The Royal Oak, Edinburgh

The Royal Oak is a 200 year old pub and folk music venue in the Scottish capital city, Edinburgh.[1] It is well known for its live music sessions[2] and counts various high profile Scottish musicians amongst its former resident performers, such as Kris Drever, Bobby Eaglesham, Danny Kyle and Karine Polwart.[3]

The Royal Oak
"The Oak"
Address1 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland
Coordinates55.94803352°N 3.18615906°W / 55.94803352; -3.18615906
TypePublic House
Genre(s)Folk Music
Website
www.royal-oak-folk.com

During the 1960s, The Royal Oak was owned by the former Heart of Midlothian footballer Alan Anderson, though during his time there, it was called 'The Pivot'. It gained a reputation as a folk music venue after Dorothy Taylor took over the pub in 1978, which she ran alongside her sister Sandra – a former star of The White Heather Club TV Show – until 2003,[4] when the current licensee Heather Mckenzie took over.[1]

In 2008, Magic Park Records recorded and released an album featuring musicians from the Royal Oak, entitled 'The Royal Oak: Best of Folk'[5] and The Royal Oak's resident folk club (The Wee Folk Club) was awarded 'Club of the Year' at the annual Scots Trad Music Awards.[6]

The Royal Oak features in Ian Rankin's 'Set in Darkness', an Inspector Rebus novel. The scene is – according to Rankin – his favourite of all the pub scenes in the Rebus series.[7]

References
  1. "Sisters call time on 25 years at the Oak". The Scotsman. 20 February 2003.
  2. "The Wee Folk Club, Edinburgh – The Living Tradition". www.livingtradition.co.uk.
  3. "The Royal Oak – Best Of Folk". www.musicscotland.com.
  4. "Pioneer of pub folk music dies after battle with cancer". The Scotsman. 8 December 2007.
  5. Lee, Stewart (12 October 2008). "The Royal Oak: Best of Folk The Sunday Times review". The Sunday Times. UK.
  6. "Scots Trad Music Awards – Nominations". BBC Scotland. UK: BBC.
  7. Bowden, Jen (23 August 2012). "Rebus revisited – Ian Rankin picks his favourite moments". The Guardian.
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