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Monthly Wrapped: What I’m Listening to in…April
This month I’m turning back the clock… Throughout April I’ve been revisiting the music that started my love for listening to music. I’ve always been interested in performing, in being a part of dynamic shows and collaborating with others, but listening to music only became an important part of my life - as I suppose is often the case - during my early teenage years. During my earlier years, my listening habits were defined by the use of portable CD, and later USB MP3 players

Finlay Balfour
May 14 min read


The Banjo Song: Why We Don’t Dance Anymore, and How I Found Hope in a Music Video
‘It feels good to dance; because we don’t dance anymore’

Finlay Balfour
Apr 274 min read
Monthly Wrapped: What I’m listening to in…March
Spring has sprung! With last month’s hectic preparations, this month feels like the payoff after the grind. March featured my first wedding bookings of the year, and it was a pleasure to get back to my favourite type of performance! This month’s weddings felt particularly special, as they were all intimate celebrations, and these always tend to remind me of my own small wedding (coming up on two years ago, now!). No matter how many couples I work with, that feeling never seem

Finlay Balfour
Apr 104 min read


Who Is Music Really For? The Ballad of Wallis Island and the Philosophy of Great Music
We musicians are constantly searching for meaning. During every performance, there is always a latent journey of seek and discover. Every song forges new pathways, new perspectives, new relationships. Each note is a summit from which we aim for the next. This process can be tremendously exciting, and it's an important part about what makes music special. But it's also true that this dopamine-saturated process can, just like any other, result in the development of 'siloed' thi

Finlay Balfour
Apr 65 min read
Monthly Wrapped: What I’m listening to in February
February feels like it’s gone by in a whirlwind. I’m not sure if it’s made worse by the fact it’s actually shorter, but it definitely feels like I could fit in less stuff than I can normally. January turned out to be a record month for enquiries, and March features my first weddings bookings of the year, so I found myself eating somewhat of an ‘admin sandwich’! No complaints of course, but an increase in desk-time is an artefact of this phase of Finlay Gigs - where I’m pivoti

Finlay Balfour
Mar 53 min read


‘Superficial Intelligence’ – The Role of AI in Creativity
“What is art?” - everyone , at some point (probably) It’s a question as old as art itself. Ever since the first cave-dweller decided to spend some time doing anything other than look for food, eat, sleep, or die; and found himself etching some crude shapes on the walls of his abode. Inevitably, those nearby to witness this first attempt at elevating consciousness to another dimension must have felt less than impressed: wishing this useless layabout would instead go back to d

Finlay Balfour
Feb 246 min read


Monthly Wrapped (up): What I’m Listening to in…January
"One step forward, Two Steps back; Nobody gets too far like that" - Wise words from the Desert Rose Band. An appropriate start, I think, to a new year of playlist-building. A reminder that, no matter the winds that blow and the tides that turn, we must always strive to move forward: however slowly we may perceive our progress.

Finlay Balfour
Feb 14 min read
Introducing Finlay’s Monthly Wrapped: What I’m Listening to in…
I get a sense that New Years’ resolutions aren’t as fashionable as they once were. Perhaps we have finally managed to get to grips with what is perhaps the world’s most overrated force: human willpower. Perhaps it’s just that in this brave new world pervaded by all manners of ‘social’ media, we are terrifed of being held to account by others about that which we have ‘resolved’ to accomplish in any given year. It’s true that I haven’t really given it much thought until now: I

Finlay Balfour
Jan 292 min read


Planning A Wedding in 2026? Here’s How to Find the Musician Perfect For You
“How exactly do you choose? Well, luckily, it’s not all guesswork! Here are a few things worth thinking about before you book.”

Finlay Balfour
Jan 256 min read


The Art of the Steal: When Covers Feel Original
I often say that being a performer is about toeing many lines. Loud and soft, fast and slow, ups and downs. However, there’s one line...

Finlay Balfour
Jul 22, 20253 min read


What Makes a Great Gig?
It’s not something in particular, I’ve come to realise: but just that sense of electricity which comes from a truly great live music...

Finlay Balfour
Mar 9, 20257 min read
Finlay Gigs - 3 Years On
Three years have passed by in what feels like the blink of an eye. One moment, I am shakily walking up to take the stage for my first...

Finlay Balfour
Feb 23, 20254 min read
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