Paper Sparrows

Before they take the stage, I eyeball Paper Sparrows’ stage set. Hmm, interesting microphones… I’m getting a vintage vibe. David, our very excellent soundman informs me they are ‘Ear Trumpets’. They look Grand Ol’ Opry, they look Bluegrassy… they look like they belong to folks who know what they’re doing. For any gearheads reading, they are indeed made by a company called Ear Trumpet Labs from Portland Oregon. They sound great and I see that they’re reassuringly expensive. Aside from a pickup on the double bass, the Ear Trumpets handle all the guitar and vocals. It makes for a great look on stage, communal, informal, performers leaning into the mics… buddies.

And with this presentation, surely, we can expect Country or Bluegrass to pervade. I’d say not. Alt-folk says their website… well that’s a good start, but it’s not particularly folky. I don’t hear any Americana, it is however, most assuredly Scottish. Not that there are jigs or reels or anything approaching Scottish trad, but there is a Scottish flavour which I can’t put my finger on. David Hershaw’s lead vocals present with a North o’ the Border Accent, not quite ye Proclaimers but you can tell where he hails from. And he tells us, for our amusement… Lochgelly… and everyone gasps in mock shock. I’ve never been to Lochgelly, driven past in on the A92 a good few times and I’m sure it’s grand. All I can think of is that they used to make school belts there, i.e. the ones used to thrash the weans back in the days of rickets and children up chimneys, when I was a lad. That probably explains the gasp. Incidentally, there’s a company called John Dick Leather Goods that still make various flavours of the Lochgelly Tawse. Not sure what they’re still needed for though, sounds a bit M&S!

So; ‘Sunday Shoes’ from their 2021 ‘Silver’ EP kicks of proceedings, their sound is beautifully woody, stringy, a joy - how nice to have the privilege of hearing a double bass, I’m hearing a string trio, Ross Fairbairn’s intricate lead guitar work is superb, tasteful, Colin Morris’ bass rounds out the bottom end nicely and Hershaw is no slouch on the guitar, a gorgeous blend.

‘Laugh at the Moon’ has an almost jazzy minor verse going on switching into a major folky chorus.

‘Once, Then It’s Gone’ has deft guitar figures, has us singing along and haunts long after the evening is over.

Ross removes his jacket. ‘I’ll be down to my pants in a minute’ he quips. Fair play, the stage lights do generate a bit of heat. It’s Crail, we’re all grown up.

A cover of Old Crow Medicine Show founder Willie Watsons ‘Play It One More Time’ delights with its arco bass figures.

As we approach the interval David ascertains that a raffle is imminent. ‘You can win Colin… he’ll do your dishes for a week’. Colin looks like he’s up for it but qualifies it with ‘very badly’.

The quasi-prog band Barclay James Harvest is mentioned, the Sparrows do a tribute ballad to the memory of Harvest’s mellotron player Stuart 'Woolly' Wolstenholme, a ‘gentle soul’. It’s beautiful.

So, a great start to 2026 at the folk club. How do they do it? Very much looking forward to Kirsten Adamson and the Tanagers coming up. It’s great in Crail!

Words by Callum McLeod. Photos by Peter Salkeld