Sarah Markey is a traditional flute player, singer and harpist from Coatbridge, Scotland. She was a BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalist in 2019 and an Up and Coming Artist of the Year nominee in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2022.
Sarah's debut album "Leaving Lurgangreen" sees her creatively blend Irish and Scottish traditional styles with Asturian music, drawing on her experience of living in Spain and taking listeners on a musical journey that reflects on themes of heritage, immigration and friendship.
Her musical upbringing, whilst steeped in traditional music, has a very different influence mainly from the multi-faceted Scottish traditional music scene. In 2019 she was a BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalist and Sarah has recorded and collaborated with some of the traditional music scene's top artists, such as Mec Lir, Hayley Keenan (former member of Talisk) and Calum Stewart.
May 2022 saw the release of her long-awaited debut solo album Leaving Lurgangreen. The album is dedicated in memory of her grandmother who was from Lurgangreen, co. Louth Ireland and is a reflection on her musical journey so far, featuring a mixture of her own compositions and traditional repertoire from Scotland, Ireland and Spain.
Sarah is joined by a stellar line up of guest musicians on the album including Marty Barry (guitar/bouzouki/banjo), Charlie Stewart (double bass/fiddle/strings), Jack McRobbie (guitar), Conor Markey (bouzouki/banjo), Hayley Keenan (piano), Calum Stewart (uilleann pipes/harmonium) Eamonn Nugent (bodhrán), Rubén Bada (bouzouki/guitar/mandola/harmonium) and Tomas Callister (fiddles).
“With its intelligent arrangements and alert, involving playing, Sarah’s beautifully presented debut album is a clear winner”
The Living Tradition
“A place a Celtic music’s top table is surely already reserved.”
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