Visiting Shetland

From left on stage: Skip Gorman, Steve Hickman, unknown, Tom Anderson, unknown

In 1990 the New Hampshire Fiddlers Union (Rodney Miller, Randy Miller, Skip Gorman, and I) participated in the 10th Annual Shetland Folk Festival. This was exciting for many reasons, but one in particular for me: when I had first started listening to fiddle music, I had been inspired by an album called The Silver Bow, which featured the fiddling of Tom Anderson, Aly Bain, Trevor Hunter, Davie Tulloch, and the piano playing of Violet Tulloch. Violet’s playing was an early influence on me, and I was thrilled at the prospect (which came to pass) of meeting her.

Shetland (a collection of islands way north of Scotland) is known for its music (as well as wool and ponies). Building on a strong heritage, the fiddler Tom Anderson devoted his life to preserving and promoting the unique tunes and style of Shetland music. Though highly revered at this point, he was also known for his rigidness, which may have been a factor in his persistence and success. I was certainly in awe to meet him, and over the course of the week-long festival, there were times when they shared the stage together. Though Tom was along in years. no one knew that this would be his last year on earth. There were plenty of other people to be excited about. From the Shetland side, in addition to Violet Tulloch, there was Willie Hunter, whose fiddling I had listened to. And there was Peri Willie Johnson, the guitarist who had brought jazz chords into Shetland music. Fellow performers brought in for the occasion included fiddlers Mark O’Conner, Graham Townsend, and the Fiddle Puppets - a music and dance ensemble who I had known from various stateside festivals.