Meet the Edinburgh violinist performing to hundreds of people with free sunset performances on Calton Hill
Violinist Jordan Sapphire has said that his sunset performances on Calton Hill have been a ‘real success’ so far
An Edinburgh-based violin player is delighting hundreds of visitors to Calton Hill with his atmospheric and free sunset performances.
Jordan Garbutt, who performs under the name Jordan Sapphire, has been staging performances at the Dugald Stewart Monument in Calton Hill throughout the summer, regularly attracting a large crowd.
The talented musician first began performing on the hill “sporadically” last year, before making the performances more frequent this summer.
Jordan told the Evening News: “I've always busked in Edinburgh but I just thought what a nice idea it would be to do it during the sunset with the view and it's just been a real success.”
The 30-year-old’s repertoire includes Bridgerton-eqsue covers of popular hits such as Love Story by Taylor Swift, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, Midnight Sun by Zara Larsson, and many other pop songs.
He added: “I honestly did not expect it to really take off. I had one video of me playing a Disney song that I shared on TikTok and it just went viral.
“I think that really helped kick off the social media movement and got the word out a bit.”
Jordan, who is originally from The Wirral in Merseyside, has lived in Edinburgh for the past three years and has been playing the violin since he was eight years old.
He said: “It was actually films like the Titanic and Black Beauty and old English films as well that really got me inspired to play.
“When I first started, it was Celtic folk music and jig stuff I was playing, that really inspired me to keep going.”
Jordan studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from the age of 16 until around 21, but after feeling restricted by classical orchestras and struggling with learning sheet music, he turned to performing solo.
The self-confessed “learn-by-ear performer” has taken his violin skills to not only the streets of Edinburgh during the Fringe festival, but has also been hired for weddings and other events.
However, it’s his Calton Hill performances that have been gaining traction, with hundreds of music fans regularly bringing down a picnic blanket to enjoy his music on the hill as the sun goes down.
The full-time musician said: “Honestly I'm just flabbergasted at the reception. I'm just so dumbfounded by it all.
“It started off quite small and I never really made announcements about it. Now that they're kind of progressing into these regular sunset shows, it's just such a lovely thing.
“I'm not even doing it for the money. I'm doing it because I feel that it makes so many people happy, seeing the communities that all come together, families and little kids and disabled people at the front watching.
“It’s so nice to see just everyone kind of coming together just to have that kind of experience.”
He added: “I think that also kind of just highlights the need for street performances in general, making music accessible to the public.
“It's actually quite an important thing. I guess that's why Fringe is so special as well.”
While Jordan won’t be performing at the Fringe itself, he is planning to continue his sunset shows throughout the summer.
For those looking to head up the hill to catch a show, Jordan shares his performance dates in advance on his Instagram page @Jordan.Sapphire