Karine Polwart is a multi-award-winning Scottish songwriter and musician, as well as theatre-maker, storyteller, spoken-word performer and published essayist.
Widely regarded as amongst Scotland's finest modern-day songwriters, Karine's talent for crafting enduring melodies, her gift for saying just enough without overstating her case, the game and dynamism of her arrangements, all come together in songs of powerful contemporary relevance. Hers is also the most approachable of singing voices, drawing the listener towards her as if a fireside storyteller.
In 2019, Karine received her eighth BBC Radio 2 Folk Award, and her third for Best Original Track - this time for the widely acclaimed I Burn But I Am Not Consumed, from her 2018 album Laws of Motion. Also in 2019, she toured her much-loved Scottish Songbook project - folky reimaginings of beloved songs from across fifty years of Scottish pop, from artists as diverse as Deacon Blue, Chvrches, Frightened Rabbit and John Martyn.
Amongst a diverse catalogue of work spanning over two decades, her five-star theatre show, Wind Resistance - an exquisite piece of gig theatre produced by the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, first staged at the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival - has become a favourite with audiences all over the country, and inspired a record shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year.
Karine returns to Orkney with her trio, featuring long-time musical collaborators Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson.
“Polwart writes music for social change, with lyrics that articulate their values poetically and succinctly, obliquely and persuasively.” The Guardian
“An unflinching social eye” The Observer
“One of our most lyrically striking, and significant artists” The List