ABIGAIL PRYDE
Whether it’s a tale of heartbreak, revenge or just a sweet love song, Abigail Pryde’s songwriting has all the country feeling you could ask for. Throw in a backing band featuring some of Scotland’s top folk musicians and It will surely get your ears twitching! Having written and recorded with other artists such as folk band Heron Valley for much of her career, she is now stepping out on her own with her debut album under Wee Studio Records.
slaintesounds.com/abigailpryde
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📷 Photo by Nick Hamilton
ADAM HOLMES
Adam Holmes is a singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. He is one of the brightest rising stars on the UK roots music scene, with influences from either side of the Atlantic mixing traditional and contemporary folk with his own brand of soul and Americana.
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📷 Photo by Michael Guest
ADAM SUTHERLAND
Adam comes from Errogie on the south shores of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. In his forties, he is one of Scotland’s most exciting fiddle players, composers and teachers in a thriving scene, drenched with talent.
adamsutherland.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Somhairle MacDonald
ADENINE
An utterly compelling live performer who has toured world-wide, the music of Scottish harpist Adenine (aka Ailie Robertson) encompasses influences from free improvisation, ambient and folk to create a nuanced sound world. Drawing from over a decades experience of performing and recording with a wide spectrum of artists and ensembles, this solo project creates rich, multi-layered soundscapes with use of an electric harp, a myriad of pedals, field recordings and a modular synth.
ailierobertson.com
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📷 Photo by Bianca Gaudrealt
AIDAN MOODIE
Aidan Moodie is an Orcadian folk musician based in Glasgow. He is best known for playing guitar and singing with Gnoss, and is also one of the newest members of folk supergroup Mànran.
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📷 Photo by Rory Barnes
AIDAN O’ROURKE
Fiddler, composer, producer, curator. With his trio Lau, in multiple solo projects and in collaborations, Aidan O’Rourke has pioneered a new sound in folk music and redefined traditional forms.
aidanorourke.net
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📷 Photo by Peter McNally
AINSLEY HAMILL
Mix Heather Small and Julie Fowlis and you’ve got singer songwriter Ainsley Hamill. One of the UK’s leading and most diverse singers, Ainsley has a long list of nods including the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Finalist and Gaelic Singer of the Year Finalist at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Hailing from the West Coast of Scotland, London based Ainsley specialises in song writing and songs in Scottish Gaelic and English.
ainsleyhamill.com
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📷 Photo by Alleksana
ALAN REID
Glasgow-born Alan Reid has been taking Scottish folk music all over the world since 1975. He joined the fledgling Battlefield Band in 1969 while studying at Strathclyde University and subsequently recorded almost 30 albums with this hard-working and enduring band, in that time garnering a reputation for his playing and his singing. His groundbreaking keyboard work helped cement the band’s reputation as one of the most influential Celtic bands of its generation. In 2010 he left the ‘Batties,’ to concentrate on his duo with guitarist / singer Rob van Sante, and has now also released some solo albums.
alansongsreid.com
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📷 Photo by Mary Reid
ALASDAIR ROBERTS
Alasdair Roberts is a musician (primarily a guitarist and singer) who is based in Glasgow Scotland. His work mainly consists of two parallel strands: self-written song material (which can be heard on albums such as Farewell Sorrow, The Amber Gatherers, Spoils and A Wonder Working Stone) and interpretations of traditional songs and ballads from Scotland and beyond (which can be heard on albums such as The Crook of My Arm, No Earthly Man and Too Long In This Condition).
alasdairroberts.com
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📷 Photo by Alex Woodward
ALASTAIR SAVAGE
Fiddle player Alastair Savage was born and raised in Ardrossan, on the Ayrshire coast. His early inspiration came at his Father’s knee, where the sound of the accordion introduced Alastair to the traditional music of his homeland. He studied fiddle and guitar as a child, playing both traditional and classical music, before heading to Douglas Academy Music School in his mid teens to study classical violin more intensely.
alastairsavage.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Simon Butterworth
ALEX MACDONALD
Grew up in Kildonan Strath, Sutherland, where I loved the psalms and hymns and the old folk songs my father had learned from his drover grand uncle. Went on to Cash, the Clancys and Corries, Tom Paxton and Dylan. Started playing guitar and writing songs in my teens, but only started recording this century with my rock band sons! Either solo or with my band, I’ve played all over Scotland.
alexjmacdonald.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Judy Laing
ALI LEVACK
Ali Levack is a multi-instrumentalist playing pipes and whistles. In 2020 he was crowned the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year.
