Hotly-tipped Edinburgh balladeer Adam Holmes crafts lyrics that resonate like old folk songs, set to melodies rooted in haunting slow airs. John Martyn's strum and sting, laced with a slice of Paolo Nutini soul and a touch of traditional folk.

The 23-year-old Edinburgh-born singer/songwriter is one of the brightest rising stars on the UK roots music scene, with influences from either side of the Atlantic mixing traditional and contemporary folk with his own brand of Americana.

A finalist in the 2009 Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition, he was also a nominee for Best Newcomer at the 2011 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and a nominee for Best Up and Coming Artist at the 2013 Scottish Traditional Music Awards. His debut album Heirs and Graces was longlisted for Scottish Album of the Year in 2014 and was also nominated for a Scottish Traditional Music Award in the same year in the Best Album category.

2014 also saw live sessions for BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show and BBC Radio 3’s World on 3 programme, festival appearances (including a prestigious “Showcase” slot at the Cambridge Folk Festival), sell-out gigs throughout the UK and songs from the album have received national and international radio airplay.

Live, he and his band the Embers combine the rhythm and blues, country and folk music textures of classic artists such as The Band, Neil Young and Ryan Adams and The Cardinals and this year they have already played a sell-out show at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre as part of Celtic Connections and filmed a live performance at Celtic for broadcast later this year on BBC Television.

Debut Album Heirs and Graces released January 2014 on Gogar Records.

Produced by John Wood (also producer of John Martyn, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Pink Floyd, Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Fairport Convention).

Mastered by Simon Heyworth (assistant producer of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells)

Highest Chart Position – Number 5 in the iTunes singer/songwriter chart.