Steve Crawford & Spider MacKenzie - Long BIO
Masterful and Rich Celticana
When Steve and Spider take the stage, you don’t just hear the music, you feel it. In your bones. Two seasoned artists, one unforgettable sound.
I sat spellbound…..in love equally with Steve Crawford’s strikingly charismatic voice and Spider MacKenzie’s wistfully virtuoso harp playing. (Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Germany)
Soul meets substance in every chord of Steve’s guitar and every note on Spider’s harmonica. It’s the sound of grit meeting grace: weathered, real, and rooted. The lyrics of their genre-setting Celticana music resonate as though they’re peeling through the layers of your life and performing your story.
It’s the music of lived truth, born from decades of friendship and shared experiences. Truth and life aren’t always easy, hinting at why this duo’s music resonates so deeply.
When Steve and Spider take the stage, it’s as if the music has always been there, waiting to be uncovered. Like a sculptor chiseling away at a block of stone, they don’t so much create their sound as they reveal it, shaping it from the deep, natural well of their connection to each other and their music.
From their hometown of Aberdeen, Scotland, Europe and everywhere in between, wherever they play, their sound feels like home.
Whether it’s a listening room, a festival, or a venue that values authenticity over flash, Steve and Spider deliver a set that stays with you. Their chemistry is effortless. Their stories land. And their shows always end with one question echoing in the room: “When are they coming back?”
As good a combination of vocal, guitar and harmonica as you're likely to hear. (Folking.com, UK)
When Steve and Spider join forces a special magic happens - the partnership results in something far more powerful than either could create alone.
Steve Crawford
Steve Crawford has long been a respected singer and songwriter in Scotland and Germany (where he now resides). Including with founding members of Old Blind Dogs in the band Catford. His work with the band Ballad of Crows won praise from legendary folk hero Mike Harding when he said, “Listen carefully to the words, they’re making really great music”. In Germany, he has is established himself on the folk scene there though his work with the popular Cajun band Le Clou and also in his duet with fiddler Sabrina Palm, receiving a nomination for best folk album from the distinguished German Critics Award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik) in 2019 for their second album, ‘Two’. His songwriting and performances are rooted in a deep authenticity that ‘never fail to hit the mark emotionally.
Spider MacKenzie’s harmonica emotes the feelings that emerge from the lyrics and music of Steve Crawford. Together, the Scottish pair has introduced a version of Americana music that raises the bar for everyone. (Texas Lifestyle Magazine, USA)
In Scotland, throughout Europe and in the USA, where they recorded their critically acclaimed second album, Celticana, Steve and Spider have built a devoted following. Their debut album ‘5 am’ was awarded a five-star review in the Daily Record - Scotland’s largest daily newspaper - while their second album generated heavy radio-play in the UK and was featured as album of the week on BBC Radio Scotland.
Over nearly 20 years of working together, they have toured throughout the UK, Europe, and the USA. Rooted somewhere between modern Scottish folk and Americana, their Celticana style of music stretches into country, blues, traditional folk, soul and groove-driven storytelling.
Audiences love them. Promoters trust them. They’re the kind of act that makes an audience lean in and stay there.
Top class music from Scotland. (WAZ newspaper, Germany)
Upcoming: Steve and Spider will be touring in the UK and Europe in 2025. Following a homecoming concert at the award-winning Blue Lamp in Aberdeen in May, a tour of the beautiful Orkney Isles (including a show on remote Papa Westray, an island of less than 70 inhabitants) is scheduled in June. Some festival slots in Germany over the summer precedes a tour of Germany & the Netherlands in November.