Our concert with James Higgins was received with raves.  His Scottish brogue was hard to understand when he talked but when he sang he was delightfully impish and his songs were a delight. His songs told stories of the Scottish ways and the drinking & fighting of the 15 to 18th century.   He played an awesome guitar and he was extremely talented as a singer. A couple of Bob Dylan songs went over really well, like "A Horse with No Name" (which is a really hard song to play and sing, but he did a fine rendition of it).    The folks who attended went out with a smile and said they really enjoyed his entertainment and would be back.

Saturday, 11 December 2004
  House Concert:  James Higgins

People familiar with the music of James Higgins agree he is a man with a walking imagination who leaves songs in his wake like a musical litterbug.

 A native of Scotland, Higgins spent years traveling throughout continental Europe playing music on the streets, in pubs and at festivals. He settled in Germany for a while where he performed solo on the Irish pub circuit and also with several bands whose musical styles ranged from AC/DC rock and Grunge to Irish-Scottish Folk and Punk to Blues and Reggae.

Many of Higgins’ lyrics understandably cover the "on the road" theme, but they demonstrate that there is far more depth to that genre than just leaving behind a string of broken hearts. Higgins is a masterful storyteller who sings about street music, hitchhiking, true love, border guards, insects and hen houses. His lyrics tackle environmental issues such as extinction, deforestation and pollution and social issues such as famine, poverty, religion, war and politics. Whether from a rat’s eye view from the gutter or through the eyes of the drunk at the far end of the bar, he lets you into the daydreams and philosophies of the bums and punks on the street. Higgins shows us that every town has a tale, every face has something to say and that life is a passing story.

 Higgins also has an endless repertoire of cover songs ranging from Scottish/Irish traditional, Americana and Reggae to Roots and Acoustic Folk Rock and Blues and his influences include Neil Young, Bob Dylan, JJ Cale and real old blues.   Higgins plays acoustic guitar and harmonica and has been known to squeeze a tune out of various other musical implements. He has several CD releases. These include: Crawling out the Woodwork, The Sad Heart of Verdun and Drop in a Fall--