Say Hi to Lunetide
Lunetide: Photo courtesy of Rael 02SU
It seems pretty amazing that a village with a population of under sixty people, can be home to so many artists, musicians and other creatives. In most cases, they brought their talents with them, however, many talk of how Sunderland Point inspires them and gives them the space to create. I recently chatted to two of our multi-talented residents, Jo Powell and Scottie Wilson, who together perform as the duo Lunetide.
Lunetide was born on Sunderland Point. Jo and Scottie travelled to their new homes on the Point by different paths, both carrying with them a lifetime love of music; their musical tastes are, however, very different. For Scottie it’s Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues, while Jo is passionate about folk, particularly Balkan and French, and in contrast, the Art Rock band Radiohead. What they found they had in common was singing harmony (which they do beautifully) and a shared enjoyment of Old Time, Bluegrass and Cajun Music, which, along with their original songs, currently makes up Lunetide’s repertoire.
Looking up! Photo courtesy of Rael 02SU
Jo is the songwriter of the duo (lyrics and music), her move to Sunderland Point and meeting Scottie is documented in Lunetide’s songs Wild Country and I found a Boy. Their musical relationship began when Jo, with accordion, joined Scottie on mandolin and Trevor Owen on guitar, to provide the instrumental accompaniment to the Sunderland Point Sea Shanty Crew, which they continue to this day. However, they soon found a more personal connection and began performing as a duo at village social events in the Sunderland Point Reading Room and open mic sessions at the Ship Inn, Overton - ‘all wonderful nights’, says Jo.
Scottie in his student garrett. Photo courtesy of Scottie.
For Scottie, a professional journalist and until recently the sports editor for a national newspaper, public performance was a novelty. Although he is an excellent musician playing ‘any instrument as long as it can be plucked’’ and listing the five string banjo, tenor banjo, ukulele, bouzouki and mandolin, along with the guitar that he has played since he was a student, he was, he says just ‘playing Leonard Cohen alone in my garret’ or ‘ just messing about with friends’. Jo’s enthusiasm for performance was contagious and now, on top of the Sea Shanty gigs and Lunetide sets, Scottie also performs a solo act at village events with his own whimsical and quirky songs which he delivers with style and humour
Lewis and the borrowed accordion with Jo. Photo courtesy Jo Powell
Jo, along with Sarah McGreggor and Amanda Gaze, is a member of the Scottish Folk Trio, The Beggar Girls, and has performed nationally and internationally for many years. At sixteen Jo’s first instrument was the guitar - swapped from her brother for her bike. The accordion only appeared on the scene years later when she attended the San Chartier Music Festival in France with her son Lewis, at which both of them were so smitten by accordion music that they took it up. In the beginning mother and son shared a borrowed instrument until ’Lewis just streaked ahead with it - he is a fantastic player’. Jo tells me that years after that first visit with Lewis, she returned to the same festival with Scottie, performing a set as Lunetide and busking to very appreciative audiences.
Portrait of the Double Bass Player by Jo Powell
A professional artist, Jo studied Fine Art at the Storey Institute in Lancaster. She went on to make her living as a portrait artist, developing a style of her own which has been described as ‘Modigliani meets Eastern European Folk Art’. Now Jo specialises mainly in portraits of musicians with their instruments ‘capturing the magical world they enter when they become lost in their music’.
Thom Yorke, Radiohead - Sketch by Jo Powell.
The walls of her home are covered in amazing, soulful portraits, including a sketch of Thom Yorke of Radiohead whose lyrics, melodies and chord progressions influence her own music.
As expected, Scottie’s musical influences are different to Jo’s - ‘it’s got to be the three Bs - The Beatles, Bowie and The Beggar Girls!’ he says, clearly proud of Jo’s musical ability, referring to her as ‘his muse’. Jo balances the compliment saying that they‘inspire each other, our voices go well together, there’s no effort it just happens, we both love harmony’.
Waiting for the tide: Photo by Moira Winters
They are obviously inspired by Sunderland Point and their lives here. Keen canoeists, they make the most of the Lune, enjoying, according to Jo, ‘the silence that is only broken by the gentle sound of the paddle on water and the calls of the wildlife as we travel through the corridors and rivulets of the Marsh’. Such is Jo’s enthusiasm for the Marsh that she is working on a detailed map for their canoe explorations naming, and in some cases renaming, all of the creeks: Dead Man’s Finger, Curlew Corner and Ship Creek all feature in the soon to be finished work. Often they will break a busy day to paddle over to Glasson Dock with a picnic lunch and when conditions allow they enjoy a walk from the Point over to Plover Scar Lighthouse, another favourite picnic spot.
Quite a haul: Photo Moira Winters
They are confirmed ‘wooders’ (or ‘wreckers’ as this centuries old practice was once called, when it was wood from shipwrecks that was collected from the shore) and they regularly take a walk around the point collecting driftwood to take home to feed hungry log burners.
They share a deep appreciation of this unique place, its history, heritage and community - this is evident in their music. Lunetide have celebrated Sunderland Point’s birdlife in their upbeat song ‘Curlew on the Causeway’, but also the sadness at the demise of Lune salmon fishing and the general downturn in the local fishing industry, in their melancholy tribute ‘The Fisherman’.
Away from the Point, they cycle and hike together; Scottie plays a mean game of tennis, whilst Jo further indulges her love of music at Lancaster’s Folk to Folk group.
A paddle to Plover Scar: Photo by Jo Powell
But it is at Sunderland Point that they are happiest. As Lunetide, they claim that their most enjoyable performances have been at the annual Christmas Concert in the Reading Room. For Scottie the atmosphere is amazing ‘just think that for well over 100 years residents have been getting together in that room entertaining one another - when we came here it was organised by Trevor Owen and now he has handed that torch to us and’,he adds emphatically ‘we will carry it’. Sunderland Point’s history is ingrained in its buildings, environment and atmosphere. Scottie says that it is ‘a privilege to wake up every morning and feel part of the place and to be part of the continuance of the musical tradition passed down from generations of residents that lived here before us’.
Lunetide: screenshot from The Fisherman video courtesy of Rael 02SU
Like many residents, Jo and Scottie cannot believe their luck in finding a home here; in their case they also found each other and founded Lunetide! They both contribute so much to the life of the community, not least by providing us with an original soundtrack of ‘love, curlews, fishing boats and the magical place where they live’ - a legacy that they leave for those that come after us.
You can follow Lunetide on facebook for info on future performances and links to their songs:
https://www.facebook.com/Lunetide
See Jo’s paintings on her website: http://www.joannapowellpaintings.co.uk/
Listen to Curlew on the Causeway recorded and filmed at Sunderland Point: Curlew on the causeway
Listen to The Fisherman recorded and filmed at Sunderland Point: The Fisherman