American musician from legendary songwriting family joins Belladrum bill
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A musician who is the latest generation in a dynasty of world-class American singer-songwriters will now join the Moose Hollow family of stages at Belladrum next month.
Louise Goffin – who is the daughter of legendary Carole King and Gerry Goffin – returns to the Highlands in July and will now join the Hootananny Trailer Trash stage for a set on the Saturday of the festival.
Its 19 years now since the first Belladrum Festival in 2004 and since then Rob Ellen of Medicine Music and the Medicine Show Radio has been promoting and booking roots music acts for Bella, most recently the Moose Hollow and in that, the Trailer Trash stage of the festival.
He explained how he got the chance to add Louise to the bill through a happy chance.
Rob said: “My friends Steve and Clancy MacDonald organise house concerts in Strathpeffer and Louise had done one with them about five years ago – and had loved it. I was out of the country, so hadn’t seen Louise play.
“Steven had said to me ‘You missed yourself there!’,” Rob laughed.
“He is involved in building all the stages out at Belladrum including the Trailer Trash stage.
“And Louise had got in touch recently with Steve to see if she could do something with him and Clancy the weekend of Belladrum and said ‘I could do a house concert?’.
“But Steve had to explain that that wouldn’t be possible because he would be involved in Belladrum that weekend. But he got in touch with me and said to me ‘Maybe Louise would want to do the stage?’. And I said ‘Yes please!’.
“I had everything already worked out, though, all of it tied down and gone to press. But one act had fallen out of the schedule just five minutes before I got Steve’s email! So it was like Kismet really. I got in touch with Dougie Brown – Belladrum’s event producer – and he managed to hold back the publicity going out and we got Louise into that slot.”
Now Louise Goffin will play the Trailer Trash stage on Saturday from 1.30pm.
Rob added: “Now Louise is talking to our house band and some of those musicians will be playing with her on some of her songs.
“So it’s lovely!
“It’s a lovely addition to Moose Hollow!”
Louise grew up with the music of her parents, appearing as a youngster on backing vocals with her sister on some of their hits. Louise has brought out five albums on her own label after being signed to a couple of record labels including Elektra and WEA earlier in her career. She lived in England for nine years during the late 80s and early 90s, has appeared on stages with everyone from Tears For Fears and on video with Bryan Ferry, has had Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp singing backing vocals for her and teaches songwriting. She co-hosts a podcast interviewing songwriters.
Louise also sang on The Gilmore Girls theme song Where You Lead, written by her mother. Louise is also the creative director of The Goffin & King Foundation, which aims to preserve her parents' legacy through helping rising songwriters.
And Louise’s parents, Carole King and Gerry Goffin created more than 20 Top 10 hit songs together, standards such as Will You Still Love Me by The Shirelles, Take Good Care Of My Baby by Bobby Vee, Don’t Bring Me Down, sung by The Animals, Up On The Roof sung by The Drifters and Little Eva’s The Locomotion among so many.
Carole King went on to write the hit album Tapestry in 1971, now considered a classic, in a long career of songs and performances.
More on Belladrum’s Moose Hollow line-up:
