Biogs

John McCusker

One of Scotland's most gifted and versatile musicians in any genre, John McCusker is equally in demand as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer. Born in Bellshill, near Glasgow, he began playing whistle and fiddle as a child, and joined the legendary folk outfit Battlefield Band aged 17.

Ian Carr

A highly original virtuoso guitarist, producer and composer, Ian Carr's syncopated style is an inspiration to aspiring accompanists and keeps him in demand as a session musician and performer.

Jim Causley

Jim is a young singer/musician from Devon who performs an exciting mixture of traditional and contemporary songs including many of his own compositions. He performs solo and also with Emily Portman & Lauren McCormick in a trio called The Devil's Interval who also tour and record with Waterson:Carthy.

Julie Fowlis

Julie grew up in North Uist, a small island in the Outer Hebrides. She is the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 and in a few short years has taken the music scene by storm, gathering a small army of fans around the world including an impressive list of celebrities including Mark Radcliffe, KT Tunstall plus Ricky Gervais and Philip Selway from Radiohead.

James Mackintosh

Hailing from the Scottish Highlands, James is widely recognised today as one of the most innovative drummers to have graced the scene in many a long year. A former member of Scottish band Swamptrash, he honed his skills in the ever-livelier melting-pot of Edinburgh's session scene, before applying them to building and splicing the deliriously danceable grooves underpinning Shooglenifty's sound.

Iain Macdonald

Iain MacDonald was born and brought up in Glen Uig in a Gaelic-speaking family. Iain is widely regarded as one of the best Highland pipers and traditional flautists in the world. In addition to being in demand as a producer and teacher, he played and recorded for many years with Ossian and the Battlefield Band, two of Scotland's foremost traditional groups.

Roddy Woomble

Roddy Woomble was born in Ayrshire in 1976. During his childhood he and his family moved about frequently, living in France, England, and America before settling in the Scottish coastal town of Carnoustie, where Roddy spent his teenage years before moving, to Edinburgh to study Photography.

Emma Reid

Emma Reid was brought up in the north-east of England and started playing the fiddle at the age of three with her Swedish mother. At eighteen she moved to Stockholm to study Swedish folk music performance graduating in November 2003. Since then Emma has completed a Masters degree in Music at Newcastle University.

Ewen Vernal

Born in 1964 in Glasgow Scotland to a musical family, Ewen began taking piano lessons at 8 years old � inspired by a Beatles-singing mother and a choir-leading, saxophone-playing father! Singing competitions and local talent contests followed, but it was not until his teenage years that the seductive shape and sound of the bass guitar soon became the focus of Ewens' musical aspirations.

Graham Coxon

Graham Coxon was born on March 12 1969 near Hanover in the old West Germany. The guitarist, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter initially came to prominence as the guitarist in the rock band Blur. His artistic and musical contribution is prominently featured on the band's first six albums, from 1991's Leisure to 1999's 13. The latter's cover was also designed by Coxon.

Andy Cutting

Andy Cutting is one of the world's definitive diatonic button accordion players, whose style inspires musicians all over Europe. He came to prominence with the innovative band Blowzabella, formed a highly influential partnership with singer/fiddler/guitarist Chris Wood and was a member of Welsh band Fernhill.

John Tams

John Tams described by Mojo as "one of the ultimate British songwriters" has had a career spanning four decades in every medium. A member of the Albion Band and Home Service he is perhaps best known for his work at the National Theatre and as Rifleman Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe television series. He is a five times winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.