The Way North have reached the finals of Battle of The Folk Bands 2026. The competition will be held at Celtic Connections on January 18th in the Drygate Brewery at 1pm. Why not come along and join in the fun? You can buy tickets here.
We asked Gregor of The Way North a few questions about the band.
Tell us about your band
We are currently working towards playing a run of festivals next summer with a view to eventually releasing an album. The music we are making is really important to us, and we want to be able to connect with the audience and draw more people into Scottish folk music.
The Way North is a new, exciting contemporary folk band based in Glasgow and Speyside. Having met on the BA Applied Music course at UHI and formed after a week of playing together in Stornoway, the band has musical roots that stretch from Glasgow’s session scene to the old Gaelic melodies of South Uist. Accordionist Gregor Niven, guitarist Fraser MacDonald and fiddle players Daisy McCormick and Jamie Clarke work to create an unendingly fresh, energetic and exciting take on traditional folk music.
Approaching a year of playing together, The Way North continues to grow and experiment with their sound, determined to draw contemporary musical conversation back to trad as a genre that celebrates our past, complicates the present and illuminates a many-layered future. Their rock guitarist brings soaring chords to more familiar sets, their compositions bring fresh eyes to ancient techniques and their love of the work is helping trad to keep its place at the centre of Scotland’s musical culture.
Who are the band members
Daisy McCormick – Fiddle
Jamie Clarke – Fiddle
Fraser MacDonald – Guitar
Gregor Niven – Accordion
What are you hopes and aspirations for the band?
We are currently working towards playing a run of festivals next summer with a view to eventually releasing an album. The music we are making is really important to us, and we want to be able to connect with the audience and draw more people into Scottish folk music.
Check out the band’s website.
Battle of The Folk Bands is a Hands Up for Trad project. Read about the organisation and join our weekly Scottish music information email here.
If you would like to support the work of Hands Up for Trad you can do here.