have ‘Auld Lang Syne’. This is the proper version with all the words and the correct tune and it feels appropriate that a band that revels in mixing musical styles should bring their album back to their roots with this song. If we had a track-of-the-year award this would get my vote."

Dai Jeffries, Folking.com

Due to COVID-19, our Album Tour was canceled. However, we decided to launch the album anyway... Live on our drive! We Facebook live-streamed the event and had thousands of people from all over the globe watch. we decided to make a festival theme dress code and fans sent us their pictures of them getting ready for our launch! it was pretty amazing and we are so thankful for the supports of fans all over the world and we hope to see you all at a venue near you when it is safe.

The album was produced by Gregor McPhie at the HQ Glasgow. The band were joined by Stuart Taylor (keys) and Gregor McPhie on synths and bass.

We were delighted to commission local and international artist, Alec Galloway to provide the artwork for the album! If you'd like to know more about his process, have a listen to this video

In January we returned to Pakistan for the third time! What an amazing country full of culture so different to our own. We flew into Islamabad and were pleased to meet our wonderful friend Khurram who had been our driver last year. We visited the cities of Islamabad, Lahore and Siakot. We performed for the British High Commission in Islamabad, spoke to and performed for children in an orphanage and did a press conference for all the National Newspapers.

In Sialkot we visited the second largest supplier of Bagpipes! We got a tour of the factory and were introduced to some new instruments for us! Alison also got given the present of a clarsach to take home!

In Lahore, the cultural capital, we had some time to do a bit of sightseeing. We went to the stunning Badshahi Mosque, one of the world's largest mosques. It's said to be able to hold up to 100,000 people! 

We had an amazing time visiting the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School, in LahoreSchool! These kids knew how to rock at 10am!!! 

We also did TV and newspaper interviews about promoting gender equality in Pakistan. We met girls in schools and universities who had their studies funded by the Scottish Government.