Weaving Music and Memories: A Review of Louise Bichan

Coming all the way from Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Louise Bichan is a songwriter and storyteller extraordinaire. Although Bichan is a fiddle player whose music is instrumental, her inspiration comes from contemporary singer-songwriters such as Madison Cunningham and Maggie Rogers. These influences are certainly evident in her exceptional ability to pull the audience into the stories she is interested in telling. At her shows, you will not just be hearing the story, but, for two hours, you will be a part of it, transported back to 1950, when her grandmother traveled to Canada to make a life-altering choice. Even though the audience had never met Bichan’s grandmother, it was impossible to miss the emotion and intensity surging through the room when she played fiddle along with a recording of her grandmother singing on CBC Radio. “It feels magical to play with her even though she’s not here anymore,” Bichan told us. 

She discovered this recording when visiting her aunt, who had inherited Bichan’s grandmother’s diaries. At once enthralled by the diaries and eager to learn more, Bichan went on a journey to uncover her grandmother’s story, resulting in her first album, Out of My Own Light. “In doing that, I kind of ended up on my own journey,” she explained. Her new album, The Lost Summer, “showcases me and my own journey, and how that journey came to be.”

That journey brought her to Berklee College of Music, where she met Ethan Setiawan, the mandolin player in her band. Joined by Connor and Brendan Hearn on acoustic guitar and cello, Bichan has been able to craft a truly unique sound. Even without a percussionist, you’ll see the Hearn brothers tapping and slapping on their instruments to establish a rhythmic beat. At times, two band members will solo back and forth, constituting a musical conversation. Bichan and her band use creative playing styles to transcend the limits of what you’d expect to hear from their instruments.

As for what the future holds, Bichan is “not 100% sure what the next project will be, but I know it will involve telling stories.” As much as she’s loved telling her grandmother’s story, she also “enjoys telling the fun, silly stories as well,” and hopes to continue that in her upcoming work. Bichan’s talent lies in her ability to use very few words to paint a vivid picture. “Instrumental music can be more open to other people experiencing the music in their own way or projecting their own stories onto it,” she observes. “I like to leave a little for people to insert themselves into.” 

When asked about the challenges of playing music professionally, Bichan quickly replied, “It’s certainly not the music itself.” Although she acknowledges that the live music scene is struggling, she explains that when people come up to her after a show and tell her that her music has inspired them to learn more about their own family history, she feels it’s all been worth it. “I don’t know that there’s anything else I’d rather do,” she tells us. “I love playing music enough to put up with all that stuff and keep trying and keep working through the setbacks.” 

The Burren, 5/8/24