alilevack.com
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📷 Photo by Euan Robertson
ALISTAIR MCCULLOCH
Alistair McCulloch is one of the most sought after fiddlers in Scotland today, both as a performer, composer and teacher. He has toured and recorded with many artists including the Alistair McCulloch Trio, Coila, Canterach, The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra and Innovation. Alistair is a long established fiddle tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has taught at fiddle festivals and events all over the world. His annual Scottish tour has become a firm fixture in the traditional music calendar. Alistair has published two collections of his own compositions, many of which have been recorded by other artists.
alistairmcculloch.com
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📷 Photo by Brian Muir
ALLY FORSYTH
Ally Forsyth is a traditional Scottish musician based in Glasgow. Originally from a classical background, he started blurring the lines into a unique folk, blues and rock style. In 2021 and as a product of lockdown, Ally released his debut EP, The Longest Night. Playing all of the instruments, layering dozens of his vocals and writing much of the original music, the four tracks were brought to life by the careful ear of Scott Wood at Oak Ridge Studios.
allyforsyth.com
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📷 Photo by Jonathan Bismark
ALY BAIN
Aly Bain is a Scottish fiddler from Lerwick, Shetland who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. He became nationally prominent as a founding member of The Boys of The Lough, a Scots-Irish group with whom he played with for over 30 years. He is part of a long-standing duo with accordion player Phil Cunningham.
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📷 Photo by Graham Knowles
ALY BAIN & PHIL CUNNINGHAM
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham have become a national institution with their incomparable mastery of fiddle and accordion, bringing excellence in traditional music to venues across the country. Individually they pursue other ventures in performance, television and education, but it is when they tour together that they truly shine with over quarter of a century of well-honed skills and hilarious banter delighting audiences everywhere.
philandaly.com
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📷 Photo by David Avery
AMY PAPIRANSKY
Since making the final of the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Amy Papiransky has continued to carve her name in the Scottish music scene. Originally from Keith in the North-East of Scotland, and now residing in Glasgow, Amy – a music teacher by trade – has been writing and recording her own material for the last eight years. Amy is a classically trained and infinitely talented multi-instrumentalist with folk roots
amypapiransky.com
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📷 Photo by Somhairle MacDonald
ANDREW WAITE
Andrew Waite is an accordion player and composer from the Scottish borders. He plays in bands Dallahan and Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band. His music is rooted in Scottish, Irish, and English trad music but he takes influences from many genres such as jazz, gypsy, bluegrass, funk, and classical music.
andrewwaitemusic.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Sandy Butler
ANGUS LYON
Angus is a musician, producer & composer based in Scotland. He is a member of Blazin’ Fiddles & The Halton Quartet who has also recorded & performed alongside Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Paul McCartney, Bobby McFerrin, Craig Armstrong, Blue Rose Code, Eliza Carthy, Matt Costa, Bella Hardy & many more. Currently recording and producing music from his Studio, Gran’s House.
anguslyon.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Adam Bulley Photography
ASSYNT
Assynt are former BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year finalists, Graham Mackenzie (fiddle) and David Shedden (pipes/whistles) alongside BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner Innes White (guitar/mandolin).
assyntmusic.com
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📷 Photo by Ciara Menzies
BARRY REID
Barry has made his name in the Scottish music scene by not only being a member of such distinguished bands as the mighty Treacherous Orchestra, and folk funksters Croft No.Five, but also in host of other bands, including Innes’ Watson’s Guitar Colloquium, the MacCollective with Lauren MacColl, Halcyon and Event Horizon.
spad.org.uk
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📷 Photo by Leading Lines
BATTLEFIELD BAND
Battlefield Band are one of the great institutions of Scottish traditional music. Their seamless fusion of ancient and contemporary music and song has continually evolved over the decades, confirming them as vital composers and interpreters at the forefront of a living tradition.
battlefieldband.co.uk
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📷 Photo by John Slavin
BELLEVUE RENDEZVOUS
Bellevue Rendezvous are an inventive Scottish based trio of Gavin Marwick (fiddle), Cameron Robson (cittern, jaw harp) and Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), plundering Europe for strange and interesting tunes.
bvrz.co.uk
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BENEDICT MORRIS
BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2019, Benedict Morris from Glasgow is a rising star of traditional music. Boasted for his “Virtuosity” by Irish Music Magazine and hailed “Magnificent” by Sharon Mair at BBC Scotland, Benedict is one of the finest fiddle players in the country and is already making a huge impact on the traditional music scene.
