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Ballad Lines – Major New Scottish Folk Musical

LIVE CONCERT EVENT IN GLASGOW 15 SEPTEMBER, 2025, 7.30 p.m.

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Cottiers, 93 – 95 Hyndland Street, G11 5PU

A NEW 17 TRACK ALBUM OF SONGS FROM THE SHOW WILL LAUNCH WITH A FEATURING ARTISTS FROM THE ALBUM INCLUDING GAELIC SINGER OF THE YEAR KIM CARNIE, CATS AWARD WINNER KIRSTY FINDLAY AND DYLAN WOOD, CURRENTLY PLAYING THE LEAD IN WEST END SMASH HIT HADESTOWN

Kim Carnie GUEST VOCALIST (Credit Elly Lucas – April _24) (1) (1)

Ballad Lines
Book by Finn Anderson & Tania Azevedo
Music & Lyrics by Finn Anderson

• MAJOR  NEW SCOTTISH FOLK MUSICAL BALLAD LINES TO RECEIVE LONDON PREMIERE AT SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE ELEPHANT FROM 23 JANUARY –  21 MARCH 2026.

• FEATURING ORIGINAL SONGS AND RE-IMAGINED TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH, IRISH AND APPALACHIAN BALLADS, BALLAD LINES IS CO-CREATED BY AWARD-WINNING SCOTTISH COMPOSER FINN ANDERSON AND AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR TANIA AZEVEDO.

Aria Entertainment & KT Producing have announced the London premiere of  Ballad Lines, which will run for eight weeks at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 23 January – 21 March 2026 with press night on Thursday 29 January.   Tickets now on sale

Co-created by award-winning Scottish singer-songwriter Finn Anderson (Islander, Streets) and award-winning director Tania Azevedo (&Juliet, But I’m a Cheerleader), Ballad Lines (previously A Mother’s Song) is a heart-opening new musical directed by Azevedo that shines a light on identity, belonging and the stories we choose to carry with us. The musical began in 2014, commissioned jointly by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Northwestern’s American Music Theatre Project. An earlier iteration of the musical received its world premiere in 2023 at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling under its former title A Mother’s Song. Ballad Lines is written by Anderson and Azevedo with music and lyrics by Anderson. Full casting for the London premiere will be announced in the coming months.

Sarah comes from a long line of ballad singers, but has severed ties with the folk traditions of her childhood. In modern-day New York City, Sarah’s rediscovery of these songs and the family stories within them, force her to go on an unexpected and life-changing journey across time.

Spanning continents and generations, Ballad Lines follows three women bound together by blood, song, and choice. In 17th-century Scotland, Cait, a minister’s wife, wrestles with the constraints of her role. In 18th-century Ireland, Jean, a spirited teenager, steps into an uncertain future. In the present day, Sarah, a queer woman, finds herself torn between the life she’s built and the deep, unexpected pull of her ancestors’ voices.

Ballad Lines weaves together original new songs with centuries-old traditional Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian ballads performed by an all-female band, breathing new life into music that has echoed through generations, unearthing the deep ties between storytelling, heritage, and identity. A new 17-track concept album, recorded by an all-star guest cast, will be released on 12 September 2025. To celebrate the release there will be a special one-off concert at Cottiers in Glasgow on 15 September featuring live performances from a host of talented Scottish artists from the album including Gaelic Singer of the Year Kim Carnie, Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland Award-winner Kirsty Findlay, Celtic Connections festival regular Beth Malcolm, Dylan Wood, currently playing the leading role of Orpheus in Hadestown in London’s West End and Parisa Shahmir, fresh from starring in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Watermill Theatre. They will be joined by the album’s full all-female band featuring one of Scotland’s foremost acoustic guitarists Anna Massie, renowned Highland fiddle player Laura Wilkie, electric guitarist Jenny Clifford (fresh from performing in Thom Yorke’s Hamlet Hail to the Thief), bassist Charlotte Printer (who has performed with Joesef, Altered Images and Skipinnish) and Scottish-Icelandic percussionist and drummer Signy Jakobsdottir (who has performed with Lloyd Cole and Karine Polwart). Tickets to Launch now on sale – the album can also be pre-ordered.

Finn Anderson CO-CREATOR_COMPOSER (1)

Finn Anderson said: “Our ambition with Ballad Lines was to combine the raw, timeless power of folk music with the sweeping emotional drama of the musicals we both love. By reimagining traditional ballads through the lens of a modern-day queer relationship and fusing them with contemporary styles, we hope this show helps reclaim folklore as a space for diverse, intersectional storytelling — a space where more of us can see ourselves reflected. Ballad Lines explores how songs travel — how they shift, evolve, and change hands over time. So it feels really exciting that London audiences can now become part of that story too.”

Tania Azevedo CO-CREATOR_DIRECTOR (1)

Tania Azevedo said: “Finn and I are thrilled to be bringing Ballad Lines to London after such a rich development journey. We wanted to make a piece that weaved together questions of ancestry, belonging, and the legacy carried in our bodies with urgent themes of female autonomy and personal freedom. At its heart, it’s an epic story of beauty, and transatlantic drama, one that asks how we honour those who came before us while carving out the lives we choose today. I believe audiences will see themselves reflected in this musical, and I can’t wait to share it on stage.”

The Ballad Lines Creative Team

The Ballad Lines creative team includes set design by TK Hay, music direction by Shonagh Murray, choreography by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, lighting design by Simon Wilkinson, and sound design by Andy Johnson. Eliza Beth Stevens is the Assistant Director, James Anderton is the Production Manager, Kristie Winsen is the General Manager and Jane Deitch is the Casting Director.

Ballad Lines is lead produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Kate Taylor for KT Producing and co-produced with Wolk Transfer Company and TRW Production. An earlier version of Ballad Lines (previously A Mother’s Song) was first produced at Macrobert Arts Centre in 2023 by KT Producing and Macrobert Arts Centre.

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