Fergus McCreadie: The Nature-Inspired Pianist Set to Captivate the North Sea Jazz Festival

You will be performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival in July 2023. Have you attended the festival before either as a performer or an audience member?

I have not and I’m really looking forward to taking it all in for the first time!

Where is your hometown and could you describe it in five words?

I mostly grew up in Dollar in Scotland. I’d say, ‘Small village beneath the hillfoots.’

Your latest album ‘Forest Floor’ has received critical acclaim. What was the inspiration
behind the album?

I had some time off during covid to sort of reset and enjoy some time outdoors, and it was when the weather was really good so I was able to just go into the forest and sit and read or listen to music or just enjoy being outdoors. It wasn’t a conscious thing to connect that to the music I was writing then but I was very productive then and I think it was connected to enjoying some headspace in the outdoors.

Who is with you in the Fergus McCreadie Trio and how did you all meet?

David Bowden on bass and Stephen Henderson on drums – we played a scratch gig with Bob Mintzer in our 1st week of college and played so much as a rhythm section since that when I decided to form a trio it felt right that it was with them.

Which of your songs hears you at A) Reflective, B) Happy and C) Angry?

I don’t know if I have any angry songs! I suppose landslide has a bit of rage but I’m not very like that as a person. There are songs that are happy but by and large, I find being reflective the most inspiring, particularly on places I’ve been and how they made me feel at the time and how they make me feel now. Everything I’ve written has some degree of that reflective searching in it I think.

Do you have any favoured stage pianos/effects?

The bigger the piano the better! I’m almost all always on a real piano – certainly exclusively with a trio – and I love the really long concert grands with a real depth of sound, they really react to what your fingers put into them. Steinways and Yamahas seem to be mostly what I play but I’m definitely partial to a nice Bösendorfer too.

In doing my research, I discovered that you also teach music in addition to songwriting, recording and performing. Do you have a specific piece of advice that you tell your students?

I tell them to take their time! Learning anything is a marathon not a sprint, but it’s easy when you’re young to want to race ahead and be able to play everything straight away. Practising a few things slowly and thoroughly, however, will make you improve much faster than simply flying through lots of things. I practice the same thing for months sometimes.

In terms of performing live, how do you approach a festival set as opposed to an indoor headline concert?

Not so differently – we always go in unplanned without a setlist to keep things fresh and the room and the audience usually informs in the moment choices. If the vibe is different because its a festival compared to a normal show then I think it just naturally becomes a more appropriate set for that setting.

Your new album is currently scheduled for release in 2024. Although I don’t want to spoil anything about the release can you tell us about how the writing/recording process is going, please?

It’s all written and recorded! We’re in post production now, sorting out artwork and release. I’m really really happy with this record, I think it’s the best one so far.

What are your top three tips for attending a music festival?

Just one, see as much music as you can!

What makes Fergus McCreadie happy and what makes you unhappy?

Playing music and being outdoors make me happy for sure! And also hanging with friends and seeing them happy. Climate change would be something that definitely makes me unhappy these days.