Ian Rankin joins line-up at Tae Sup Wi’ in Kirkcaldy

Tae Sup Wi, the outstanding monthly shows curated at the Adam Smith Theatre by James Yorkston, has unveiled four extra dates for 2019.

And it has also extended the range of performers on the bill each night to include authors and a stand-up comedians – as well as tantalising musical line-up which touches on almost all genres.

Yorkston’s multi-bill evenings have been growing in stature steadily since their launch in 2015, and have brought a host of performers to the suite upstairs at the theatre.

And the ‘coming soon’ posters contain some fascinating names.

Where else would you find a line-up that embraces crime author Ian Rankin, Fife’s finest singer, Horse McDonald, as well as Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai, comedian Josie Long, experimental sing-songwriter Jane Weaver, folk scene stalwarts Nancy Kerr and Luke Daniels, and Turkish musician, Özgür Baba?

For Yorkston , it’s a dream job.

He said: “Curating these line-ups is a lot of fun, of course there is a responsibility to make each show individual and special, with its own peculiar flavour, but that just helps with the excitement.

As the bills come together, keeping the quality high, the art is always diverse.

“I’m delighted that we have these four pure braw nights to look forward to.”

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He admits to being a fan of every act he books, and thechallenge of putting three together on a complementary line-up has produced some fantastic nights.

Taking a local and international outlook, Yorkston has successfully brought performers such as Radiohead’s Philip Selway, Pennsylvanian folk legend Michael Hurley, SAY award winner Kathryn Joseph and much-missed Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison to Tae Sup’s reverent audiences in the Lang Toun ... not forgetting the brilliant sacoustic set from Del Amitri’s Justin Currie and the glorious poetry of Phill Jupitus, now resident in the East Neuk of Fife.

“There’s no doubt I’d be attending every one of these shows even if I wasn’t programming them,” he said.

The season continues with Horse McDonald joining Singer and bouzouki player Daoirí Farrell and Kaviraj Singh , a unique and celebrated talent of the new generation of Santoor – hammered dulcimer – on Saturday August 24.

And if that isn’t eclectic enough, how about Ian Rankin in September talking crime, Cardenden, and his youth spent taking in gigs in Kirkcaldy?

He’s on the bill on the 14th along with songwriter Jane Weaver and and Callum Easter who merged out of the same Leith recording theatre that gave us acclaimed Scottish band, Young Fathers.

Weaver is a highly regarded writer and performer – a model student of second-hand Kraut-rock, female punk, hard-subbed new-wave, synthesiser skip-finds and unpronounceable worldly feminine pop who’s finally reached her eureka moment – while Easter’s other worldly rhythm and blues songs promise to enchant.

Friday, October 24, brings Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite to Tae Sup for an ultra rare solo gig.

The bill also includes the experimental dream pop musician Bell Lungs – a one-woman powerhouse from Scotland who has been touring perpetually for the past few years across the UK, Europe and USA, as well as making the airwaves of Radio 3, 4 and 6.

And you also get Welsh musician, Gwenifer Raymond, to round off your evening.

Saturday, November 16, brings poet Hollie McNish, Ye Vagabonds – brothers Brían and Diarmuid MacGloinn who sing in Irish and English and accompany themselves on violin, bouzouki, guitar and mandolin – and celebrated folkies Nancy Kerr and Luke Daniels.

And 2019 wraps with a night of music and comedy on December 14.

The bill that night includes outstanding stand-up performer Josie Long alongside Turkish folk musician Özgür Baba, and harpist and singer, Rachel Newton.

Details at www.onfife.com