Jessie Buckley to perform songs from Wild Rose soundtrack in Glasgow gig

The Irish star who has wowed audiences playing a Glaswegian country singer in the new movie Wild Rose is to return to the city to play the music she made during filming.
Jessie Buckley has won huge acclaim for her performance as a Glaswegian country singer in Wild Rose.Jessie Buckley has won huge acclaim for her performance as a Glaswegian country singer in Wild Rose.
Jessie Buckley has won huge acclaim for her performance as a Glaswegian country singer in Wild Rose.

Jessie Buckley will reprise songs from the film, which was released at the weekend, with a full band at St Luke's, in the east end of the city, on June 27.

Buckley is expected to appear as her character in the new film, which she wrote a clutch of new songs for with Nicole Taylor, the Glasgow-born writer of the movie.

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It follows the events which unfold when mother-of-two Rose-Lyn Harlan is released from a jail sentence and attempts to revive her dreams of becoming a country singer in Nashville.

Wild Rose, which also stars Julie Walters as Rose-Lyn's mother, was filmed on location around Glasgow, including scenes shot at the Grand Ole Opry and Old Fruitmarket.

A spokesman for promoters Regular Music said: "Six of the powerful, rousing and emotive songs which occupy the heart of this wonderful film, were co-written by the film’s BAFTA winning writer Nicole Taylor and Buckley, who performs throughout with enormous passion, sincerity and genuine vocal prowess.

"Buckley looks set to take the music world by storm as the star and voice of the gritty, inspirational and heart-warming film.

"The writing and recording experience was completely new to Jessie, who found the experience so rewarding that she has since performed the songs live and will be playing a series of shows with full band this year."

Wild Rose, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and had a Scottish launch at the Glasgow Film Festival in February, has been hailed as Scotland's answer to A Star Is Born and Billy Elliot by critics.

When the film was launched in Glasgow, Buckley told he she had fallen in love with the city during the making of the movie.

She said: “The story in the film is really a story of identity, where you are from and the four corners that you are told you are only allowed to dream in. Being a Glasgow girl is so much part of Rose-Lynn’s make-up.

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“Honest to God, I love Glasgow so much now. It stole my heart. The people are so open and there is a real humanity behind Glaswegians.

“I was so nervous that I wouldn’t be authentic, but I worked my **** off so that I could get a close to the core as I possibly could.

“I based myself in Glasgow for a month before we started shooting. I was working with a dialect coach and the two of us would go out and I’d speak in a Glasgow accent all day.

“I basically just took to the streets and also went into different newsagents around Glasgow and tried to ask for a packet of fags.

“I took a lot of trips to pubs like The Ben Nevis, The Laurieston and all these other joints. They’re pure rust and real life.

“When you fall in love with the city and you fall in love with the people and fall in love with the character who symbolises all that in some way it is kind of scary letting it out.

“I want to do Glasgow proud. It means a lot to me.

“We did a cast and crew screening a few months ago (in Glasgow) and it was the most nervous I was. I don’t think I took a breath.

“When the film finished a woman turned around and gave me a hug. I literally just burst out crying.”

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Buckley was taken to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time by musician Phil Cunningham, who appears in her band in the film.

The actress said: “I couldn’t believe it when I went inside for the first time. It was like a mecca for country music right in the middle of the docks.

"I felt like I had stepped into an alternate world where people are able to escape reality.

“The beauty about country music is that it is so simple, but the stories are so honest and human, and are about very simple moments that capture longing and loss. They creep into your heart and before you know it you’re crying your eyes out.”

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