Accordionist Freeland Barbour initially joined forces with fellow ex-Wallochmor Ceilidh Band drummer Gus Millar, to 'occasionally' play for dances at festivals, and when Freeland invited banjo/mandolin player Kevin Macleod to join that year, the basis of the current band line up was secured.
However, since then, many fine musicians such as fiddlers Ian Hardie, Jim Barrie, Angie Smith, Charlie Soane, Iain Fraser, Alison Hiley, Rebecca Hunter, pianists Neil MacMillan and Gill Simpson, guitarist Brian Millar, Runrig guitarist Malcolm Jones, bass player Alasdair Macleod and drummers Ally MacIntyre and Jon Whitehead have 'occasionally' performed with the band.
The current line up comprises Freeland on accordion and midi bass, Gus on drums, Kevin on electric tenor banjo, fiddlers Mairi Campbell and Alison Smith, pianist/bass player Neil MacMillan and dance caller Sheila McCutcheon.
Freeland Barbour comes from Glen Fincastle near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire…
…and has been a very well-known figure on the Scottish music scene for many years. A former member of folk group Silly Wizard, he helped to found the highly influential Wallochmor Ceilidh Band in 1977 and is also a former BBC Music Producer, and Tutor at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). Noted as a soloist, record producer and composer, he has 11 solo CDs together with many other recordings. He is a member of The Ghillies, has played regularly with Faroese band Spealimenninir, has 3 books of published music available as well as a 'Complete Works', and is the former owner and manager of one of the UK's formost recording studios, Castlesound, in East Lothian. He designs his own accordions and is also an author. Honoured by The National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs he was inducted in 2018 into The Scottish Music Hall of Fame as a member of The Wallochmor Ceilidh Band.
One of Scotland’s leading dance band drummers, Gus Millar has played with many of the great…
…names of Scottish dance music including Jimmy Shand, Andrew Rankine, Ian Holmes, Colin Dewar, and The Wallochmor Ceilidh Band. His services are much sought after by many of the leading players in the current Scottish dance band scene and his technical influence has had considerable impact. Honoured by The National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, he was in 2018 inducted into The Scottish Music Hall of Fame as a member of The Wallochmor Ceilidh Band. His career now spans over 50 years!
Master of many stringed instruments, Kevin Macleod has produced 4 CDs; “Springwell”, “Polbain to Oranmore', “Dorney Rock”…
…and "Highland Strands", a joint recording “Braes of Badentarbat” with Highland accordion player Ali ‘Beag’ MacLeod, and appeared on many other artists' recordings. He was the Live Ireland 2005 'Best Newcomer of the Year' for his Dorney Rock CD. He has toured and appeared with Irish group De Danann and worked with well-known Irish musicians Alec Finn and Frankie Gavin, recording on Alec Finn’s “Innisfree” CD. Kevin performs with singer George Duff (Trad Awards nominee for Scots Singer 2018) and produced George's debut CD 'The Collier Laddie'. He has successfully consulted with top Scots luthier Rory Dowling of Taran Guitars to create the new Taran Springwell mandolin range. In 2014, Kevin acted as a Highland musician in the Sundance award winning film "Slow West", directed by his cousin John Maclean, starring Michael Fassbender. He is also a skilled artistic and graphic designer, doing all the layout and design work for his own and The Occasionals recordings. There's loads more on his website where you can also buy his CDs.
Malcolm Jones comes from Portree on the Isle of Skye and has been an integral and centrally creative…
…member of the hugely successful and influential Gaelic folk/rock band Runrig since he was eighteen. He is a multi-instumentalist, composer, and producer, and a central figure in Highland music who is in constant demand in all sorts of musical roles. As well as being a consummate guitarist on both electric and acoustic he plays mandolin, bagpipes, percussion and drums, and has also developed into a very fine accordionist. Aside from Runrig his list of musical and production credits is enormous and ever-increasing and many accolades have come his way. As a member of Runrig his name is in The Scottish Music Hall of Fame.
From Edinburgh, Mairi Campbell is without question one of Scotland's most all-encompassing musicians…
She works and performs in many fields and the list is breathtaking. As a singer she has been voted 'Scots Singer of The Year' in the annual Scots Trad. Music Awards, and the same awards gave her the accolade of 'Tutor of The Year' in 2012. Her residential fiddle schools on the island of Lismore are a highlight for many. As a composer of both songs and instrumental music she has been a Burnsong winner and has also won the Niel Gow Composition Award, and has also picked up 'Female Musician of The Year' from liveireland. She and husband Dave Francis have their own duo, The Cast, and they also are developing a strong song-writing partnership. Most recently Mairi has been developing a powerful and unique solo live improvisation ('Soundings') using both voice and instrument. And she is also a most accomplished stepdancer, as you can see on The Occasionals 'Home Footage' DVD part of 'The Full Set' release. As you might expect, Mairi's work has attracted something of a celebrity fan-base which includes Bill Clinton and Sean Connery, and in 2008 she caught the attention of Sarah Jessica Parker, who placed her version of 'Auld Lang Syne' in the pivotal scene of the blockbuster movie 'Sex and The City'. And in the classical world she's quite at home in an orchestra or chamber group as well - truly an all-rounder. Most recently Mairi's 2 solo shows, 'Pulse' and 'Auld Lang Syne', have drawn rave reviews for their musical, emotional, and theatrical content. She is a musician who never stays still!
From Bearsden in Glasgow, Alison Smith is without question one of the leading fiddle players in Scotland…
…having played with many well-known names, particularly across the Scottish dance music world. She is also in great demand as a fiddle and violin teacher, covering the fields of both traditional and classical music. And as if all that wasn’t enough to keep her busy she owns and runs Maxwell Music providing independent business management and administrative support for musicians, composers and record labels, particularly in the area of royalty administration.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Neil MacMillan has played with virtually every single Scottish dance band…
…of note over the past forty years. He is a master of both double bass and piano within the genre, and accordion is now within his repertoire of instruments as well, and he brings enthusiasm and high standards to everything he does. He has been honoured by The National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, and was inducted into The Scottish Music Hall of Fame as a member of The Wallochmor Ceilidh Band in 2018. A complete Scottish dance band all on his own, he lives on the east shore of Loch Lomond.Most recently Mairi's 2 solo shows, 'Pulse' and 'Auld Lang Syne', have drawn rave reviews for their musical, emotional, and theatrical content. She is a musician who never stays still!
Sheila McCutcheon is one of the leading dance callers and teachers in Scotland…
…at home in all manner of events and with a huge repertoire of dances at her disposal. She is Dance Tutor for the BA Degree in Scottish Traditional Music at The Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow and runs various ceilidh dance classes for organisations in the Edinburgh area She is currently mine host and resident caller for the ever-popular Scotch Hop nights of open-air dancing at Linlithgow Palace. She is also an accomplished step dancer.
