One of Scotland’s finest singers is set to bring her balladry and music across the pond and straight to the Sound for a concert in Port Townsend.

Iona Fyfe, winner of the coveted 2021 Scots Trad Music Awards Musician of the Year accolade, will perform at the Palindrome at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22.

A renowned folksinger hailing from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Fyfe has deep roots in the singing traditions of her homeland. The musician has brought the culture of northeast Scotland across the globe while also meshing the traditional sound and Scots language with the pop and folk genres.

Her debut album “Away From My Window” earned critical acclaim and nationwide airplay on programs across Scotland. An exploration of her unique style and songwriting voice, the album features archive material of singers such as Stanley Robertson and Lizzie Higgins whilst drawing on the work of recent songwriters such as Michael Marra and Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap. “Away From My Window” premiered at the sold-out Celtic Connections performance, featuring a larger musical ensemble and live, on-stage sampling of source singers.

Her latest work, “Dark Turn of Mind,” is Fyfe’s first EP entirely in English and features six ballads and songs found in both Appalachia and Aberdeenshire.

Fyfe may be only 23 years of age, but the lass holds a wealth of touring experience throughout the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Australia, North America, and other lands.

She studied her craft at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and graduated with a first-class honors degree in traditional music and holds a fellowship of the London College of Music diploma. Fyfe has achieved sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for three consecutive years and is a familiar face on the U.K. folk club circuit.

Beyond touring and earning degrees, the musical prodigy has even graced one of the biggest of stages with a world premiere.

She performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as part of the world premiere of the Disney-Pixar film “Brave” at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. In addition, the songstress has been featured in a wide range of publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Sunday Post, and more.

Beyond her artistry, Fyfe is also a fierce advocate for the official recognition of the Scots language, leading a successful campaign to pressure music streaming giant Spotify into recognizing Scots and adding it to its list of languages. In 2020, Fyfe helped to found Oor Vyce, a campaign group dedicated to securing official recognition of the Scots language. She lobbied 35 out of 129 members of the Scottish Parliament to sign a Scots Pledge, which would seek to secure protection, funding, and promotion of the language that more than
1.5 million people speak.

As an activist, Fyfe has spoken out against sexual harassment and champions equality within the music industry, discussing fair pay for music streaming and the effect of Brexit — the U.K.’s ongoing withdrawal from the European Union — on live touring.

Growing up within the Traditional Music and Song Association movement, Fyfe met many revivalist singers such as Jimmie Hutchison, Joe Aitken, and Carole Prior who influenced her balladry and style. Attending singarounds, cèilidhs (traditional Irish/Scottish gatherings), and competitions since she was 5 years old, she learned her repertoire mainly through oral transmission and is still a regular within the competitive ballad circuit.

The Palindrome is located at 1893 S. Jacob Miller Road and tickets cost $25 per person from ionafyfe.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.