Albannach
Heart
pounding drums and ancient strains from Highland Pipes will stir your
heart for the Highlands and the smell of heather. Not just another
Scottish 'Pipes & Drums' band, Albannach brings a new and exciting form
of percussion and Celtic music and includes a championship winning
piper, an extremely talented main drummer, bass drummers and bodhran
musicians.
In an Amazon.com review, M. Wolf posts, “This band will have the blood rollicking through your veins! The drumming will wake up something primitive you forgot you had. Their music will grab you, enthrall you, excite you, lull you, haunt you...get in touch with your wild side…”
Albannach is Scots-Gaelic for "Scottish" or "Scotsman." The members of Albannach were all born and bred in Scotland and says, “…our purpose in life is to share our intriguing culture, history and heritage with you by means of our music. It is exciting, energetic and enchanting and we promise to leave you begging for more.”
www.albannachmusic.com www.myspace.com/albannachmusic
Brian McNeill
Now
in his 40th year of a career that has established him as one
of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Brian has been described
as “Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter” (The Scotsman);
add to that his work and influence as performer, composer, producer,
teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of
Scotland’s past, present and future and you have a man who has never
stood still. He has performed around the globe, both as a soloist and
with some of the era’s most influential bands, including Battlefield
Band and Clan Alba.
Brian was born in 1950 in Falkirk and began his musical training in his early teens with violin lessons, but soon forsook that for the electric guitar. There followed a comprehensive musical education and mildly misspent youth - until his student years brought him to Celtic music. As a direct consequence, in 1969 he formed the Battlefield Band, which became one of Scotland's best known ensembles. Brian plays fiddle, octave fiddle, guitar, mandocello, bouzouki, viola, mandolin, cittern, concertina, bass and hurdy gurdy.
www.brianmcneill.co.uk www.myspace.com/brianmcneill
ED MILLER
A native of Edinburgh,
Scotland, now living in Austin, Texas, Ed Miller is a product of the
1960s folk revival in Scotland. He moved to the United States in 1968 to
complete his graduate work in Geography, and later Folklore, at the
University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his singing career, Ed
is the host of a folk music program on Austin’s NPR station, KUT-FM.
Ed Miller is a performer who has learned his craft in musical venues on
both sides of the Atlantic.... and a folklorist who brings his love of
Scotland to every performance.
“Ed is a wonderful example of the vocal tradition that means so much to the Celtic heritage and history. His wonderful voice as well as his treatment of the old and new folksongs (many of which he has authored himself) is inspiring to those who love the music. And while he takes the music very seriously, his humor and wit make his performances all the more inviting.” – Don Hutchison, as posted on cdbaby.com.
www.songsofscotland.com www.celticmp3s.com/bands/ed_miller/
Gary Innes
Born in 1980, Gary Innes
is from Spean Bridge in the Highlands of Scotland and has been playing
music professionally since 2003. He released his first album "How's the
Craic" in 2005 under the Skipinnish label and has since has started his
own record label PDP (Purple Dougal Production) with best friend and
co-owner Ewan Robertson. The boys released their own album" Shouts" in
April 2009 which has been featured on radio stations worldwide and was
BBC Radio nan Gaidheal's album of the month in May ‘09.
Gary has traveled the world with some amazing tales of tours and travel. He is recognized as one of Scotland’s finest young accordion players and has appeared in America, China, Kazakhstan and Europe. A highlight was his performance at a World Peace concert in Amman, Jordan for the Royal Family. Gary has been a part of Scots legendary “Runrig” and appears on the cover of their 2007 album “Everything You See.” He currently plays in Scotland’s widely demanded super group “Box Club.”
Outside of music Gary is a Scottish Internationalist at Shinty and plays for Camanachd Cup champions Fort William. He holds every senior medal in Shinty and when not competing, does live match commentary for the BBC. Gary is also a Firefighter with Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue and a First Responder with the Scottish Ambulance Service. At anytime you could be enjoying his music onstage or happy he’s come to help you out of trouble.
"Gary Innes is the latest in a line of young box players hailing from the Lochaber area. His 'locomotive' style has been wooing audiences up and down the country and he…will blow your socks off!" - Dougie Hunter, as posted on musicscotland.com.
www.garyinnes.com www.myspace.com/garyinnes
Jil
Chambless
Lead Vocals / Flute / Whistles
Jil Chambless is without a
doubt one of America's top Celtic music vocalist and musicians. A native
of Montgomery, Alabama, Jil was first introduced to Celtic music in the
1980's when she met the Tuscaloosa-based band, Henri's Notions. The
rest is history.
As the vocalist with Henri’s Notions, Jil has completed four recording projects and performed nationally at concerts and festivals. Jil has just released her long awaited solo CD, "The Ladies Go Dancing," produced by the legendary Brian McNeill.
