Kevin McKidd: Speyside Sessions for Traditional Scot's album of the year

Kevin McKidd @TheRealKMcKidd tweeted earlier this week:

vote for @SpeysideSession for Trad Scot's album of the year scottishcultureonline.com/blogs/nominati… would be cool just to get nominated- go on! Kev x 

Source: Twitter
Link to vote - here

Kevin McKidd: A Journey Home (video)

A Journey Home With Kevin McKidd
Travel with Kevin McKidd to his hometown in the Scottish Highlands as he revisits his childhood, performs and records the Speyside Sessions Album with classic Scottish folk songs with his friends, and reconnects with his roots.



Source: Kevin McKidd Online

Kevin McKidd: 'Speyside Sessions' launch, and 'Brave' interviews

Kevin McKidd launches folk album in aid of charity

Actor Kevin McKidd has released a charity album of folk music described as a “love letter to Scotland” which features MP Angus Robertson on backing vocals.

The Moray-born actor teamed up with friends including Del Amitri musician Bryan Tolland, producer/composer Nick Lloyd-Webber and the SNP MP to create the Speyside Sessions.

Actor Ewan McGregor has voiced a short teaser video for the album.

All proceeds from the sale of Speyside Sessions will go to Save the Children, which McKidd regularly fundraises for.

McKidd did guitar and vocals on most of the 14 tracks on the album, which includes traditional ballads and reels.

He said: “The most important thing is that it’s all for Save the Children.

“What’s great about Scottish folk music is that it’s a niche market, but hopefully I’ll be able to get people listening to this that wouldn’t normally”.

The album was recorded during an intense week at Hogmanay in a house in Moray, on the banks of the River Spey.

Douglas Hamilton, head of Scotland at Save the Children, said: “The album sounds totally unique and we’re honoured that Kevin has chosen to do this for Save the Children.

“What’s fantastic is that it was entirely Kevin’s own idea and we know that it hasn’t been easy to organise.

“It’s not just the album but everything else he’s done over the past few years for the charity, raising huge amounts of money, as well as our profile - and it’s brilliant to have him here in Scotland”.

SNP MP Mr Robertson was involved in singing backing vocals.

He said: “The Speyside Sessions is a great collection of Scottish music and will hopefully raise significant funds for Save the Children.

“Kevin McKidd and everyone involved in the project deserve a lot of praise in making the album come about.

“The songs and melodies are performed by some of the best musicians from the north of Scotland and it was great fun being a part of the recordings.”

Source: Scotsman 

Also reported by Aberdeen Press and Journal 

Interviews

• The View

Kevin McKidd appeared on The View  last Tuesday (June 12) 
Kevin McKidd Online have uploaded his interview, which can be viewed here

• Black Tree Worldwide

Tara Hitchcock catches up with the stars of Disney Pixars new animated film BRAVE set in Scotland. She sits down with Kevin McKidd who voices two characters in the film and ask about their similarities. Watch this BlackTree Exclusive from Scotland #BlackTreeWorldwide.

Read more at YouTube 

• Access Hollywood

Kevin's Access Holywood interview can be seen here

Kevin McKidd: Speyside Sessions trailer, and Macallan photoshoot

A trailer for Kevin McKidd's forthcoming album Speyside Sessions has been released by The Speyside Sessions official site:

Source: The Speyside Sessions

Entertainment Weekly have an exclusive ‘behind-the-scenes’ video here

Photshoot: Kevin McKidd By Annie Leibovitz For Macallan

Annie Leibovitz photographed in NY Scottish actor Kevin McKidd [Grey's Anatomy] for the third edition of Macallan Masters of Photography series. The Macallan Masters of Photography series features exclusive collaborations, conjoining the art of whisky making with the artist’s interpretation of the world of The Macallan.

