Anthony began performing solo shows sometime in the mid-2000s, assuming the name Rick Redbeard due partly to its pirate connotations. A notable show during this early period was an appearance at the 2007
Connect Music Festival on the Yoursound Bandstand alongside other emerging Scottish acts such as
Frightened Rabbit and
The Twilight Sad. His music is generally categorised as alternative country or alternative folk music and has been likened in sound to
Leonard Cohen,
Bill Callahan and
Will Oldham among others. This was the first release of any kind under the Rick Redbeard name and was followed by a small joint headline tour of Scotland. In January 2013
Chemikal Underground records released the debut Rick Redbeard album
No Selfish Heart. This release was followed by a headline tour of the UK in March including sold out shows in Aberdeen's Peacock Visual Arts Centre and Glasgow's
Centre for Contemporary Arts. In July 2014, shortly after the release of The Phantom Band's third record
Strange Friend, Kingfisher Bluez, a Vancouver-based micro-label, released a 7-inch Rick Redbeard single
Dreams of the Trees featuring the title track and two other previously unreleased songs. In 2015, Anthony recorded music for the short documentary
The Third Dad which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2015. In April 2016, the release of a compilation album called
Refugee was announced. Organised by Glasgow-based musician Robin Adams and inspired by the ongoing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, the record will be released in June 2016 with proceeds from the sale going to the
Migrant Offshore Aid Station in Malta. It features a previously unreleased Rick Redbeard song called 'Postcards' along with new material from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy,
Alasdair Roberts,
Linda Thompson and others. The second Rick Redbeard album
Awake Unto was released by Chemikal Underground records on 17 June 2016. ==Solo discography==