Clydesdale Accordion & Fiddle Club

27/04/2026

SUNDAY 19th APRIL 2026
GUEST ARTIST • GRAHAM MACKENZIE & RORY MATHESON

Highlights: Guest Artist – Graham Mackenzie & Rory Matheson • Prize quiz winners • End-of-season presentation • 10th Anniversary meeting on 18th October 2026

Welcome
The final meeting of the 2025/26 season took place at our usual venue of the St Mary’s Club Rooms in Lanark on Sunday 19th April 2026.

🎻🎹Guest Artists
As is now tradition, the meeting opened with our Guest Artists, Mackenzie and Rory Matheson. Perhaps not so well known to our patrons, these two virtuoso musicians are possibly more widely known within the world of Scottish folk music than the Accordion and Fiddle Club scene.

Their performance on the day was absolutely flawless with Graham on fiddle and Rory playing his unique modern interpretation of innovative piano accompaniment which he has become so widely respected for. Both these young men have their roots in the Highlands; Graham being brought up in an extremely musical family in Inverness and Rory, initially a self-taught accordionist from Drumbeg in Assynt. Both hugely modest musicians now live in Glasgow to be closer to the vibrant music scene where they both make their living. More of their performance later.

🪗🎹🥁🎻Supporting Musicians
We were pleased to welcome back local and visiting players from far and near, each providing most enjoyable selections which went down well with the audience. Newby Park was the furthest travelled having motored up from Cumbria south of the border. Two-time NAAFC Club Supporter of the year nominee Alex Lyall from Alloa came to the rescue by bringing his drums for himself and Billy Hutton from Campsie to accompany the majority of players during the afternoon. A first-time visitor to Clydesdale was Paul Johnston from East Kilbride on accordion who has been visiting several clubs over the last few months up and down the country. Local players included Tom Killean, Elizabeth Cathcart, Fiona Paul, Charlie Kirkpatrick, Marshall Harkness, Margaret Miller all on accordion, and a lovely surprise guest Claire Gullan on fiddle fresh from her recent success as the leader of the winning Trio at the NAAFC Festival in Partick. Fiona also stepping forward to accompany several players on piano.

❓Prize Quiz
Our prize quiz was well received with several winning entries, with club regular Elsie Dickie winning the CD after selecting her own entry from a selection of six correct answers:
Answers:
1. The Current Scottish Accordion Champion is LIAM STEWART.
2. BOBBY CROWE from Balmullo was the pictured accordionist.
3. The NAAFC AGM and Presentation Luncheon is held in DUNDEE.
4. “Step we Gaily, On we go” is a lyric in MHAIRI’S WEDDING or THE LEWIS BRIDAL SONG.
5. ADDIE HARPER SNR was the leader of the Wick Scottish Dance Band.

🎻🎹Finale
Following a large raffle we welcomed Graham and Rory back to entertain us and close our final meeting of the season in style. Their laid-back style bore no resemblance to the fantastic music they produced, mastery of their instruments in such an effortless fashion played with passion, style and virtuosity. Jigs, reels, airs and waltzes were interspersed with pipe music and more than a smattering of Graham’s own melodic compositions. It truly was a treat to hear this polished performance in an intimate almost acoustic setting when they are more frequently to be found playing at festivals and larger auditoriums.

Their final set before their encore totally blew me away. Entitled ‘Scott Scunnered’ three tunes from the Strathspey King were combined with the tricky ‘King Robert the Bruce’ opening the set. Their combined unison playing in the final measure along with the change into reel tempo was something special, and well worthy of a much higher entrance fee. This set I later discovered appears on their debut album ‘Take Six’ as the final track, and worthy of anyone’s £15 alone. Well done boys, please come and visit us any time you are in the Lanark area.

🙏🏻Thanks
We made end-of-season presentation to Jennifer and Trisha behind the bar, together with our loyal helpers, Robert & Jenny Campbell, and Hazel Orr by way of our appreciation for all that they do for Clydesdale Club during the entire season.

📅Save the Date
We look forward to celebrating our 10th Anniversary meeting after the Summer which will be held in our usual venue on 18th October 2026, details of that special event will be promoted through our usual social network channels.

27/04/2026

SUNDAY 15th MARCH 2026
GUEST ARTIST - Hjaltibonhoga

By 1.45pm St Mary’s Club Rooms were full to the gunwales, mainly as a result of a bus-load of fiddlers from Shetland and beyond arriving mid-way through their spring tour. We did wonder if there had been a miscommunication to our venue as local rumours abounded of an influx of musicians, dressed all in black, being the first customers at opening time at the Clydesdale Inn, a five-minute walk down Lanark High Street.

