Yes, the Edinburgh Fringe has well and truly started, and Majk’s first show was on the 6th of August, for which he has been written a lovely little review (see below.)
Majk has four more shows at the Quaker Meeting House (Venue 40): at 4.30 (for 1 hour) on the 7th, 9th, 10th and 12th. Tickets are £7/£5 from the Fringe website. He may be able to do one or two extra gigs here and there; and do watch out for him doing pop-up gigs with Venue Nine and Three Quarters!
Here’s the review:
Heroes revised
Majk Stokes is obsessed by heroes, mythical and real. Riffing on and affectionately parodying Dylan, Lennon and the Troggs, the local folk-rock, comedic-but-with-a-message singer-songwriter explores the inner life of mythical characters – what would Superman do when feeling blue? Does Q envy Bond? – and celebrates everyday heroism: small actions to save a burning world and the NHS and care heroes of the pandemic. In the searing “I’ll see you there”, Stokes issues a rallying cry for the possibility and power of protest in the face of the environmental crisis. And yet the call to action comes with a warm cushioning of humour – except for eating turmeric-infused porridge, this guilt-ridden middle-class environmentalist reviewer smiled as he acknowldged all the middle-class behaviours he exhibits listed in the parodic “Middle-class hero”. A real-life fox hunt, foiled by a tree-planter is recounted poignantly, and the set ends with the rousing “Re-wild things”, written as a fundraiser for a now-successful community land buyout in the south of Scotland.
“I write songs, I plant trees, I do what I can” is Stokes’ motto. Play your part and be there to listen, laugh and be uplifted.