Scottish Fish present a fresh take on traditional and contemporary Scottish and Cape Breton music. Their lively and unique arrangements are woven together from session music handed down from generations of the tradition’s finest players. They have performed at the Boston Celtic Music Festival, Somerville and Arlington Porchfests, Boston’s Earthfest, Club Passim, and various other public and private venues. They have shared the stage with some of the stars of the Scottish fiddle world, including Hanneke Cassel, Katie McNally. They were a 2015 Club Passim Iguana Fund recipient, and used the grant to release their debut album, “Splash.” In 2019, the group released their second record, a 5-track holiday EP titled “Tidings.” Their most recent record “Upscale,” produced by pianist and composer Neil Pearlman, was released in October, 2022 (see music for more information).
Scottish fiddler Hanneke Cassel has described the Scottish Fish sound as “both incredibly musical and just a little unusual.”
“Individually they are all creative and talented,” says Cassel, “and together they spark each other, pushing each other even further to make amazing music.”
According to Alex Monaghan of Folkworld Magazine, the Scottish Fish sound is “both very traditional and highly flexible,” featuring “skillful fiddle melodies and harmonies, imaginative bass lines and rhythms, and spine-tingling treatments” of traditional tunes that render them into “modern masterpieces.”
After discovering Scottish fiddle individually as kids, the five of us met at Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School in 2011. Whether it was through the UU church, school, or previous music camps, some of us had already known each other for a number of years. However, once we all ended up at BHSFS, we as a group were immediately inseparable.
Beginning that first year, it became a camp tradition to hoard candy under our beds and pillows. Among our favorite treats were Swedish Fish, and, when thinking of a name for our Ceilidh band, we thought it would be hilarious to call ourselves the Scottish Fish. Keep in mind, Maggie was 6 years old at the time, and the rest of us were 11. For better or for worse, the name stuck. Two years later, we played our first gig outside of camp and absolutely loved it.
Since then, we have released two albums and an EP; played venues, music festivals and private functions throughout New England and beyond. We have been featured on National Public Radio and in American Girl Magazine; and been contacted by recruiting agents from multiple television programs including America’s Got Talent and established a substantial international following. It’s been so special to grow up playing together, and we could not be more grateful for all of the support we’ve received along the way.