In 2 for the Price of Song, Edinburgh-based singer-songwriters Alasdair Dow and Stuart Honeyman put the city’s thriving folk music scene centre-stage. Staged at The Royal Oak, a historic folk pub known for its live music sessions, the set is an intimate afternoon full of original music, masterful guitar riffs, beautiful harmonies, and even the occasional whistle.
Dow and Honeyman, who met for the first time at the pub itself, have returned to the venue for a second year in a row with a set found nowhere else. While they are each accomplished songwriters in their own right, the show features duo arrangements of their solo songs. The arrangements feel thoughtful yet effortless, their voices complement each other in an almost flawless partnership, while the lyrics themselves are both clever and charming.
Especially for an acoustic set, the music is delightfully unexpected. Each song presents itself as a fresh experience. There is a consistently rich and warm timbre, strengthened by their sharp fingerstyle guitar accompaniment and melodies.
They sing about love, mortality, and horribly rainy walks along the Scottish coastline, bookending the songs with colourful anecdotes about life that invite you to laugh and listen in equal parts. Even before the music begins, the energy in the room is vibrant. Dow and Honeyman have a natural rapport with the audience—and each other—which lends itself to the show’s casual atmosphere. The musical experience of the set remains inseparable from their engaging personalities.
Tip: don’t be shy. If you can, try to take a seat near the front of the room. As Dow tells the crowd jokingly, “There’s no audience participation,” and the view from the back rows can get rather obscured.
At the end of the set, the Lounge is practically boiling with the summer heat. Still, I find myself waiting for yet another song, happy to stay in my seat if only there were more music. It’s a brilliant way to spend an afternoon.
2 for the Price of Song is running until 30 August (not 10, 17, 24) at Lounge at The Royal Oak (Venue 309). Buy tickets here.
Image by Lukasz Augustyniak.
