Jenny Sturgeon

Jenny Sturgeon is a singer-songwriter "who brings together the old and new with a rare skill" (R2 Magazine). Jenny's music is rich with imagery and her songs are bound together by common threads of folklore, nature and the connection people have with the wild. Now residing in Shetland - who better than Jenny to deliver a singer-songwriter workshop at this year's Festival!

Sturgeon’s songcraft is at the centre of her engaging and honest performance, with accompaniment on guitar, harmonium and piano she has been described as “a wonderful singer who can change the atmosphere in the room with her affecting delivery” (Boo Hewerdine). Her album 'The Living Mountain' was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year awards 2021 and in 2020 she won Best Acoustic at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards. In 2018 she was nominated as Composer Of The Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

Jenny is currently working on her next project, after the success of touring audio-visual project 'The Living Mountain' - a collection of songs and films inspired by Nan Shepherd's book of the same name. Supported by Creative Scotland and Help Musicians.

Musical collaborations include writing and performing in the critically acclaimed alt-folk band Salt House and in the bird and migration inspired project, Northern Flyway; a Creative Scotland and PRS Foundation funded audio-visual project that Jenny co-wrote with Inge Thomson - described as "like watching a David Attenborough documentary but with awesome music!”.

Jenny’s music has been played on BBC Radio Scotland, Radio 3, Radio 6 Music, Radio 2, and Radio Nan Gaidheal - including being featured as artist of the week, live sessions for Travelling Folk and BBC Radio 3 and being on BBC Radio 4 Front Row. Jenny's release 'The Wren and The Salt Air' - a commission for The National Trust of Scotland - featured on national STV news. Her song ‘Charmer’ was featured at number 9 of The Herald’s best 100 songs of 2018.

While Jenny's Shetland band Herkja are unable to perform at this year's Festival, we are so happy that Jenny is able to deliver this workshop for us.  It will be available to Festival members on the Saturday afternoon of the Festival between 2 and 4pm.  Join Jenny and learn some tried and tested tools and techniques for song-writing – including exploring lyric writing, melody and accompaniment.  No previous experience necessary.  Bring a notebook, pencil and an instrument if you play one.