Aly Bain has long been recognized as a leading exponent of the distinctive fiddling tradition from Shetland, Scotland. Since 1971 he has held a central role in the Boys of the Lough, while also appearing as a guest musician on recordings by Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Connie Dover, and Jay Ungar. Beyond his own series of solo projects, Bain has maintained an active partnership with Phil Cunningham, the former accordionist and keyboardist of Silly Wizard, encompassing joint recordings and extensive touring. With Norwegian composer Henning Sommerro he created the album Songs of the Sea, which blends material from the Shetland and Norwegian repertoires.
He first took up the fiddle at age eleven and received instruction from the noted Shetland player Tom Anderson. During the late 1970s Bain contributed to two of Anderson’s releases, The Silver Bow and Shetland Folk Fiddling, Vol. 2. After sharpening his skills in various local groups, he gained wider notice when he joined the Irish/Scottish ensemble the Boys of the Lough, whom he first encountered at the 1969 Falkirk Folk Festival. His initial solo album, First Album, appeared in 1985. Three years later he journeyed to Louisiana for the sessions that produced Aly Meets the Cajuns. That same year, a chance meeting with Phil Cunningham in a pub near Edinburgh led to their decision to perform as a duo; the resulting debut recording, The Pearl, came out in 1994 and was succeeded by The Ruby in 1997.
Bain has also served as presenter for multiple BBC Television music programs. Down Home traced the migration of the Celtic fiddle tradition from Ireland and Scotland across the Atlantic to North America. Push the Boat Out, broadcast in 1991, was captured during Glasgow’s Mayfest festivities, while The Shetland Set, aired the same year, was filmed at the Shetland Folk Festival. In 1993 Mainstream Publishing issued his autobiography, Fiddler on the Loose, written in collaboration with Alistair Clark.
