Eva Cassidy: an icon of acoustic music. Wistful and emotional vocals, beautiful guitar accompaniment, Eva Cassidy had the power to move audiences through her interpretation of well-known songs. Inspired by her favourite artist, award-winning musician Elsa Jean McTaggart returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with – Eva Cassidy: The Story.

Using video, story and song, Elsa Jean McTaggart channels Eva Cassidy’s musical voice through her own. Elsa has devised this very special show to pay homage to this true interpreter of song.

Audiences the world over tell Elsa how much she reminds them of Eva Cassidy as she, too, exudes beauty inside and out as well as possessing the most hypnotic of voices.

 A hit with a wide audience´s at Edinburgh Fringe 2017,2018 and 2019 where the show was selling out many times, Eva Cassidy: The Story will be a deeply personal, poignant tribute by Elsa to an inspirational voice and an incredibly talented musician who was discovered by the world tragically late.

Video

Recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 during the ‘Eva Cassidy The Story’ Tribute Show

Eva Cassidy The Story – Album 12 tracks

• 1 Autumn Leaves
• 2 Fields of Gold
• 3 Danny Boy
• 4 It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
• 5 Tall Trees in Georgia
• 6 Ain’t No Sunshine
• 7 True Colours
• 8 Wade in the Water
• 9 Songbird
• 10 Wonderful World
• 11 Somewhere Over the Rainbow
•  12 Time After Time

A DVD is also available recorded live at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018. At 50 minutes the DVD is a condensed version of our full 90 minute theatre show.

Daily Business Magazine

A loving tribute to a tragic singing star

Hebridean musician Elsa-Jean McTaggart has carved out a successful career with her performances of traditional and modern arrangements with her husband and sister.

Here she has applied her pitch perfect vocals and a range of instruments to tell the life story of her favourite artist Eva Cassidy in which she teases the audience through the American folk singer’s most iconic songs.

Eva Cassidy became famous after being ‘discovered’ posthumously by the radio presenter Terry Wogan. She died at the tragically young age of 33, but her talent made her a legend.

Speaking after the performance Elsa-Jean said: “I was inspired to tell this story after losing my own voice seven years ago. Since then I have vowed to take greater care of my own precious gift, and Eva has inspired me to do that.”

While resting her voice, she visited a show at the Fringe about Simon & Garfunkel. Impressed, she asked the performers for any advice. “They said ‘do something you love’. I love Eva Cassidy, and so this tribute show was born.

“It is just pure pleasure for me to sing these songs and very different to my everyday musical life.”

The hour long show comprises up to eight songs and includes one captivating and touching ‘duet’ in which Elsa-Jean sings in harmony to a video recording of Eva in song.

It’s a beautiful show, with some emotional moments. The narrative could have been tightened up, but the late Eva would surely have been moved by Elsa-Jean’s tribute.

“Eva Cassidy The Story” is a new show this year from Elsa Jean McTaggart as, through her vocals and guitar against a video backdrop, we were given a heartfelt tribute from Elsa to one of the most iconic voices of her generation  – Eva Cassidy,  Elsa’s all time favourite artist.  This is not a tribute show with Elsa Jean McTaggart trying to sound like Eva Cassidy (the two have very different voices) but songs sung from the heart in tribute to Eva Cassidy who also sang from her heart.

For most people attempting to do a show like this, my advice would be –“don’t bother” as few people can come anywhere close to ever capturing the wonderful clear tones of Eva Cassidy’s voice. Elsa Jean McTaggart is however one of those very few people with a distinctive enough voice to do the music and songs of Eva Cassidy justice.  It is always difficult for any singer to cover songs that have become so identified with another singer, but on songs like “Time After Time”, “Autumn Leaves” and “Over the Rainbow”, Elsa Jean McTaggart managed that elusive trick of making these songs her own tonight.

“Over The Rainbow” for me is one of those songs that many people try to sing and most end up destroying. Few people ever manage to bring the emotional fragility that is needed to this song -Eva Cassidy was one of them, and Elsa Jean McTaggart has just been added to that very small exclusive list.

Some of these songs have taken Elsa in a different vocal direction than she normally sings, and  I think even to Elsa’s surprise show to everyone that there are many more styles and ranges that her voice can easily cover.   Eva Cassidy is best known for her vocals, but for some reason often overlooked as a very fine guitarist, and Elsa did a very good job on guitar in this show coming close to the playing style of Eva Cassidy herself.

This new show is one of three shows in completely different styles from Elsa this Fringe.  The other two are “Sings, Strings and Other Things” and “Sounds of Scotland”.

The Eva Cassidy Story – 4 Stars

 This show is both a musical documentary of musician Eva Cassidy’s life, as well as a showcase for Scottish musician Elsa Jean McTaggart.  It is a lovely show, and McTaggart’s passion for both Cassidy and her music is apparent throughout.

A tribute show to an artist who primarily performed cover tunes is difficult, however, McTaggart handled it well, with musical arrangements similar to Cassidy’s, and some short anecdotes about Cassidy’s life woven into this 55-minute concert.

The singing was lovely, and the show was compelling.  Even more information about Cassidy’s life would have been appreciated because I was definitely left wanting more.  Also, the Cassidy photos in the slideshow were interesting, however, the slideshow transitions were dated and distracting (just going from one slide to another would have been enough), and continually returning to the slide of the concert poster was distracting and unnecessary.  However, those are small things, and overall it was an excellent show, and a loving and sensitive tribute to music superstar Eva Cassidy by a talented musician.