Fiddling  

The Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club:

Made up of musicians at all levels, all walks of life, and playing many instruments (though mostly fiddle), the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club is a great place to learn about and share the traditional fiddle music of Scotland. About to start its seventeenth year, the club meets once a month from October to May, enjoying a workshop taught by Music Director Elke Baker, followed by a potluck dinner and a jam session. The club performs locally at several events each year, and the Virginia Scottish Games is pleased to be one of these. The club also puts on Scottish Country Dances and dance demonstrations with the Northern Virginia branch of the RSCDS. Many of the other musicians you will hear in the Fiddle Tent are members!

Elke Baker, 1995 US National Scottish Fiddle Champion:  

A long-standing tradition at the Virginia Scottish Games is a command performance given by Elke Baker, champion fiddler and musical director of the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club. Elke brings her incomparable skill, energy, and knowledge to her performances. Just try not tapping your feet or clapping your hands!

Terpsichore:  

Elke Baker and Liz Donaldson formed Terpsichore in 1992 as a duo. In 1993 Ralph Gordon joined them and Terpsichore performs in both trio and duo configurations. Terpsichore also expands for a big band sound with guest musicians. Our past guests have included Calum MacKinnon, Marty Taylor, and Earl Gaddis. Terpsichore is widely regarded as one of the leading Scottish dance bands of North America, and has played for Scottish country dance events all over the U.S. and Canada. Terpsichore is also a favorite for English-Scottish events, since the players are equally talented in English country dance repertoire. Terpsichore also plays American contradance and couple dance music and concerts, and has played at the Kennedy Center.

The Homespun Ceilidh Band:  

A long-standing tradition at the Virginia Scottish Games is a command performance given by Elke Baker, champion fiddler and musical director of the Potomac Valley Scottish Fiddle Club. Elke brings her incomparable skill, energy, and knowledge to her performances. Just try not tapping your feet or clapping your hands!

Peat & Barley:  

Like a fine Scotch whisky, Peat & Barley's music is complex, inviting and always goes down smooth. The interplay between Bill Mitchell's hammered dulcimer and Becky Ross's fiddle - trading melody, rhythm and harmony - draws the listener into the ebb and flow of the music in a centering and refreshing way. Widely-regarded for their stylish arrangements of traditional Celtic tunes, the duo continue to delight listeners with their new CD release, Silver Lining, an engaging mix of traditional Scottish and Irish tunes.

The Devil's Tailors:  

Based in the Alexandria, VA area, The Devil's Tailors have been performing Scottish and Celtic music since 2008 at pubs and festivals throughout the DC area, featuring music that spans four hundred years of this living tradition. Combining instrumental dance sets with Scots and Gaelic song, they perform music which echoes not only that from their native lands, but that brought by immigrants to these shores, which would form some of the oldest roots of our own American folk traditions.

Barbara & Joe Saliunas:  

This husband-and-wife team of musicians melts a solid rhythmic foundation with the fiddle melodies of Scotland and beyond. Barbara has frequently competed at the Virginia Scottish Games (having won in Open on several occasions), and is a fixture of the local Scottish music community. On guitar, Joe has also become a regular at Scottish jams around town.

Manannan:  

The MANANNAN core duo of Andrew Dodds and L.Collier Hyams perform with grit and verve. The music is an energetic interpretation of traditional and contemporary Scottish, Irish, Cape Breton, Scandinavian and original tune sets and songs. Competition fiddling champion and former IONA member Andrew Dodds Scottish-style fiddling may remind you of Aly Bain according to TheDigitalFolkLife.org. Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist L.Collier Hyams, leader of world music group The 50 Man Machine and former member of Neil Anderson & Friends Group and Rathkeltair, has toured the US and Canadian Scottish and Irish circuit since 1999. MANANNAN usually perform with The THISTLE HIGHLAND DANCERS and also as the MANANNAN big band. Performance appearances include the Potomac Celtic Festival, Virginia Scottish Games, Front Royal Celtic Festival, Greenville South Carolina Scottish Games,Thistle and Harp Celtic Festival, and guest piping appearances with The Chieftains. 

Further questions may be directed to the VSG's Fiddle Chair, Peter Walker.