Fiona Kennedy and Ruairidh MacDonald take to the road with The Wee Osprey Tour


Vibrant new single, Fly Lady Fly, available to download via iTunes

The record-breaking osprey at the Loch of the Lowes in Perthshire, ‘Lady’, has inspired singer and producer Fiona Kennedy to pen a song, which is one of the key highlights of ‘The Wee Osprey Tour’ which starts on 14 June at some lovely venues across the north of Scotland.

The catchy song, which is a vibrant and upbeat mix of pure pop and tribal Celtic and African chants, features lead vocal by the young and very talented Aviemore boy, Ruairidh McDonald (13).

Fiona and Ruairidh are this month going on tour to further spread the word about the work of charities who help protect these magnificent creatures, entertaining the crowds along the way.  The tour dates are as follows:

  • Boat of Garten Hall, Friday 14 June at 7.30pm
  • Strathpeffer Pavillion, Saturday 15 June at 8pm
  • The Loch of the Lowes, Sunday 16 June at 3pm and 7.30pm
  • Cruden Bay, Cruden Parish Church, Thursday 20 June at 7.30pm
  • Fraserburgh, St Peter’s Church, Friday 21 June at 7.30pm

Fiona was inspired to write Fly Lady, Fly after visiting the record breaking resident breeding osprey at the Loch of the Lowes in Dunkeld, Perthshire and hearing about its incredible journey every year.  ‘Lady’ is believed, at the age of 27, to be the oldest breeding osprey in the UK and every winter makes the 3,000 mile migration to West Africa and back.

Fiona said: “I think it’s brilliant that this great old bird ‘Lady’ has defied all the odds and is still going strong. She definitely deserves her own bird song! It’s an amazing story – she came home to Scotland in March, found a new toy boy called Laddie and is still producing chicks! We want to celebrate this and all ospreys, as well as our great natural landscape, so vital for their wellbeing. It’s also important to salute all the volunteers who help to provide the safe habitat for birds and animals.

“I’m thrilled to be going on the road with Ruairidh who has bags of talent, loves to sing and perform and fair to say audiences love him. It’ll be a lovely, relaxed show which we’re sure families and people of all ages will enjoy.”

Ruairidh McDonald, added: “I love the song and I’ve been to visit Lady and her chick and I’m hooked on the webcam. These birds are incredible, flying 3000 miles all the way to West Africa and back. We made a video of the song in the Cairngorms in a howling gale which was great fun and now I can’t wait to tour with Fiona and some fantastic musicians.

The full list of dates for The Wee Osprey Tour, and more information, can be found at The Kist website: http://thekist.com/live-events/.