Growing up immersed within a Folk music background in Edinburgh, Kate Young has emerged as one Scotland’s most innovative composers and musicians. She is driven by the exploration of new sounds found in traditional musics around the globe, which feed into her compositional world. As a musician, Kate combines voice with fiddle-playing techniques to conjure intriguing soundscapes as she navigates her way across musical genres.
A recipient of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers 2018, Kate has also toured globally with bands such as Moulettes, (Eliza Carthy MBE) Carthy, Hardy, Farrell & Young, Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening , Hannah James’s JigDoll Ensemble. In 2015-16 she collaborated with ten folk musicians from Scotland and England, all women, for Songs of Separation, a record which gained ‘Album of the Year’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in 2017. Her own band (previously known as Kate in the Kettle) is focussed on her combining of composition for string quintet and song.
Over the last five years she has developed her interests in British plant lore and folktales, learning directly from books and then weaving information into her songs and compositions as a means to perpetuate and empower traditions at high risk of being lost. She completed a significant commission for Celtic Connections’s New Voices and wrote a suite of pieces around the theme of the natural world. Her response – a complete repertoire of songs inspired by British medicinal plants, set to string quintet, with harp, double bass and percussion – was met with wide acclaim.
More recently, Kate has endeavoured to continue extending her creative and compositional research by studying a Masters’ degree in Scenography in Utrecht, Netherlands.
“A wayward soundscape, whose eldritch tonalities, eerie harmonies and restive rhythmic layers skilfully skirted the familiar and orthodox” The Scotsman
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
All information (whether in text or photographs) is supplied in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement of representation or fact.GOT AN EVENT TO SHARE? It's free to post your events on What's On Renfrewshire, click here to find out more!
Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Renfrewshire? Just hit 'Like' on our Facebook page, join the What's On Scotland Facebook Group and 'Follow' on our Twitter account and you're all set!Experience the best of Renfrewshire's musical talent at Paisley Arts Centre's Open Mic Night!
READ MOREJoin Renfrewshire Heritage in Blend Coffee Lounge at Paisley Arts Centre on Saturday 21st June for their in-person History Cafe discussing The Archaeology of Paisley.
READ MOREGrado and Stephen Purdon hit the road with Shellsuits & Spandex, a hilarious tour across Scotland, which will stop off at Paisley Arts Centre on Sunday 22nd June!
READ MOREThe Hangar is brand new evening bringing together Scotland's alternative artistic community for a multi-arts celebration of music, film, and unexpected collaborations!
READ MOREDon't miss the hilarious all-star MZA Edinburgh Fringe previews back at Paisley Arts Centre featuring some of the UK’s best headlining comedians!
READ MOREJoin Renfrewshire Ancestors, from The Urban Historian, for the Family History Cafe and talk about discovering ancestors in Paisley and Renfrewshire!
READ MOREThe award winning Bookshop Band write and perform songs inspired by books, catch them live at Paisley Arts Centre on Sunday 13th July!
READ MOREMagic Gareth, one of the UK's TOP Family Entertainers comes to Paisley Arts Centre, and this time he is bringing his balloons!
READ MOREJoin Renfrewshire Ancestors, from The Urban Historian, for the Family History Cafe and talk about discovering ancestors in Paisley and Renfrewshire!
READ MOREPaisley's best night of stand-up comedy is back — and they've got a truly unmissable line-up... headlining the show is none other than the hilarious Hal Cruttenden!
READ MORELegendary magician the Great Baldini and his unruly magical menagerie explodes chaotically across the stage with this all-ages magic show at Paisley Arts Centre!
READ MORETwo Tribes is a comedic clash of tradition and ambition set in the heart of Glasgow's East End! Don't miss it at Paisley Arts Centre in August.
READ MOREDon't miss Gallus – the all-new comedy show from Connor Burns, Scotland's breakout international stand-up sensation, at Paisley Arts Centre on Saturday 11th October!
READ MOREDon't miss Scotland's cheeky, irreverent and uproarious Kilty Comedy Pleasure and join Craig as his hilarious new live tour comes to Paisley Arts Centre on Saturday 25th October!
READ MOREDon't miss Mercury music prize-nominated singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams live at Paisley Arts Centre on Tuesday 28th October!
READ MOREThe Tannahill Weavers return to Paisley for a special concert at Paisley Arts Centre on Saturday 1st November!
READ MOREDon't miss innovative, award winning, multi-instrumentalist Malin Lewis live at Paisley Arts Centre on Thursday 6th November!
READ MOREFree, fun and fantastic! Renfrewshire Libraries run several interactive song, rhyme and story Bookbug sessions throughout the week!
READ MOREThroughout the year Paisley Abbey hosts a varied programme of Lunchtime Concerts by local musicians, singers and choral groups.
READ MOREPaisley's premium drag show! Featuring outstanding Scottish drag performers, Pai-SLAY is an exciting, fun and inclusive night!
READ MOREGet ready for a night of glitz, glam, and entertainment at the Lux Cabaret variety night at The Bungalow Paisley... it's gonna be a show to remember!
READ MOREExperience the best of Renfrewshire's musical talent at Paisley Arts Centre's Open Mic Night!
READ MOREThe exceptional musicians of the Piccadilly Sinfonietta perform Vivaldi's masterpiece The Four Seasons and other magnificent works in the beautiful candlelit setting of Paisley Abbey!
READ MOREDance the night away with The Glynhill Hotel's resident DJ, who will take you on a journey through the decades!
READ MOREJoin IKEA Glasgow for a marvellous Midsummer celebration, with a 3 course meal, flower crown workshop for adults, ribbon wand workshop for kids, live ABBA Tribute band and glitter face painting!
READ MORE