benedictmorrismusic.com
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📷 Photo by Samuel Hurt
BLAZIN’ FIDDLES
Take a group of the hottest contemporary fiddle players from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, mix with some wonderfully sympathetic piano and guitar arrangements and you’ve got the award winning Blazin’ Fiddles on your hands.
blazinfiddles.com
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📷 Photo by Sean Purser
BOB LESLIE
Edinburgh-born musician and singer Bob Leslie started out playing and writing way back in the 60s folk boom, but was “led astray” and spent the next few decades on the highly competitive London rock scene, attracting the attention of both the Kinks’ management and Chrysalis Records. Now based in Glasgow, Bob returned to full-time folk music in 2012, releasing 3 critically-acclaimed CDs, Land and Sea (2017), The Barren Fig (2019), and In Praise of Crows (2021). Reviewers have compared his work to that of Matt McGinn, Hamish Imlach, and The Corries, as well as to the great satirical songsmiths Jake Thackray and Richard Stilgoe
boblesliemusic.com
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📷 Photo by Tim Mitchell
BOREAS
Boreas are four accomplished performers who, while distinguished in their own traditional specialisms, have a passion for new and experimental forms of music. Explorers of the creative spaces between their respective musical traditions, Boreas is an entrancing musical union between Scotland and Norway. Making waves across the North Sea and beyond.
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📷 Photo by Louise Bichan
BREABACH
Securely ranked among Scotland’s most skilled and imaginative contemporary folk acts, Breabach unite deep roots in Highland and Island tradition with the innovative musical ferment of their Glasgow base. Acknowledging and respecting the origins of both the music they play and the roots of the band whilst embracing the future with new ideas, energy and belief is a key attribute of the band and has remained a constant theme throughout their 15 years.
breabach.com
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📷 Photo by Paul Jennings
BRIAN Ó HEADHRA & FIONA MACKENZIE
Based in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland, the duo Brian Ó hEadhra | Fionnag NicChoinnich perform songs from the Gaelic tradition as well as newly composed material drawing inspiration from music and cultures primarily from the North Atlantic fringe. Brian is originally from Dublin, Ireland and Fionnag from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.
brian-fionnag.com
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📷 Photo by Ró Ó hEadhra
CALA
Cala is a 6 piece trad band mainly based in Inverness. With the launch of their debut single ‘Causeway’ back in late 2020, the band has had high ambitions going forward, including the launch of a debut album in 2022. Since Causeway, Cala have evolved their sound, with lineup and stylistic changes making them the band they are today. 2021 was an exciting year for Cala as it saw them playing many festivals such as Under Canvas, Capers in Cannich and The Gathering. The band’s choice of instruments and attention to detail in arranging and writing creates Cala’s unique spin on Scottish trad – a fresh, full, and exciting sound.
calainverness.com
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CAMERON MACKAY
Cameron Mackay (He/Him) is a Glasgow-based music producer blending genres of trad folk, ambient soundtrack and electronic dance music. With a background in filmmaking, sustainability and ceilidh bands, Cameron now produces his own nature-inspired electro-folk tracks for streaming platforms, production music libraries and film soundtracks.
cameronmackay.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Christian Gamauf
THE CANNY BAND
The Canny Band, a rare fusion of piano, diatonic button accordion and bodhran, has stormed the Glasgow trad scene and gained them numerous high profile BBC TV Radio appearances and the Up and Coming Award at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Award awards in Dec 2021.
thecannyband.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Matt Marcus
CAPERCAILLIE
Capercaillie have been credited with being the major force in bringing Celtic music to the world stage, and their unique fusion of Gaelic culture and contemporary sound has always stretched boundaries in their quest to keep the music evolving.
capercaillie.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Lieve Boussauw
CATRIONA MACDONALD
Catriona Macdonald is a proud bearer of one of the greatest fiddle traditions, that of the Shetland Isles. Steeped in this tradition, Catriona Macdonald at once embodies the strength and spirit of her musical heritage and the freshness and diversity of a thoroughly modern performer. Her superb playing and charisma have established her a worldwide reputation.