See both photos at OhLaLaMag

Kevin McKidd - 'Comes A Bright Day' and 'Speyside Sessions' updates

Soda picks up Comes a Bright Day

Soda Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have picked up romantic thriller Comes a Bright Day from Intandem for UK theatrical and home ent release, respectively.

Timothy Spall, Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots and Kevin McKidd star in the story of a jewellery heist in Mayfair gone wrong. Simon Aboud directs and Christine Alderson produces the film that got its world première in the Generation section of the Berlin Film Festival.

The UK première is set for June 26.

Source: Screen Daily 

Speyside Sessions update 

Artwork for the CD cover has been released, as well as a 'Speyside Sessions' range of T-shirts

Find out more at Kevin McKidd Online

Kevin McKidd - Speyside Sessions video montage

Kevin McKidd has called for contributions to a video montage. Earlier this week, he tweeted the following messages:

• Wee job for everyone - send @KMcKOnline a short video beginning " I'm supporting @SpeysideSession and @SavetheChildren because ..."

• We will collate them into a montage video @Robbo_Iain great idea -- start sending @KMcKOnline the videos ASAP thx Kev @SpeysideSession x

More information at Kevin McKidd Online

Kevin McKidd: Grey's Anatomy musical / Speyside Sessions update

The stars of Grey's Anatomy showed off their singing skills on Sunday (18 March) for a one-off musical performance of the medical TV drama.

Creator Shonda Rhimes was joined by 10 cast members, including Chandra Wilson, Kevin McKidd, Jessica Capshaw and Sandra Oh, for the live benefit concert at the University of California, Los Angeles (Ucla).

It featured 11 songs, many of which were from the show's musical episode last March (2011), and the event, hosted by Oh and Eric Dane, raised money for the Actors Fund, a nonprofit organisation that provides care and services to entertainment industry professionals.

Rhimes told the audience, "I believe in the joy I get from watching TV, film and theatre, and a $25 donation to the Actors Fund would be saying you believe in the arts, too."

Source: Contact Music

Also reported by Music Rooms and (in much more detail) by Hollywood Reporter 

Update on Speyside Sessions

Hollywood star Kevin McKidd is producing charity album with Scots musicians

The actor, from Elgin, has joined forces with musicians in the north-east to form the Speyside Sessions collective in producing an album of Scottish folk music.

What began as a casual folk music session with friends and family has become a major project to release an album which will raise funds for the Save the Children charity.

Gathering at Hogmanay, the musicians recorded the album in less than a week, with the help of producer Nick Lloyd-Webber - son of Andrew Lloyd-Webber - and sound engineer Bryan Tolland, known from Scots band Del Amitri.

A post on the Speyside Sessions Facebook page reads: "In less than a week 29 tracks were recorded with a huge variety and mix of performers, from local budding musicians, phenomenal singers who'd never before recorded their voice and even jaded folkies whom until this session, thought they'd hung up their mandolins for good.

"The joy, magic and spontaneity of this week has been captured forever on a soon-to-be released album for charity."

The album is expected to be released in June.

Douglas Hamilton, Save the Children’s head of Scotland, said: "We’re delighted that Kevin McKidd has chosen to raise funds for Save the Children through the sale of the upcoming Speyside Sessions album.

"Kevin has been a supporter of Save the Children for a number of years and we are extremely grateful for the work he does for us.

"We look forward to hearing the album when it is released in June."

McKidd was brought up in Elgin and was a member of the Moray Youth Theatre, before he went on to study engineering at the University of Edinburgh.

It was while at university, and after joining the student theatre company, Bedlam Theatre, that he decided to make the move into acting full-time.

He stars as Dr Owen Hunt in hit US series Grey's Anatomy and has added his voice to the upcoming Disney/Pixar animation Brave, set in the Scottish Highlands.

Source: STV

Kevin McKidd: Speyside Sessions

@SpeysideSession is the official Twitter page for Speyside Sessions, an album by Kevin McKidd that will be released in June 2012

You can also follow and find out more on the official Facebook page - Speyside Sessions