There's a moment, somewhere in the middle of a Josie Duncan performance, when the room forgets where it is. It doesn't matter if that room is a festival tent in Nova Scotia or a concert hall at Celtic Connections — when her voice lifts into a Gaelic song that's been sung for centuries, everything else falls away.
On Monday 27 April, that room will be King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on St Vincent Street — and if there's a more poetic collision in Glasgow's gig calendar this spring, we haven't found it.
One of Scotland's oldest traditions meets its most storied indie stage
King Tut's needs no introduction for most Glaswegians. The 300-capacity venue has been the launchpad for some of the biggest names in British music since it opened in 1990 — most famously Oasis, who were signed by Alan McGee after a now-legendary gig there in 1993. Its walls have absorbed decades of indie rock, punk and pop.
Gaelic song, on the other hand, has been around for rather longer — roughly 1,500 years, give or take. And Josie Duncan, the award-winning singer-songwriter from the Isle of Lewis, has spent her career proving that those ancient melodies have lost none of their power.
"Intensely beautiful" is how FATEA magazine described her voice, and it's hard to argue. Duncan grew up steeped in the language, stories and songs of the Outer Hebrides — a living tradition passed down through generations of her island community. But there is nothing museum-piece about what she does with it.
From the Hebrides to the world
Duncan's trajectory has been remarkable. In 2017, she won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, marking her out as one of the most exciting young voices in the UK folk scene. A prestigious New Voices commission for Celtic Connections followed in 2021, leading to a debut album of original songs — written in both English and Gaelic — that drew comparisons to Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers while remaining unmistakably rooted in the folk tradition of her homeland.
She has since performed at festivals across the globe: Celtic Colours in Canada, the National Celtic Festival in Australia, Tønder Festival in Denmark, and Sidmouth Folk Festival closer to home. In 2022, she composed the opening concert commission for the Hebridean Celtic Festival — a homecoming that underlined just how far her music had travelled and how deeply it remained connected to where it began.
Alongside performing, Duncan is also an emerging composer for film and theatre, bringing what she describes as "a distinctive melodic touch and sensitivity to visual storytelling" to new creative territory.
A Glasgow gig not to miss
The King Tut's show sees Duncan joined by support acts Michael Cassidy and Michael McGovern, making for a strong triple bill on a Monday evening. At just £8 a ticket, it's one of the best-value nights out in Glasgow this month.
For anyone who has never experienced Gaelic music performed live, this is the perfect introduction — intimate, accessible, and delivered by an artist at the top of her game in a venue that makes everything feel special.
And for those who already know Duncan's work, the chance to hear that extraordinary voice in a room as storied as King Tut's is something worth clearing your Monday evening diary for.
Josie Duncan plays King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, 272 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, on Monday 27 April. Doors 7pm. Tickets from £8, available via the King Tut's website and usual ticket agents.