"Little did I ever think that one of the best singers of Scots and Irish songs I know would hail from Tuscaloosa, Alabama., but that is the case with Jil Chambless.” - Ed Miller
www.henrisnotions.com www.myspace.com/jilchambless
Scooter Muse
Guitars / Five String Banjo
With roots in Bluegrass
Music, Scooter has been privileged to win eight State of Alabama &
Tennessee Valley Championship titles for 5 String and Old Time Banjo.
Scooter began to tap into the incredible world of Celtic Music about 25
years ago. After learning a flood of traditional jigs and reels on the
banjo he began to explore the Celtic domain of open tunings for the
guitar, and from was founder and leader of one of the country's finest
Celtic bands,
The Full Moon
Ensemble. After the FME went their separate ways in 2002,
Scooter was proud to join Henri's Notions after being a big fan of the
band for many years!
Scooter has released his first solo guitar CD "Saddell Abbey." The CD includes 12 original compositions for acoustic guitar including music set to the poetry of Robert Burns, and three songs by the Full Moon Ensemble's Allison King and Jil Chambless of Henri's Notions.
”His talents as musician and composer/arranger have been an important part of the success both bands have enjoyed to date. But now, with the release of his first solo recording, Muse's own music shares much of his journey on the Celtic music road. Saddell Abbey has all the earmarks of a project that has been a long time coming.” - Paige Smith, Celtic Alabama News
www.myspace.com/scootermuse www.henrisnotions.com
John Taylor
Originally
from North-East Scotland, John has lived in San Jose, California for
over 30 years, and during that time has become one of the most
popular Scottish fiddlers in the US. In addition to solo work, he
has played with various bands over the years and currently leads a
band called “Hamewith” (which means “homewards” in the Scots
dialect). He also plays regularly for Scottish Country Dancing and
has recorded albums with Andy Imbrie and with the dance band
“Fiddlesticks and Ivory.” He has played for dance tours in Scotland
and New Zealand, and regularly plays for dances and dance workshops
throughout the US and Canada. He can also often be seen and heard
accompanying singer Ed Miller or the Scots/Irish duo "Men of Worth."
In 2001, he released his first solo album "After the Dance," produced by Scottish folk music icon Brian McNeill and featuring John with backup from Brian, Ed, Rich Brotherton, Lawrence Drummond and John’s son Stuart and daughter Lesley. It includes a wide variety of airs, marches, jigs, reels and strathspeys, both old and new, and is topped off by a couple of fiddle-related songs from Ed. John’s latest album “The Road Ahead” was again produced by Brian and features an exciting mix of material - including John’s first recorded vocal – and backup by Brian, along with members of Hamewith and John’s family.
John says of his musical beginnings, “I was born in Aberdeen. The milk was delivered every morning by horse and cart. The vegetable man came later in the day with HIS horse and cart and we got to feed sugar lumps to the horse. The “scaffie” had a little maroon and cream hand cart that he walked around with, sweeping the streets. I used to get a ride to and from school on the handlebars of my father’s bike. The beach was freezing, but we went anyway. There were “allotments” at the end of the street and we used to pinch red gooseberries through the fence. I can’t remember the last time I had a gooseberry. We had an attic in our house, and Auntie Dorothy and Uncle George lived there for a while. I learned to ride Neilly Anderson’s bike and dreamed about getting a “Palm Beach Tourer” with butterfly handlebars. What I got was my Uncle Charlie’s old bike with wood blocks on the pedals so I could reach them. When I was 7 or 8 years old, my Mum and Dad asked me if I would like to play a musical instrument. I was really excited – this was great. I said ‘Yes, a trombone!!!!’ They bought me a fiddle.”
Stirling Bridge
Rockin’
the Celts – Carolina Style! Stirling Bridge blends classic bagpipe
sounds with hard-driving Carolina rock 'n' roll. These four seasoned,
professional musicians bring the party with a good-time, foot-stompin'
Celtic rock show.
Stirling Bridge is comprised of musicians known individually or from other combined efforts such as Thistledown Tinkers and Cattletruck - Trip Rogers (Guitar, Vocals), Tom Eure (Bass, Vocals), Andrea Jones (Highland Bagpipes, Small Pipes) and Gene Mackall (Drums).
Thistledown Tinkers
Thistledown
Tinkers, the powerful Celtic music duo featuring Trip Rogers and Tom
Eure, make music that forces folks to stand up and take notice. This is
not the fragile, romanticized Celtic music you hear in movie
soundtracks, but the kind that makes you sing along and stomp your feet.
These seasoned music veterans from NC weave traditional Scottish and Irish music with original creations while adding a southern swagger that sets the stage on fire. With an impressive arsenal of instruments including guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, and concertina, musicianship is at the core of Thistledown Tinkers. Their stage presence creates a rebel rousing party that not only draws fans in, but makes them feel like a part of the show.
Thistledown Tinkers deliver the beauty and tradition of Celtic music, new and old, with the guts, showmanship, and attitude of an arena rock band. You will find them wherever kinsmen are gathered and the craic is lively!