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📷 Photo by Knut Utler
CATRIONA MCKAY
A fearless explorer of the Scottish harp who is widely recognised for her dynamic musicianship and innovative rhythm harp style.
catrionamckay.co.uk
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📷 Photo by Kris Kesiak
THE CHAIR
Combining a benignly hedonistic version of Viking berserker spirit with a formidable breadth of musicianship, Orcadian eight-piece The Chair deliver a turbocharged mash-up of folk, blues, rock, dub, klezmer and more. Collectively the sound bursts with the energy of a heavy rock gig—a rampant ruckus of fiddles, banjos, accordions and drums—yet remains acoustic at heart.
lovethechair.com
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CHARLIE GREY & JOSEPH PEACH
Charlie Grey and Joseph Peach make music on fiddle and piano. They are Scottish folk musicians, interested in making music filled with spontaneity, sensitivity and freedom. Inspiration comes from the past and their surroundings, feeding music that’s rooted in tradition, whilst stretching its possibilities through improvisation and imagination.
cgjpmusic.com
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📷 Photo by Peter Dibdin
CHLOE STEELE
Chloe Steele is born and bred on South Uist, one of the islands that make up the archipelago of The Hebrides. She has been constantly surrounded by music and Gaelic since she was very young. Chloe has an extreme passion for her culture and works hard at ensuring those who follow her will be inspired to protect and celebrate the strong island culture that exists on the islands. Chloe’s love for her culture began at a young age when she was given a set of pipes that once belonged to her great great Grandfather, Pipe Major John Steele – this was the beginning of Chloe’s story as a community musician.
chloesteelemusic.com
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📷 Photo by James Grieve Photography
CHRIS GRAY
Chris Gray is from Lockerbie, Scotland and is a multi-instrumentalist and composer performing on piano, highland and border pipes and whistles.
chrisgraymusic.com
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📷 Photo by Noni Carroll
CHRIS STOUT & CATRIONA MCKAY
Catriona McKay is from Dundee on the east coast of Scotland and Chris Stout is from Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands. Catriona and Chris have their roots in Scottish traditional music. They are driven to use this grounding as a starting point to challenge their instruments and to develop and explore new music. The result is a dynamic and adventurous sound that retains the identity of their traditions yet allows the music to have a freedom and connection to other musical styles they are drawn to.
mckaystoutmusic.com
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📷 Photo by Kris Kesiak
CHRISTINA STEWART
Singer, teacher, tradition bearer and musical explorer from Inverness, where the Scots and Gaelic traditions of Highland Scotland meet.
christinastewart.com
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📷 Photo by Simon Riddell
CHRISTINE KYDD
“A singer of grace and generosity, and a commanding soloist”, Christine Kydd is both a leading singer of traditional and contemporary Scottish songs and popular music educator, working to bring song to the heart of communities. Influenced by so many contemporary writers, traditionalists, including the great Traveller singers, she sings both unaccompanied and with guitar (piano when available), she is also invited to sing at festivals as tradition bearer. Christine has twice been nominated as Scots Singer of the Year. She now is an inductee of the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
christinekydd.com
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📷 Photo by Louise Kerr of Hamilton Kerr
CIARAN RYAN
Ciaran is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Brechin in the North East of Scotland. He is now based in Edinburgh and is hugely in demand as a performer and recording artist. He is most known for his work with Dallahan of which he co-founded in 2013 with singer/guitarist Jack Badcock and fiddle player Jani Lang.
ciaranryanmusic.com
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📷 Photo by Louis DeCarlo
CLAIRE GULLAN
Claire Gullan is a musician involved in Scottish ceilidh music. She is a music educator and podcaster living in Glasgow, Scotland. Claire was a nominee in the Music Tutor of the Year category at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards, and her online virtual Hands Up For Trad Strathspey and Reel orchestra was nominated in Community Project of the Year 2020.
clairegullanmusic.co.uk
📷 Photo by Paul Jennings
CLAIRE HASTINGS
Claire Hastings is a Scottish folksinger, songwriter and ukulele player based in Glasgow. In 2015 she earned the prestigious title of BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year, and has since made a name for herself on the folk scene with her ‘natural, effortless Scots voice.’ (FRUK)
clairehastings.com
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📷 Photo by Point in Time Photography
CONOR MARKEY
Conor Markey is a singer, guitarist, tenor banjo and bouzouki player from Glasgow. He is best-known for playing with the Paul McKenna Band and is now releasing solo material as well.
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📷 Photo by Martin Forry
CORRINA HEWAT
Corrina Hewat is a Scottish singer and harper, composer, educator, director, big thinker. Widely regarded as one of Scotland’s most original musicians, she has been involved with a huge variety of bands and projects over the last 25 years.
corrinahewat.com
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📷 Photo by Sean Purser
SCOTLAND ONLINE 