The Band

  • Finlay MacDonald

    Finlay began learning Highland bagpipes at the age of ten. He was taught first by his father, Pipe Major Iain MacDonald of the Neilston Pipe Band, and latterly by Duncan Johnstone and Pipe Major Angus MacDonald.

    As one of the first ten Students on the BA Scottish Music Course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he studied Highland Bagpipes with Allan MacDonald of Glenuig and Traditional Flute with Dougie Pincock (of the Battlefield Band.) In his Final Year at the Academy Finlay specialised in Composition and Performance, ultimately graduating in 1999. With the Neilston and District Pipe Band he has played at festivals conferences and other major events all over the world including: Scandinavia, Europe, Japan and China.

    Finlay has more than one string to his bow and has played and acted in the famous award-winning Scottish Theatre Production ‘The Big Picnic’, and in the summer of 1999, he landed a part in Robert Duvall’s film ‘The Cup’ where he worked alongside Mr Duvall and Micheal Keaton.

    Finlay has played with some of Britain’s top folk bands Deaf Shepherd , Old Blind Dogs, The Unusual Suspects, La Banda Europa, Scottish Power pipe band and Celtic Feet. His experience of working with other artists extended even to orchestrated work when he performed as the solo piper in William Jackson’s piece ‘The Orkney Wedding’ and with the Neilston and District Pipe Band in Sean Davy’s ‘The Pilgrim’ and ‘The Relief of Derry’.

    Finlay’s first solo album was released in 2000 to great critical acclaim, from then on the Finlay MacDonald Band were formed. The full line up is Finlay on pipes and whistles, Kevin MacKenzie on Guitar, Chris Stout on fiddle, John Speirs on Bass and Fergus MacKenzie on Drums. From the outset, this band were combining virtuosic tune playing with equally creative and energised arrangements.

    The Finlay MacDonald Band have two albums, the first “pressed for time” was the documentation of the way the band had grown into one of he top festival bands on the traditional/Scottish Scene. Touring has always been an importand part of the band’s development . With continued success in Spain, Italy, USA, Scandinavia and the UK, the band had enough material to record the second Album “ReEcho” which was released in 2007 on the leading Scottish Label Greentrax. This album shows how the band have developed and really created a full and unique sound.

    Some of the highlights have been playing at Glasgow and Aberdeen Hogmany events infront of 20,000 people, T.V and radio performances throught Europe, Tartan Week in New York, Celtic Connections and numerous tours and performances throught Europe. In 2006, The Finlay MacDonald band were nominated in the best live act catagory in the Scottish Traditional music awards and the ReEcho album in in the Greentrax top 20 albums.

    The band continue to develop the sound they have become known for which culminates in enthraling live shows full of improvising, great tune playing and an energy which gets you moving.

  • Chris Stout

    Chris Stout’s family come from Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Isles, and he lived there till 1984 when he was eight years of age, and it was during those years that he started to acquire his love and deep knowledge of the Shetland fiddle tradition first becoming aware of the fiddle at the age of three. His family then moved to the South Mainland of Shetland and he lived and was educated there, until his last three years at school which he spent at the music school of Douglas Academy in Glasgow. Throughout these formative years he combined playing classical music at a high standard with traditional music, playing initially at home with his father who plays accordion, and later with other young musicians who were mainly fiddle players and were given the name Fiddlers’ Bid. His ability to play both traditional and classical music led to a memorable achievement in 1990 when Chris won both Shetland’s ‘Young Fiddler of the Year’ and Shetland’s ‘Young Musician of the Year’ competitions.

    After that he spent five years at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama graduating after three years not in traditional music, but with a degree in classical violin. His remarkable technical ability on the instrument, which enables him at all times to express with passion and precision exactly what he wants to convey, dates from those years. He had also developed a keen interest in electro-acoustic music and spent a postgraduate year studying this followed by a Masters Degree in the same topic. Indeed one of his first compositions combined this interest with his other major love, traditional music. Shetland Dawn combined traditional Shetland music with bird song. Another of his electro-acoustic pieces was written in 2002 for saxophonist Phil Bancroft and performed on a UK tour titled ‘Double Helix’.

    A BBC commission for fiddle and orchestra, ‘Dynröst’ was performed by Chris, members of his Quintet and the BBC Scotttish Symphony Orchestra in the City Halls as part of a concert at the Celtic Connections Festival in 2007. The new album has two tunes on it which formed part of that commission and have been re-arranged for the quintet: the title track ‘Devils Advocate’ and a slow air called ‘Dynröst’.

    Chris is an energetic musician who thrives on varying challenges. As well as his quintet he is a founder member of Shetland band Fiddlers Bid and has performed with groups such as the Finlay MacDonald Band, Salsa Celtica, John Rae’s Celtic Feet, Colin Steele’s Stramash, and the Graham Stephens Sextet, the last three of these bands somewhat closer to jazz than traditional acoustic music.

