"Living the dream," he said.

The night before he had been at The Albert Hall to pick up a BBC Folk Award (Good Tradition).

"A warm up for tonight" The Ropetackle is very fond of John McCusker, and the feeling is mutual.

A regular on The Transatlantic Sessions, McCusker said he keeps his music fresh by playing with others.

He brought with him four exceptional musicians including, on accordion, the BBC folk musician of the year, Andy Cutting. T

he show was a nice variety of reels,jigs and aires, with some fine songs and singing from Adam Holmes.

Inbetween McCusker and the lads shared funny stories, many of which included the mysterious Lindsay Barker, and the craic was good.

Toby Shaer on flute, violin and just about everything, plus Innes White on acoustic guitar, made up the band that performed two sets.

Many of the tunes/songs came from McCusker's new album Hello, Goodbye.

An evening drenched in tradition but in fact fresh from McCusker's mobile, on which he had sketched the original ideas.

The melancholia was exquisite, while the wild frenzy was wild and frenzied.

No one got up to waltz or jig, but toes tapped, heads nodded, and the dream ended with Leaving Friday Harbor.