The Royal Oak
"The Oak"
Address1 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland
Coordinates55°56′53″N 3°11′10″W / 55.94803352°N 3.18615906°W / 55.94803352; -3.18615906
TypePublic House
Genre(s)Folk Music
Website
www.royal-oak-folk.com

The Royal Oak is a 200 year old pub and folk music venue in the Scottish capital city, Edinburgh.[1] It is well known for its live music sessions[2] and counts various high profile Scottish musicians amongst its former resident performers, such as Kris Drever, Bobby Eaglesham, Danny Kyle and Karine Polwart.[3]

During the 1960s, The Royal Oak was owned by the former Heart of Midlothian footballer Alan Anderson, though during his time there, it was called 'The Pivot'. It gained a reputation as a folk music venue after Dorothy Taylor took over the pub in 1978, which she ran alongside her sister Sandra – a former star of The White Heather Club TV Show – until 2003,[4] when the current licensee Heather Mckenzie took over.[1]

In 2008, Magic Park Records recorded and released an album featuring musicians from the Royal Oak, entitled 'The Royal Oak: Best of Folk'[5] and The Royal Oak's resident folk club (The Wee Folk Club) was awarded 'Club of the Year' at the annual Scots Trad Music Awards.[6]

The indoor decor features lyrics and poem excerpts from various local artists including former patron, Nick Keir.

The Royal Oak features in Ian Rankin's 'Set in Darkness', an Inspector Rebus novel. The scene is – according to Rankin – his favourite of all the pub scenes in the Rebus series.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Sisters call time on 25 years at the Oak". The Scotsman. 20 February 2003.
  2. ↑ "The Wee Folk Club, Edinburgh – The Living Tradition". www.livingtradition.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "The Royal Oak – Best Of Folk". www.musicscotland.com.
  4. ↑ "Pioneer of pub folk music dies after battle with cancer". The Scotsman. 8 December 2007.
  5. ↑ Lee, Stewart (12 October 2008). "The Royal Oak: Best of Folk The Sunday Times review". The Sunday Times. UK.
  6. ↑ "Scots Trad Music Awards – Nominations". BBC Scotland. UK: BBC.
  7. ↑ Bowden, Jen (23 August 2012). "Rebus revisited – Ian Rankin picks his favourite moments". The Guardian.
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