The Tannahill Weavers

by Steve WinickThe Tannahill Weavers, who started as a band 20 years ago, occupy a unique position among the groups on the Scottish folk scene. Stalwarts Roy Gullane and Phil Smillie have surrounded themselves with a rotating cast of great musicians. Their music, which uses the Highland bagpipe, flute, and fiddle as its melodic core, is tighter, more intense, and harder-driven than the Battlefield Band, Silly Wizard, or their other contemporaries. Despite their mostly acoustic sound, theyre the closest thing to a rock & roll band in intensity and attitude that the traditional Scottish music scene has to offer. Green Linnet Records has been the major force in promoting the Weavers, releasing more than a dozen albums over three decades. In 2000, the label continued that trend into the next millennium by releasing Alchemy.