The club had been in correspondence with Margaret Robertson MBE for over a year in planning this visit, and the logistical challenges of bringing by far the largest group of musicians to be guest artists was now upon us. We needn’t have worried, HJALTIBONHOGA were in town. www.hjalti.com

They arrived in plenty of time, immaculately turned out, in good spirits, hungry, and enthusiastic to be joining us for the afternoon, and we managed to squeeze them all around our extended guest artist table.

In a change to our normal format, we were entertained in the first half by local and visiting players. First onto the stage were regular supporters who travel cross country from Alnwick in Northumberland, Joan Kirk and Mungo Riddle on accordions. Fiona Paul was up next treating us to her usual polished performances with well thought out arrangements and harmonies. Marshall Harkness on his Ranco accordion played next before Fin Hope almost brought the roof off with a couple of sets, cheered on by an obvious fan club amongst our guest players. Bill Stewart was next to play playing some well-known Scottish melodies. Our next two ladies fresh from their competition successes at the NAAFC’s Partick Festival the previous week played their winning sets for us, namely, Elizabeth Cathcart (4/4 Marches) and Nicola Braid (Own Composition). Neil MacMillan on accordion with June Meikle on fiddle gave us some wholesome traditional tunes before we closed the first half’s entertainment with selections from our very own Allan Smith of Clyde Valley Ceilidh Band fame, and the irrepressible Charlie Kirkpatrick from Giffnock. Drumming duties on the afternoon were carried out by Alex Lyall, Tom Hope and Billy Hutton.

This month our prize quiz had a Shetland theme to it given the origins of our Guest Artists.
1. ALY BAIN was the fiddle player pictured on screen.
2. The largest town in Shetland is LERWICK.
3. PARTICK BURGH HALLS was the venue of the 52nd NAAFC Festival last weekend.
4. How many fiddle players played with Hjaltibonhoga in today’s guest artist – THIRTY ONE.
5. The name of the renowned Dance Band containing Jim Halcrow, Willie Hunter & Ronnie Cooper was THE HAMEFARERS.

And so to our Guest Artists – Hjaltibonhoga comprising thirty one fiddle players (at the last count), accompanied by leader Margaret Robertson MBE, Duncan Christie, Ryan Couper, Callum and Brian Cruickshank providing a solid and well rehearsed rhythm section on piano, drums, guitar, accordion and bass respectively.

Hjalti took over the entire second half of the club meeting and performed two 45 minute spots of the very highest quality traditional music. Almost every piece performed on the day had a connection to the group’s native Shetland Isles, be that jigs, reels, airs, marches or waltzes, with several compositions from the leader’s pen. One such tune was a beautiful air entitled ‘Still Water’ for which the group were joined by Islay Cathcart on fiddle for this one item.

The line-up consisted members of the Hjalti community from all airts and pairts of the country, with players from Orkney, the North-East, Fife, even some fiddlers who had travelled from New Zealand to be part of the tour, and of course a core group of Shetlanders, each with their own individual playing style forged into an extremely powerful, yet sympathetic at times, orchestral group. It really was a privilege to hear this ensemble in such an intimate acoustic environment. The enjoyment of the music was evident on the smiles of the performers, and equally so on the faces of the audience lucky enough to be in attendance on that afternoon.
Several members of the group were given the opportunity to shine with solo or leading pieces, stepping forward to lead or showcase their musical talents.

On behalf of Clydesdale Accordion & Fiddle Club we would like to wholeheartedly thank Margaret and her amazing group for their wonderful performance and friendliness during their visit and wish them every success for their future ventures, at home in the UK, or in an ambassadorial capacity when asked to perform abroad.
We won’t forget this afternoon in a long time!

Our guest artist for our final meeting of the season will be two young Highland gentlemen now residing in Glasgow, fiddle sensation GRAHAM MACKENZIE accompanied by the wonderful RORY MATHESON on piano. www.grahammackenziemusic.com

The club starts as usual at 2pm on Sunday 19th April 2026 in St Mary’s Club Rooms, Lanark. We look forward to welcoming a large crowd to close our 10th season in style.

15/03/2026

Fantastic finale to a brilliant afternoon.
Feel very honoured to be able to host such a brilliant afternoon of music. Hjaltibonhoga International Community Fiddle GroupMargaret Robertson

19/02/2026

17/02/2026

☃️SUNDAY 15th FEBRUARY 2026 ☃️
GUEST ARTIST - EWAN GALLOWAY SDB

A bitterly cold wintery afternoon slightly diminished our numbers for the February meeting of Clydesdale Accordion & Fiddle Club, snowflakes the size of golf balls were falling from the Lanarkshire sky by the time our guest artist took to the stage, with anxious glances from more than one far travelled visitor. Luckily within an hour or so the weather subsided and we ploughed on regardless.

