Free Event

‘Welcome into the house where there’s an open door and the fire is burning
Welcome into the house where we can rest a while from the world and its turning
Welcome into the house’

Join acclaimed folk singer and songwriter, Karine Polwart, Choir Director, Stephen Deazley, and 200 community singers for Come Away In - an atmospheric First Footin’ event at St. Giles’ Cathedral on New Year’s Day.

Part performance, part turning-of-the-year ceremony, Come Away In takes the Scottish tradition of First Footin’ as its inspiration. The opening of the door to friends and strangers alike is a nationwide gesture of hospitality, and an invocation of refuge, neighbourliness and shared resources. Celebrate crossing the threshold of the New Year in the embrace of massed voices and song, in the resonant, historic space of the city’s 900-year-old cathedral. 

'Singing in the New Year is such a massive communal tradition here in Scotland that opening the doors of St Giles Cathedral to 200 community voices just seemed obvious. It’s a glorious space designed for song. I hope our invitation to 'Come Away In’ captures a spirit of hospitality, sanctuary, and togetherness - things that need looking after in these times.’ Karine Polwart