by Zoe Weir
PRESTON Reed wouldn’t be Scottish if it weren’t for the size of his cigars. That’s what gave his now wife, Catherine, cause to speak to him after she saw the US-born star play at the Kirkmichael Guitar Festival in 2000. Cath remembers, “I saw him in the beer tent while I was queuing to try to win a guitar.” Preston continues, “I was speaking with John Renbourn, when I spotted this beautiful woman standing in line. A little later she came over while I was smoking. “That’s an awfully big cigar you’ve got,” she said. He chuckles. “I’m still surprised she wasn’t turned off. In the US, women tend to recoil from cigar smoke, it’s seen as sleazy.” “I didn’t win the guitar, by the way,” Cath says with a rueful grin.
What she did win was the heart of a living legend. Preston Reed expanded the limits of acoustic guitar playing.