The Crow Road Band

Around the turn of the century Jan and Phil were involved in a musical project - PICTURES OF UNCLE DONNIE'S WAKE, a poignant Celtic musical tale created by Alan McLean and presented by The Crow Road Band. Each song is a picture of a small scene which took place after Uncle Donnie's funeral.

Uncle Donnie's wake takes place close to the millennium and reflects the unique time in Scottish history. The songs cover many emotions: personal loss, love, cultural pride, political scepticism and hope for the future.

The songs were originally produced as a CD. Remixed and remastered in 2017 they are available on all major streaming platforms.

Concept: Alan McLean
Words and Music: Alan McLean, Alec Burbidge, Jan Moncrieff, Bryan Finnegan

The Edinburgh Fringe

In August 2001 and again in 2002 The Crow Road Band performed Pictures of Uncle Donnies’ Wake at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - one of the biggest festivals of its type in the world (there were over 20,000 performances and nearly 900,000 tickets sold in 2001).

They were also invited to play on the concert stage at Princes Street Gardens. The performance was recorded on video - excerpts of which can be seen below.

The cast for the performance was (clockwise, from top)

Helen McLean (Vocals, keyboard),
Rebecca McLean (Vocals),
Phil McCready (Vocals, guitars, bass),
Jan Moncrieff (Vocals, mandolin, harmonica),
Laura Mclean (Flute, vocals),
Alan McLean [centre] (Vocals, guitar)

The Videos

Recorded in 2001 on the main stage in Princes Street Gardens