2022 - 23 Season
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
The Club held its first meeting of the 2022/2023 season on Sunday 13th November and enjoyed a strong turnout of players and listeners alike. On accordion, we had George Syme, Newby Park, Calum Gardiner, Davie Miller, Jim Gold, Emily Gold, Fiona Paul, Andrea Balderson, Gus Lowrie, Scott Wilson, Alan Gardiner, Lucy McLaren, Roy Anderson, Jake Johnstone, Kenny Johnstone, John Weaks and Duncan Hutchison. Sarah Wilson and Chloe Johnstone played fiddle with Jim Gold, Fiona Paul and Jenna Johnstone on keyboard, Tom Hope, Ross Anderson and Ruari Johnstone on drums and Marshall Harkness on mouth organ. Our guest artists for the afternoon were the David Kennedy Scottish Dance Band comprising David on lead accordion, Adam Gibb on second accordion, Tom Gold on fiddle, Stevie Todd on piano and Andrew Gibb on drums. The band treated us a to a superb afternoon’s entertainment, showcasing traditional music at its finest. We are back next month on Sunday 11th December at the usual venue of Biggar Bowling Club at 2pm for a Club afternoon featuring Shelley Gold. Hope to see you all there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Biggar held its December meeting on Sunday 11th amid three inches of snow at Biggar Bowling Club with Shelley (Clark) Gold and Friends as guests. Local entertainers present were accordionists Fin Hope, Alan and Calum Gardiner, first timer player James Watson, Andrew and Adam Gibb, George Syme, Charlie Todd, Fiona Paul, Marshall Harkness and Sheena Dickson. On fiddle was Emma Gardiner and on keyboard Fiona Paul, Alan Gardiner and Keith Dickson. Drummers were Andrew Gibb and Tom Hope. We were also delighted to have the entire Johnstone family from Crawfordjohn present with dad Kenny and eldest son Jake on accordions, daughters Chloe and Jenna on fiddle and keyboard, youngest son Ruaridh on drums and mum Lorna on vocals.
As guests we were delighted to welcome vocalist Shelley Gold backed by husband Jim on fiddle, David Kennedy on accordion, Stevie Todd on keyboard and Ross Anderson on cajon and percussion. The group did two spots, featuring both traditional and contemporary material, which were well received.
We next meet in Biggar Bowling Club on Sunday, 11th January at 2pm and look forward to seeing you there. Our guests will be Fife accordionists Nicola Braid & Gordon Haddow backed by keyboard player Bill Ewan and drummer Kevin Milne. Nicola and Gordon are two very talented players who came to prominence with their on-line appearances during Lockdown.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Biggar Club met on Sunday, 8th January 2023 to welcome in the New Year with local guest artistes the Frank Morrison SDB from Law Village. But before that we welcomed our local players, namely accordionists Marshall Harkness, Fiona Paul, George Syme, Calum Gardiner, Derek Edmund, Scott Wilson, Allan Smith, Jake Johnstone, Elizabeth Morrison, Sheena Dickson and Charlie Todd. On fiddle were Gilbert Logan, Emma Gardiner, Sarah Wilson and Chloe Johnstone. On keyboard Fiona Paul and Alex Graham and on drums Tom Hope, Gordon Young and Ruaridh Johnstone. Our thanks to them all for setting the scene for the afternoon.
Our guests were no strangers to the local Club scene with Frank Morrison on lead accordion, Cal Smith on second box, Alex Graham on keyboard and Billy Goodfellow on drums. Frank always plays a varied and interesting programme with not only Scottish numbers but unusual Continental ones from places like Slovenia as a contrast. In the first half he used the Jim Johnstone composition Peter Rae’s Jig, played in various tempos, as a tribute to our local stalwart Club supporter who passed away recently, and in the second half he played Standard of the Gael in memory of Borders legend Roger Dobson.
Our next meeting is on Sunday, 12th February at 2pm at Biggar Bowling Club when the guest will be those three marvellous youngsters from Dunfermline, The Shand Family. Hope to see you there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Sunday, 12th February at Biggar Bowling Club and there wasn’t a spare seat to be found to listen to our guests The Shands, a very talented family band from Dunfermline.
But first we had a wealth of local, and not so local talent, namely accordionists Alistair Adamson, Keith Dickson, John Elliot, Alan and Calum Gardiner, Ian Graham, Joan Kirk and Mungo Riddell (from Morpeth), Gus Lowrie, Lucy McLaren, George McLarty, Nicky McMichan, Newby Park, George Syme, Robin Waitt, Jamie Webster and Scott Wilson. On fiddle were Islay Cathcart and Sarah Wilson. Keyboard players were Stuart Adamson, Keith Dickson, Alan Gardiner, Jim Gold and Fiona Paul and on drums Liam Forrest, Andrew Gibb Tom Hope, Nicky McMichan and Charlie Todd. Willie Little gave us a few tunes on the whistle. Thanks to several local musicians who stood down (due to the large number of supporting players) and to the ladies who provided the home baking for the half-time buffet.
