Winner of the MG Alba Composer of the Year Findlay Napier is widely regarded as one of the finest performers on the UK music scene. He is as comfortable on the main Stage of Cambridge Folk Festival with folk rock supergroup The Magpie Arc as he is in an intimate acoustic show in the back room of a pub. This fact was further highlighted when Napier was the first solo act ever to be nominated for Live Act of the Year at the Scot’s Trad Music awards in 2018. Tirelessly creative he has been touring and releasing music since the early naughties. First with groundbreaking trad folk band Back of the Moon, then with Nu-Folk pioneers Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers and most recently as a solo act working under the guidance of legendary songwriter Boo Hewerdine.
In 2025 he was chosen, alongside Kate Rusby and Richard Thompson, to compose an original song for BBC Radio 2’s “21st Century Folk”. He performed his song “Firecracker” on live on The Jeremy Vine Show and BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
His breakthrough solo album VIP: Very Interesting Persons, produced by Boo Hewerdine, was number 2 in The Telegraph’s top folk albums of 2014. He followed it with 2017’s Glasgow described by The Scotsman as “a paean to his adopted home town” which led to a number of high profile gigs including a five tours as the opening act for Eddi Reader. In 2021 he released It Is What It Is a collaboration album in all but name with producer and multi-instrumentalist Angus Lyon which Folk Radio UK called, ”A captivating, indispensable work; it is what it is and what it is, is magnificent.”
Described as a “miracle lyricist’ by the Sunday Herald and “an original and engaging treat” by The Telegraph his skills as a songwriter and collaborator have led him to work on some surprising and interesting projects. In 2017 he was invited to take part in Greg Russell’s ‘Shake the Chains’ project with Nancy Kerr and Hannah Martin where they toured, recorded and released a double live album. After meeting award winning songwriter Megan Henwood at an EFDSS songwriting retreat he formed the duo The Story Song Scientists writing songs about science releasing two EPs and touring the UK. In late 2021 he joined folk rock supergroup The Magpie Arc with Martin Simpson, Tom A Wright, Alex Hunter and Nancy Kerr performing on festival main stages and arts centres across the UK. Their debut album Glamour in the Grey, featuring three of Napier’s original songs including a co-write with Maz O’Conner was released in October 2022.
He is often commissioned to write songs including one for The 2014 Commonwealth Games in glasgow, two songs for Morgan Fisher’s Miniatures 2020 and more recently penning the anthem “Union Strong” for the 125th anniversary of the Scottish TUC.
As a teaching artist he regularly runs songwriting workshops. He set up Glasgow Songwriting Festival in 2016 and consults on various other songwriting events and festivals around the UK. He has hosted many songwriting retreats at Moniack Mhor (Scotland’s Creative Writing Centre) alongside Boo Hewerdine, Karine Polwart and Bella Hardy and works with Vox Liminus and Feis Rois delivering music and songwriting workshops in Scottish prisons.
Findlay lives on the Isle of Arran with his family. His latest album Outsider was released in April 2025 as a CD and an incredible 154 page coffee table book featuring augmented reality content.
“… one of the finest songwriters and storytellers of the contemporary Scottish folk scene.” Folk Radio UK (Glasgow)
“Coming on like a Caledonian Loudon Wainwright … A superbly crafted compilation of Songs” Acoustic Magazine (Glasgow)
“★★★★★ #2 Twelve Best Folk Music Albums of 2015: An inventive and engaging album… Findlay Napier (the sweet voice behind the beard)… an original engaging treat.” Martin Chilton, The Telegraph (VIP)
“He’s good and he’s really funny too! He’s got that classic brilliant banter with the audience as well. Lovely to hear the storytelling in the songs as well as inbetween. A wonderful cacophony of bizarre and brilliant tales of real people.” Edith Bowman- BBC Quay Sessions (Live)
“An insurgent talent…a wonderful singer… [Napier] proves he has a songwriting talent to match” The Morning Star (Glasgow)
“★★★★ One of the most intriguing and enjoyable albums… a collection of cracking songs that all add up to a cracking album… his voice has a mesmerising addictive quality to it… fabulous arrangements and very classy production… It’s brave creative and a smashing listen” Maverick Magazine (VIP)
Book a table for pre-concert dining
Acapela Studio provides pre-concert dining between 6.00pm and 7.30pm from our pizza oven. To view the current menu visit here.
BOOKING A TABLE FOR AN EVENT IN 2026
Please purchase your concert tickets first before booking a table. We will not accept any table bookings that do not have a corresponding ticket purchase.
Then return to the event page to book your table, by selecting the date of your event, number of diners and time you require table. The times shown are the only vacancies left. Please complete your email and phone number as this is required to ensure your table is allocated. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email and text.
If on the date you have chosen no tables are available - no times will be shown and the booking system will revert you back to todays date - PLEASE ENSURE YOU BOOK THE CORRECT DATE!
PLEASE NOTE THE VENUE RELIES ON THE INCOME FROM DINING TO ENSURE WE CAN BOOK ALL THE GREAT ACTS PERFORMING.
Income from the provision of pizzas is very important to the venue and if you have booked a table it is a requirement that all people sat at tables order food - a salad alternative is available to pizzas. Please do ensure that all individuals will be ordering on your table - if this is not the case please cancel your table so others who are looking to dine can do so. Our apologies to raise this but recently we have had many tables (some very large) where less than 50% of those sat at tables have ordered food. Financially this is a real problem to the sustainability of the venue.
- All seating at tables must purchase a pizza - so please do not book a table if everyone is not eating.
- Please ensure that you arrive 10 minutes before the time slot allocated to order your pizzas prior to your booking time.
- Tables not seated within 15 minutes of the allocated time may be lost and allocated to other audience members wishing to order pizzas.
- If you wish to book a table for 6 or more please email info@acapela.co.uk
BOOKING A TABLE FOR EVENTS IN 2027
From the 1st January 2027, all tickets for table dining will include the price of the pizza included within the ticket price. When purchasing table tickets you will have a choice of purchasing tickets to dine at certain times.
If you wish to join your booking with another table so you are sat at the same table then please email info@acapela.co.uk requesting the tables to be joined.
If you arrive 15 minutes after the time booked your table may be given away to other ticketholders who have purchased pizzas on the evening.
As with all out tickets – the venue has a no refund ticket policy
Please note that all of our pizzas are made fresh to order and cooked in an authentic wood-fired oven. It may take up to 45 minutes to be served during busy periods.
PLEASE NOTE:
Please note that no alcohol or other drinks not purchased on the premises are allowed to be brought into the venue. Thank You.
Please note that all of our pizzas are made fresh to order. It may take up to 45 minutes to be served during busy periods.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO BOOK A TABLE YOU CAN STILL ORDER PIZZAS ON THE NIGHT (USUALLY ON BUSY NIGHTS NO LATER THAN 7.15PM) AND WE WILL SERVE THEM TO YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE SAT IN THE VENUE - IN A PIZZA BOX.