Shooglenifty

Shooglenifty was formed in 1990 by musicians from the Scottish Highlands, Orkney and Edinburgh. Its bright spark was the idea of fusing traditional and traditional-sounding melodies with the beats and bass lines of a mixed bag of more contemporary influences. The Shoogles (as they’re known to their fans) have promoted Scottish music all over the world for three decades.

In October 2016, the band lost their fiddler Angus R Grant to cancer, and took the end of that year to take a well-earned pause. They were bowled over by the numerous tributes and stories shared about their influential front man, not to mention the outpouring of love for Angus on social media. In January 2017 they channelled that emotion into a tribute gig for Angus at Celtic Connections featuring no less than 62 musicians who were all touched by his music. In December 2017, A Night For Angus won Event of the Year at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards (Na Trads).

In February 2018, Eilidh Shaw joined the band as permanent fiddle player. Eilidh is a West Highland fiddler with a playful, infectious energy who was taught by Aonghas Grant (our Angus’s father).

The latest album, Acid Croft Vol 9, was release on 18 September 2020. A few crazy promo videos and a 50-minute live album launch were made during lockdown 2020. And they made virtual appearances on Celtic Connections and Edinburgh Tradfest in 2021. Now they can’t wait to get back to doing what they do best: playing live to big bouncing audiences.

“30 years together and still one of the most exciting bands on the scene” Billy Rough, Folk Radio UK