The Shands consist of brothers Clelland and Inver Shand on accordions, sister Blythe on keyboard plus Gordon Smith from Gullane on drums. Inver (14) is the current All-Scotland Junior Accordion Champion and brother Clelland (17) is the current All-Scotland Senior Accordion Champion. The band played a varied programme which featured Scottish and Irish favourites such as The Shetland Two Step and The Plough and the Stars interspersed by Classical and Continental tracks including Hungarian Dance No.5 and La Sorciere as well as a lively finale piece called Punching Ball which rounded off a fine performance.
Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, 12th March at 2pm in Biggar Bowling Club when the guests will be the John Burns Ceilidh Band from Kilsyth. We look forward to seeing you there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
The Club met in the Biggar Bowling Club on Sunday 12th March to be entertained by the John Burns Ceilidh Band from Kilsyth. But before that we had the usual wealth of local talent on stage. On accordions were Fiona Paul, Newby Park, Jim Gold, Alan and Calum Gardiner, Jamie Webster, Yvonne Stewart, Marshall Harkness, Marshall Harkness, George Syme, David Millar, Scott Wilson and Charlie Todd. On fiddle were Emma Gardiner, Gilbert Logan and Sarah Wilson. Providing backing were keyboard players Fiona Paul, Jim Gold and Alan Gardiner and on drums were Andrew Barrie and Charlie Todd.
Our guest band was led by accordionist John Burns with brothers Gary and Alan Sutherland on second accordion and drums and Craig Paton on keyboard. John, Gary and Craig are all former Senior Scottish Accordion Champions at Perth Festival and the playing was tremendous. John is also a talented composer and the varied programme was interspersed with his own compositions. The band gave us a varied programme of tempos including a Continental waltz.
One of our regular local accordionists, Fin Hope, was missing as he was representing Biggar Rotary Club at the Young Musician Competition (South Scotland Area Final) at Heriot Watt University. Fin recently won the Tigh na Gorm Cup (Junior 6/8 Pipe March Solo) at the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Club’s annual festival held in Grangemouth Town Hall and he played drums with Biggar Accordion and Fiddle Club’s group who won the Banchory Trophy at this event. Congratulations to our group and to other local solo NAAFC Festival trophy winners Alistair Adamson, Calum Gardiner, Chloe Johnstone, Jake Johnstone and Lucy McLaren.
Our last meeting of the season will be held at the usual venue, Biggar B.C. on Sunday 9th April at 2pm when our guests will be Steven Carcary and Malcolm Ross from Bridge of Earn. We look forward to seeing you there.
The Club held its first meeting of the 2022/2023 season on Sunday 13th November and enjoyed a strong turnout of players and listeners alike. On accordion, we had George Syme, Newby Park, Calum Gardiner, Davie Miller, Jim Gold, Emily Gold, Fiona Paul, Andrea Balderson, Gus Lowrie, Scott Wilson, Alan Gardiner, Lucy McLaren, Roy Anderson, Jake Johnstone, Kenny Johnstone, John Weaks and Duncan Hutchison. Sarah Wilson and Chloe Johnstone played fiddle with Jim Gold, Fiona Paul and Jenna Johnstone on keyboard, Tom Hope, Ross Anderson and Ruari Johnstone on drums and Marshall Harkness on mouth organ. Our guest artists for the afternoon were the David Kennedy Scottish Dance Band comprising David on lead accordion, Adam Gibb on second accordion, Tom Gold on fiddle, Stevie Todd on piano and Andrew Gibb on drums. The band treated us a to a superb afternoon’s entertainment, showcasing traditional music at its finest. We are back next month on Sunday 11th December at the usual venue of Biggar Bowling Club at 2pm for a Club afternoon featuring Shelley Gold. Hope to see you all there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Biggar held its December meeting on Sunday 11th amid three inches of snow at Biggar Bowling Club with Shelley (Clark) Gold and Friends as guests. Local entertainers present were accordionists Fin Hope, Alan and Calum Gardiner, first timer player James Watson, Andrew and Adam Gibb, George Syme, Charlie Todd, Fiona Paul, Marshall Harkness and Sheena Dickson. On fiddle was Emma Gardiner and on keyboard Fiona Paul, Alan Gardiner and Keith Dickson. Drummers were Andrew Gibb and Tom Hope. We were also delighted to have the entire Johnstone family from Crawfordjohn present with dad Kenny and eldest son Jake on accordions, daughters Chloe and Jenna on fiddle and keyboard, youngest son Ruaridh on drums and mum Lorna on vocals.
As guests we were delighted to welcome vocalist Shelley Gold backed by husband Jim on fiddle, David Kennedy on accordion, Stevie Todd on keyboard and Ross Anderson on cajon and percussion. The group did two spots, featuring both traditional and contemporary material, which were well received.
