More special guest intros!
As part of the @pianodrome show on Friday 15 May I’m very pleased indeed that we’ll be able to share a couple of songs featuring my amazing @machineorchid bandmates @emmsok & @aurora_engine in glorious acoustic guise 🌸🎶
Pianodrome Bruntsfield
15.5.26
7-9.30pm
Caro Bridges | Rory Butler featuring special guests from @machineorchid (acoustic) & @singsongsupperclub
Ticket link in linktree and they’re selling quick now so make sure you get one! 🎫
Huge huge thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate International Women’s Day with us @bongoclub.edinburgh - it was beautiful and fierce fun!
Massive thanks to @kirstylawmusic & @estherswiftmusic for their afternoon performances and workshops and to @jemimathewes & @faith.eliott for their gorgeous performances and to the fab @j_b_seal on sound - everyone did a fabulous job and we were able to make a donation to Scottish Women’s Aid with the profits.
In such difficult global and political circumstances it’s so important for us to continue coming together, resisting patriarchal systems that harm everyone, demanding better support and protection and making space for downright simple joy.
#internationalwomensday #womenmakemusic #independentmusic #edinburgh
Sharks, Bears, Wolves - a song about … toxic masculinity sang here by our lovely @over_theriver
We are so looking forward to our International Women’s Day gig and singing workshop at @bongoclub.edinburgh tomorrow Sunday 8th March with @kirstylawmusic@estherswiftmusic@jemimathewes@faith.eliott@emmsok@aurora_engine
Reasons to support women in music …. (Some listed below) .. are many.. but mainly it has become apparent that this is still@far from an equal playing field..
Come together, sing, connect.. music unites :) ❤️
***Sexual Harassment/Violence in Folk/Trad: A 2026 study by the University of Glasgow found that 81% of 409 surveyed women musicians in the Scottish folk scene have experienced sexual violence or harassment.
****TRNSMT (2026) has faced criticism for booking all-male headliners for the ninth consecutive year, despite including artists like Amy Macdonald and Wolf Alice in smaller slots
****As of 2021, women made up only about 17% of the PRS for Music writer membership, a slight increase from 13% in 2010.
International Womens Day approacheth! Come one, come all 🎺🎺🎺 here’s a little sneak peak of The First Blast To Awaken Women Degenerate, words by @kicking.paris which I’ve made into a solo version especially!
I’m looking forward to playing and singing and running a workshop to kick off the day. What a treat to share the day with these true beauties @over_theriver@emmsok@aurora_engine@machineorchid@kirstylawmusic@jemimathewes@faith.eliott
Int. Women’s Day Singing Workshop! We will be joined by two very special guests during our workshop this year…. 8/3/26 @bongoclub.edinburgh ticket link in bio!
Esher Swift and Kirsty Law will treat us to a short performance then share their songs with the group as part of a workshop.
Esther Swift’s @estherswiftmusic recent work has explored voice in many ways including recently composing and scoring works for singers setting poet Jackie Kay’s work to song. In the workshop she will bring her voice to participants offering rhythms and harmony lines embracing the theme of solidarity ever present in her writing.
Kirsty Law @kirstylawmusic is an innovative Scots songmaker and singer based in Edinburgh. Working primarily in Scots language, Law pairs bold contemporary narratives and sounds with traditional material, with a special interest in expressing that which previously in the tradition has gone unsung – sensitive stories of queer love, unashamed female sexuality.
Machine Orchid ( @over_theriver@emmsok and @aurora_engine ) will also bring a song to the table as well as some fun vocal exercises. 🎤🎤🎵🎶
Links in bio - pay what you can options! :)
📸 @liambaker.insta (K Law) @oana.asta (Esther)
Scottish balladeer and songwriter Jemima Thewes crafts dark, experimental folk layered with grit, tenderness and mischief. Unafraid to push the boundaries of tradition, her music sounds
at once ancient and modern.
We’re delighted to have Jemima play as part of the evening gig line-up for our International Women’s Day event. Come along and join us in celebrating woman-led independent music in Edinburgh!
8.3.26
@bongoclub.edinburgh
✨3-5pm performance & workshop from @estherswiftmusic & @kirstylawmusic
✨7-10pm gig (16+) from @machineorchid@faith.eliott@jemimathewes
🎫 Info & tickets in our linktree. Use discount code ORCHID for 10% off any ticket.
#womenmakemusic #livemusicedinburgh #internationalwomensday #iwd2026
Faith Eliott is a songwriter and visual artist. Born in Minneapolis, they moved to Scotland nearly two decades ago. Through storytelling and world-building, they illustrate intuitive landscapes populated by hagfish, Pleistocene volcanoes, cursed memes, and late-Renaissance apocryphal monsters lurking in the aisles of Asda.
We can’t wait to host Faith at our International Women’s Day celebration at @bongoclub.edinburgh - come join us!
8.3.26
✨3-5pm performances and workshops from @estherswiftmusic & @kirstylawmusic
✨7-10pm gig (16+) with @machineorchid@faith.eliott@jemimathewes
Info & tickets in linktree, use discount code ORCHID for 10% off any ticket 🎫
#iwd2026 #livemusicedinburgh #livemusic #womenmakemusic
Machine Orchid are a woman band from Edinburgh
blending harp, guitar, and violin with lush harmonies,
electronic fizzles, and a deep connection to the natural world made up of contemporary composer and violinist Emma Lloyd, harpist Aurora Engine / Deborah Shaw and Caro Bridges, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter.
@aurora_engine@emmsok@over_theriver
We’re delighted to be building on last year’s successful event with an International Women’s Day celebration workshop and gig at @bongoclub.edinburgh coming up Sunday 8 March and looking forward to telling you all more about the other amazing artists we’re lucky enough to host.
Come along and support independent, live music by joining us!
8.3.26
✨3-5pm performances and workshops with @estherswiftmusic & @kirstylawmusic
✨7-10pm gig (16+) with @machineorchid@faith.eliott@jemimathewes
Link with more info & tickets in our linktree 🎫
Use discount code ORCHID for 10% off any ticket
📸@itslaurameek
#livemusic #womenmakemusic #iwd2026
‘Keep your laws to yourself’ 💪a song about men making decisions about women’s reproductive rights - a snippet from last year’s International Women’s day singing workshop with @over_theriver@emmsok and @aurora_engine ❤️ we are so looking forward to gathering again on 8th March this time at the @bongoclub.edinburgh - With guest artists @estherswiftmusic and @kirstylawmusic will be bringing a song to share ( as well as playing some of their own)!
Use early bird discount EARLYORCHID at checkout for a 15% discount
Evening performances from @faith.eliott@jemimathewes and our good selves
Workshop 3-5pm
Evening from 7pm
Tickets in biog!
Last year we had an excellent time celebrating International Women’s Day with you all and this year we’re bringing it back bigger, better and this time at The Bongo Club!
✨3-5pm afternoon workshop with guest artists @kirstylawmusic & @estherswiftmusic
✨7-10pm evening concert with @machineorchid@faith.eliott & @jemimathewes
Tickets are now available at the link in our linktree. Use the discount code EARLYORCHID for 15% off any ticket before the end of January. We look forward to telling you all more about it in the coming weeks!
#iwd2026 #womenmakemusic #edinburghmusic #gigannouncement