    Chris is fascinated by the way different cultures approach music. He was involved in the Orquestra Scotland Brasil 2003 collaboration and has appeared frequently in Japan with Catriona McKay. He has worked extensively with Susanne Lundeng of Norway, a collaboration that is often re-visited.

  • John Speirs

    John Paul Speirs is currently playing electric bass with the Finlay MacDonald band, Adele Sande, The Everything Treatment and the Michael Deans Quintet. He is also aiming to release an album of his own left field compositions next year. His sub-underground smash “Top Dog” was recently released on touchtones 3, a compilation on the Tummy Touch label. His music has taken him to Georgia, Morroco, Europe and the U.S.

    John Paul Speirs began playing bass and guitar at 14 and quickly started a band. Writing and recording through school, he hit Glasgow with inde funk juniors ‘Tempus Fugit’ who broadcast on Radio Scotland from King Tut’s in 94. Around this time John Paul Speirs began his apprenticeship in “time” with jazz drummer Iain Copeland (Peat Bog Faeries) in acts such as Dissentangoed, The Chick Lyall Quintet and Swirler, featuring Kevin MacKenzie and Julian Arguilles, who supported, amoungst others, The Jazz Crusaders and Steve Williamson. In 1996 John Paul Speirs recieved an “Outstanding Musicianship” award while attending the Berkeley in Glasgow jazz course. Over the past ten years he has been a journeyman with many acts in the jazz, soul, funk and folk vein including The Fred Quimby Quartet, Sassafrass, Chong, Kaching (the swindle continues), Graham Wilson quartet, Promise, Bachue Big Band, Sunhoney, The Hi Heeled Sneakers, Adam Sutherland Band, Soap, Rev Doc and the Congregation, Rapido Mariachi, Speedway, and Hue and Cry. John Speirs has also written and produced music for Scottish Natural Heritage and other environmental education projects. John Paul Speirs also teaches bass guitar.

  • Kevin MacKenzie

    Kevin has been working in jazz for many years having started with the John Rae Collective and Tom Bancroft Orchestra he also works with Trio AAB The Scottish Guitar Quartet and his own projects. He has Lived in New York and London.

    His groups have been featured along side guitarist Robben Fords power trio, Bob Berg and Mike Stern, the Crusaders and Seminal Jazz figure Ornette Coleman.

    In 2001 Kevin received the prestigious ‘Creative Scotland Award’, which he used to write and record music for his nine-piece band ‘Kevin Mackenzie’s Vital Signs’. The CD was well received and gathered great reviews including album of the month in The Observer and CD of the week in The Guardian.

    Some musicians he has performed with include Boris Kozlov, Pete King, Benny Carter, Kenny Wheeler, Tommy Smith, Joe Locke, Bobby Wellins, Jim Mullen, David Berkman, Reid Anderson, Ari Hoenig ,Pettre Wettre and many others.

    In Traditional Music Kevin has performed and recorded with many musicians including Jenna Reid, Alyth McCormack, John McCusker, Fiddlers Bid, Marie Fielding, Maggie Macinness, Sunhoney, Finlay Macdonald Band, Keep It Up, Karen Tweed, Brian Finegan, Gino Lupari and many Others.

  • Fergus MacKenzie

    Born in Edinburgh, Fergus Mackenzie began playing the keyboard at the age of 8. He progressed to level 6 while taking lessons on the Electric Organ, but, he was more interested in synthesizers and recording.

    Fergus began recording his own style of music at the age of 17 when he bought his first 4-track cassette recorder.

    This music was very much experimental and he taught himself about recording and production techniques.

    His first album in 1995 (Exhibit A, Iona Records) was with Concertina virtuoso, Simon Thoumire and the combination of Fergus’s home grown sound and Simon’s contemporary Scottish tune playing produced a highly respected album that broke new ground in the Traditional Scottish music scene.

    He became involved in Edinburgh’s thriving music scene and began playing percussion in many of the local Traditional Music “Sessions”.

    Fergus, borrowed his first drum kit in 1996 when he was 25 years of age. Teaching himself to play, he quickly formed his first band (Chroma) and they gained a residency at an Edinburgh Jazz club.

    His next album in 2002 (Sunhoney, November, Vertical Records) was collaboration with Aidan O’Rourke. Sunhoney performed throughout Scotland and England in 2002 and 2003.

    Fergus joined the Finlay MacDonald Band in 2003 and they recorded a new album (Pressed for Time, Foot Stomping Records).

    The Finlay MacDonald band is in demand in the UK, Europe and the USA. They are currently recording their second album in 2007 on the Greentrax label.

    Fergus has embarked on a new collaboration in 2007/2008 with Glaswegian singer songwriter David McNee. The recording of this album is taking place at Fergus’s home studio in Edinburgh.