Old Blind Dogs

In Britain and Ireland, as in America, a number of folk music bands sprung up that have combined strong elements and foundations of the traditional with a variety of influences from other cultures and styles, all producing music that borrows as freely from reggae, African rhythms, and American folk and rock music, as from the ancient ballads and tunes of their own cultures. Among the most striking and interesting of these bands is Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs, an Aberdeen-based band.  Since forming in the early 1990’s, Old Blind Dogs have stood on the cutting edge of Scotland’s roots revival. The band has developed its own trademark style with an energetic mix of songs and tunes. Dynamic percussion, polished vocals, soaring fiddle and stirring pipes fuel the delicately-phrased melodies and traditional songs.  Like many of the early flag bearing Scottish folk bands, the Old Blind Dogs line up has faced inevitable changes over the years but the core values at the band’s musical heart continue to beat strong. The current band line up has been settled for several years now and consists of four of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians at the top of their game. Original member Jonny Hardie (fiddle/vocals) is joined by Aaron Jones (cittern/guitar/vocals), Ali Hutton (pipes/whistles) and Donald Hay (percussion/vocals) and collectively they comprise one of the hottest live tickets on the traditional Scottish music scene today.