Visiting the Clydesdale Club for the first time as guest was Ewan Galloway and his Scottish Dance Band, including Andrew Knight on fiddle, Alasdair MacLeod on second accordion, the wonderful Alistair McGirr playing piano and local lad Ian Graham on drums. Ewan and the boys provided us with a polished performance, with a varied repertoire of wholesome traditional music, taking in crowd-pleasers such as the Kiwi Pipers, Donald Iain Rankine and Robbie Shepherd MBE, together with sojourns into old-time territory and a well thought out set of light classical music for the RSCDS reel Ramadan-ce. Throughout the band’s programme the audience enjoyed nicely arranged sets of tunes, complimenting each other effortlessly, foot-tapping weel-kent standards interspersed with more contemporary numbers. My particular favourite being a recently composed polka by our bandleader entitled Helen’s Do-Re-Mis.

Ewan is the man behind the 24/7 Scottish music online radio station RadioGH which he co-founded with the late Derek Hamilton from Galston. [www.radiogh.co.uk] Click this link to listen online, details also available here to listen through your smart-speaker.

Our local and visiting players were thinner on the ground this month, however their performances were all well received by the audience. James Watson, Mark Crawford, John Elliott, Marshall Harkness, Allan Smith, Elizabeth Cathcart, and I even managed a couple of sets on accordion myself. We were delighted to welcome back 10-year-old Xander Orr to the club who confidently played with no music, introducing his tunes like a real pro. Fiona Paul also treated us to a beautiful piano solo including Ashokan Farewell and the Stronsay Waltz.

We were again fortunate to have the services of Alex Lyall on drums and Fiona Paul on piano to accompany many of those who entertained us on the day.

Our prize quiz was well received with several correct entries, with club regular Andrew Scott winning the CD with his five correct answers:
1. Angus Fitchet lived in DUNDEE.
2. The first NAAFC Festival in 1975 was held in MUSSELBURGH.
3. The leader of the Haggis Chasers Ceilidh Band is CRAIG PATON.
4. ROBERT BURNS composed the poem My Love is like a Red Red Rose.
5. DUMFRIES A&F CLUB celebrated their 60th Birthday recently.

I closed the afternoon by thanking all our loyal helpers, namely Hazel Orr, Jenny & Robert Campbell, Shirley, Islay & Elizabeth Cathcart and Allan Smith together with Jennifer and Trisha behind the bar. Before heading off for the night we took the opportunity to create a new club member, hopefully Frosty is long gone by our next meeting.

Next month we will have a feast of fiddle music when Margaret Robertson MBE brings her wonderful Shetland fiddle group Hjaltibonhoga to the Clydesdale Club. Many will be familiar of this group through their performances at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo [www.hjalti.co.uk] and international appearances throughout Europe and Australia.

📅 Sunday 15th March 2026
⏰ 2pm start
📍 St Mary’s Club Rooms, Lanark

We are expecting a full house for HJALTI’s first visit to Lanarkshire, so please arrive early to secure your seat.

IC

08/02/2026

02/02/2026

🎶 Travelling to the NAAFC Festival from elsewhere in Scotland?

Getting to Partick Burgh Hall is very straightforward! 🤗

🚇 Subway:
The Glasgow Subway runs directly to Partick Station, with the venue less than a 5-minute walk away.

🚆 Train:
Local services run to Partick from Glasgow Central and Queen Street, with easy connections from Edinburgh, Stirling, Falkirk and other central Scotland locations.

🚌 Bus:
Frequent services to Partick / West End, with connections for visitors travelling from all parts of Scotland.

🚗 Driving:
Limited on-street parking is available nearby and additional parking can be found at Morrisons/Partick station and paid for through the JustPark website and app.

♿ Accessibility:
Partick Burgh Hall is close to major transport hubs, with mostly flat walking routes from Partick Station. If you have specific access needs or questions, please contact the organisers ahead of your visit.

📍 Partick Burgh Hall, Glasgow
🗓 Saturday 7 March 2026

Plan your journey and find full festival details at 👉 naafcfestival.co.uk

18/01/2026

What an afternoon!!!! We will provide a full report soon but just wanted to say thank you to everyone who attended and made it such a great afternoon especially Keith Dickson’s pupils. You were all brilliant and should be very proud of yourself!!!!

16/01/2026

Not long to go now!!

BIG NEWS!

The NAAFC Festival is coming to GLASGOW for 2026!

Date: 7 March 2026

Venue: Partick Burgh Hall

Competition entries are now OPEN and we’re excited to welcome competitors and audiences to Glasgow.

https://www.naafcfestival.co.uk/

We look forward to seeing you all in March!! 💃🕺🎼🎹🎻

16/01/2026

January Meeting - Sunday 18th January 2026, commencing at 2pm.
Guest Artist - Keith Dickson's South Lanarkshire Students.

Please note that for this month only, local and visiting players will feature during the first half, with our Guest Artists performing for the full second half following the interval. We look forward to welcoming you all on what we expect to be an extremely busy afternoon.

Get there early to make sure you secure a seat!