We next meet in Biggar Bowling Club on Sunday, 11th January at 2pm and look forward to seeing you there. Our guests will be Fife accordionists Nicola Braid & Gordon Haddow backed by keyboard player Bill Ewan and drummer Kevin Milne. Nicola and Gordon are two very talented players who came to prominence with their on-line appearances during Lockdown.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Biggar Club met on Sunday, 8th January 2023 to welcome in the New Year with local guest artistes the Frank Morrison SDB from Law Village. But before that we welcomed our local players, namely accordionists Marshall Harkness, Fiona Paul, George Syme, Calum Gardiner, Derek Edmund, Scott Wilson, Allan Smith, Jake Johnstone, Elizabeth Morrison, Sheena Dickson and Charlie Todd. On fiddle were Gilbert Logan, Emma Gardiner, Sarah Wilson and Chloe Johnstone. On keyboard Fiona Paul and Alex Graham and on drums Tom Hope, Gordon Young and Ruaridh Johnstone. Our thanks to them all for setting the scene for the afternoon.
Our guests were no strangers to the local Club scene with Frank Morrison on lead accordion, Cal Smith on second box, Alex Graham on keyboard and Billy Goodfellow on drums. Frank always plays a varied and interesting programme with not only Scottish numbers but unusual Continental ones from places like Slovenia as a contrast. In the first half he used the Jim Johnstone composition Peter Rae’s Jig, played in various tempos, as a tribute to our local stalwart Club supporter who passed away recently, and in the second half he played Standard of the Gael in memory of Borders legend Roger Dobson.
Our next meeting is on Sunday, 12th February at 2pm at Biggar Bowling Club when the guest will be those three marvellous youngsters from Dunfermline, The Shand Family. Hope to see you there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
Sunday, 12th February at Biggar Bowling Club and there wasn’t a spare seat to be found to listen to our guests The Shands, a very talented family band from Dunfermline.
But first we had a wealth of local, and not so local talent, namely accordionists Alistair Adamson, Keith Dickson, John Elliot, Alan and Calum Gardiner, Ian Graham, Joan Kirk and Mungo Riddell (from Morpeth), Gus Lowrie, Lucy McLaren, George McLarty, Nicky McMichan, Newby Park, George Syme, Robin Waitt, Jamie Webster and Scott Wilson. On fiddle were Islay Cathcart and Sarah Wilson. Keyboard players were Stuart Adamson, Keith Dickson, Alan Gardiner, Jim Gold and Fiona Paul and on drums Liam Forrest, Andrew Gibb Tom Hope, Nicky McMichan and Charlie Todd. Willie Little gave us a few tunes on the whistle. Thanks to several local musicians who stood down (due to the large number of supporting players) and to the ladies who provided the home baking for the half-time buffet.
The Shands consist of brothers Clelland and Inver Shand on accordions, sister Blythe on keyboard plus Gordon Smith from Gullane on drums. Inver (14) is the current All-Scotland Junior Accordion Champion and brother Clelland (17) is the current All-Scotland Senior Accordion Champion. The band played a varied programme which featured Scottish and Irish favourites such as The Shetland Two Step and The Plough and the Stars interspersed by Classical and Continental tracks including Hungarian Dance No.5 and La Sorciere as well as a lively finale piece called Punching Ball which rounded off a fine performance.
Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, 12th March at 2pm in Biggar Bowling Club when the guests will be the John Burns Ceilidh Band from Kilsyth. We look forward to seeing you there.
Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club
The Club met in the Biggar Bowling Club on Sunday 12th March to be entertained by the John Burns Ceilidh Band from Kilsyth. But before that we had the usual wealth of local talent on stage. On accordions were Fiona Paul, Newby Park, Jim Gold, Alan and Calum Gardiner, Jamie Webster, Yvonne Stewart, Marshall Harkness, Marshall Harkness, George Syme, David Millar, Scott Wilson and Charlie Todd. On fiddle were Emma Gardiner, Gilbert Logan and Sarah Wilson. Providing backing were keyboard players Fiona Paul, Jim Gold and Alan Gardiner and on drums were Andrew Barrie and Charlie Todd.
Our guest band was led by accordionist John Burns with brothers Gary and Alan Sutherland on second accordion and drums and Craig Paton on keyboard. John, Gary and Craig are all former Senior Scottish Accordion Champions at Perth Festival and the playing was tremendous. John is also a talented composer and the varied programme was interspersed with his own compositions. The band gave us a varied programme of tempos including a Continental waltz.
One of our regular local accordionists, Fin Hope, was missing as he was representing Biggar Rotary Club at the Young Musician Competition (South Scotland Area Final) at Heriot Watt University. Fin recently won the Tigh na Gorm Cup (Junior 6/8 Pipe March Solo) at the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Club’s annual festival held in Grangemouth Town Hall and he played drums with Biggar Accordion and Fiddle Club’s group who won the Banchory Trophy at this event. Congratulations to our group and to other local solo NAAFC Festival trophy winners Alistair Adamson, Calum Gardiner, Chloe Johnstone, Jake Johnstone and Lucy McLaren.
Our last meeting of the season will be held at the usual venue, Biggar B.C. on Sunday 9th April at 2pm when our guests will be Steven Carcary and Malcolm Ross from Bridge of Earn. We look forward to seeing you there.