News

May 2023

Showtime!!

We're delighted to say that we'll be playing at a night organised by the fabulous and enterprising 'Burnt Out Records' on Thursday 18th May from 7pm. Burnt Out Records is a thriving student-run record label based in Penicuik High School and previous guest acts have included Admiral Fallow and Siobhan Miller. Come and support this night and enjoy the music and company! Tickets £5 on the door - The Music Hub, 2 Bellman's Road, Penicuik.

On Sunday 21st May we can be found down the stairs in the Royal Oak pub, playing at the Wee Folk Club on Infirmary Street in Edinburgh. This is a true wee gem of a folk club and you can't get much more intimate a setting for a gig! Tickets are £8 - text 07977 561604 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Get them quick because this is a very wee venue and they will sell out fast!

November 2022

Chrismukkah

The Dowally Edinburgh Chrismukkah gig is coming for you! The celebrate the festive season with music and fun, join us in the Argyle & Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, on Friday 09 December from 7.30pm.

The gig will feature friends who we’ve collaborated with in recent times, as well as us performing tunes and songs old and new.

DRUM ROLL! In the star-studded line-up we have these legends...

Phil Alexander
Sarah Irvine
Scott Gardiner
Michael Starkey

Tickets are via Eventbrite on a sliding price scale.

October 2022

I Ken Whaur I'm Gaun

Exciting news! New music and film! We are so happy to finally tell you that ‘I Ken Whaur I’m Gaun’ – an immersive film and sound installation – will premiere in Edinburgh at The French Institute (Royal Mile) on Thursday 27th October. We've been diving into the Scottish Folk archives to select some beautiful rare recordings; to these we've added some Dowally flavour. Then the wonderful Cinetopia (who we worked with on ReDrawing Edinburgh) and visual artist Yulia Kovanova have been doing the same in the moving image archives! It's going to be a very interesting way to hear and see beautiful archive material and we hope you can come and have a look/listen.
It will run for 5 days, and on the Thursday 27th at 6pm and 8pm we will do a special launch concert with the amazing Rona Wilkie and Scott Gardiner!
More details on the exhibition and events here at the Cinetopia Show website.

Photo by Scott Barron, showing Singer Dolina McLennan projected on the wall.

Scots Trad Awards

We're absolutely chuffed to say we have been long-listed for the Scots Trad Music Album of the Year for our soundtrack ReDrawing Edinburgh!! We had the great pleasure to work on this cool project with Cinetopia. If you liked the album, you can vote for us here at the Hands Up For Trad website!

August 2022

What happens when you cross Dowally with innovative French 'batteur' (drummer), Philippe Boudot? We're about to find out... On Sunday 14th August Dowally and Philippe will be playing a very special gig in the Pianodrome at the Old Royal High in Edinburgh, as part of the Fringe 2022.

Tickets available from Citizen Ticket at this link and are on sale now!

December2021

Our latest album is the soundtrack to a wonderful film of archive footage, which was projected on to various outdoor locations in five communities in Edinburgh. The film marks the centennial commemoration of the 1920 Edinburgh Boundaries Extension and Tramways Act, which brought these five communities, each with their local identity, into the City of Edinburgh. It was a total joy to write and record this music

Listen to or buy the new album, ReDrawing, by Dowally, on our Music Page

August 2021

(Photo by Lesley Martin)

Dowally were recently part of a City of Edinburgh Council commission to produce the soundtrack for a short film consisting of footage of old Edinburgh. The 15 minute film entitled Cinescapes: Redrawing Edinburgh has been created with archive film from the areas which amalgamated with Edinburgh in 1920. It transports you back to the streets and tenements that you know so well, but in a different time. We were very proud to write and record the music for this mesmerising piece of work. The soundtrack was recorded at Chamber Studio and features all new Dowally original music.

Click here to read a newspaper article on this from the Edinburgh Evening News

February 2021

"On our latest album, we discovered the joy of the studio, adding new sounds and layers, not necessarily restricting ourselves to a live take. There's harmonium, muted piano, samples of camera clicks and we have our first turn on lead vocals... "

Listen to or buy the new album, early bird // night owl, by Dowally, on our Music Page

December 2020

Earlier this month, Cinetopia commissioned Dowally to write and record a piece of music as part of their new 'Cinescapes' project. The music was to accompany a ‘Pop-Up Christmas Card’ of images and videos from wintery Edinburgh in the past and now. And here it is - ‘Deck the Walls’! It’s a love letter celebrating the things that make this time of year special. Enjoy and have a happy holiday!

October 2020

We’re extremely happy to say that we have recorded the third Dowally album and we’ll be releasing it shortly!

October 2019

Just a wee heads up to mention that we're playing in the Old Fruitmarket at Celtic Connections on the 26th January 2020!

(Photo by Glasgow Live)

August 2019

September tour dates out now!

July 2019

Had such a great time at Stonehaven Folk Festival over the weekend, thanks to everyone for listening! Here we are, fresh off the festival's famous rickshaw!

March 2019

New Video!

This is, of course Fluorescent Banshee, from our second album - Somewhere

February 2019

We are absolutely over the moon to have been awarded a Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections 2019. What an honour. Thank you very much!

August 2018

The first half of the Edinburgh Fringe festival saw Dowally perform twice, in two quite different settings. The first gig was at the awe-inspiring ‘Pianodrome’, located in the Royal Botanical Gardens. This amphitheatre is the first in the world to be created from 60 upcycled pianos. There is nowhere else like it - it’s really a sight to behold (and the acoustics are brilliant!). Thanks to S!nk for having us at this gig. Our second Fringe gig was in the delightful Argyle Cellar Bar. We played acoustic to a lovely audience, preceded by a performance from the Oxford-based experimental duo ‘Limpet Space Race’. The traditional Dowally raffle took place with gusto at half-time. Come along next time - you have to be in it to win it, innit!

Somewhere, by Dowally (2018):

Dowally’s highly anticipated second album is a culmination of much more jamming, writing and development as a band. Here, 8 out of 10 of the tracks are original compositions and 2 are (perhaps surprising) arranged covers. The album has been described as “a teeming mass of musical ideas and cultural exchanges” (Living Tradition) and “rather splendid” (The Herald, Highlights of the Week). Several reviewers described enjoying the record for its unpredictable twists, turns and “emotional intensity” (Northern Sky Magazine). Indeed, Northern Sky commented - “This is music that goes where it needs to, finding its own way and confounding expectations”.