Accordion and Fiddle Club kicks off its new season
Earlier this month the Fort William Accordion and Fiddle Club kicked off a new season at its usual venue, Railway Club Inverlochy, with regular performers and special guests, writes member Gladys Johnston.
In the absence of chairman Alasdair MacDonald, his son Andrew took over and got the evening off to a flying start, setting the tone and welcoming a good crowd.
The evening opened with the usual worthies on accordion – Hector Henderson, who paid tribute to the late Jimmy Smith, with Simon Andrews on drums.
Jimmy was an ardent accordion player for many years at the club.
Next were a few members from the Lochaber, Strathspey and Reel Society, led by conductor Mary Adams on keyboard. Liz Budge was on lead accordion and Catriona Smith played fiddle.
They were joined by a few members from the Fort William club, providing drums (Simon Andrews) and second accordion (Hector Henderson). They played a wonderfully eclectic mix of songs.
Young Cameron MacIsaac on accordion gave the usual array of great tunes.
The audience was treated to the first appearance of Lucy MacIntyre on fiddle and it was great to see another fiddler back at the club as they were sparse last season, and it is hoped to see more in the future.
Andrew MacDonald provided top quality tunes on his accordion, accompanied by Hugh MacCallum on drums.
The club’s guest artistes were from Inverness: the Susie Simpson trio, with Susie on accordion, Gillian Stevenson on fiddle and Jock Fraser played second accordion. They gave an excellent and well-rounded performance with a varied repertoire of good music. It was a wonderful evening of entertainment for everyone involved.
There were no box players this month, but it is hoped they will return next month.
The guest artiste for November will be the Ally Mackenzie trio on Tuesday November 5. Anyone is wecome to go along.