Brian Miller is a renowned Scottish folk musician who has made significant contributions to preserving and promoting traditional music over his decades-long career. Miller was not exposed to Scottish folk music early in life, but his mother was a classical pianist. At age 15 after moving from Edinburgh to Rutherglen, he joined the school’s Ballads Club run by experts Adam McNaughtan and Ian Davison (who taught him fingerstyle guitar basics).
Miller was inspired by 1960s guitarists like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Paul Simon as well as Scottish folk bands and singers like the Corries, the Clutha, and Gordeanna MacCulloch. At university, he met Davey Stewart and Artie Trezise and joined their ensemble The Great Fife Road Show. In Glasgow, he met Arthur Johnstone and later joined The Laggan.
Over his prolific career, Miller has played with seminal folk acts like The Laggan, Swan Arcade, The Singing Kettle, Mirk, Barbara Dickson, The Battlefield Band and more. He also collaborated with renowned artists like Tom Paxton, fiddler Charlie Soane, and singer Siobhan Miller. Miller ran the Penicuik Folk Club and Festival for years and has served as Treasurer for the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland.
Miller is proud to have been selected to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival’s celebrations of northeast folk music and of political song. He was chosen by Jean Redpath for her STV masterclass on singing styles. A memorable highlight was to be involved, along with his daughter Siobhan, in Ian McCalman’s Far, Far from Ypres, showcasing songs and stories of Scots soldiers in WW1. Finishing the 2018 tour in the Usher Hall on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice was an unforgettable experience.
Since 2010, Brian Miller has hosted a weekly folk music radio show on Black Diamond FM community radio station. Miller’s decades of work promoting Scottish folk music through performance, radio, and mentorship have showcased the tradition for new generations. His induction into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame honours his pivotal role preserving and sharing this cultural heritage and Brian is honoured to be mentioned among so many legendary tradition carriers, many of whom became or remain his close friends.