Malcolm Bushby

B I O

" We have just listend to the album and enjoyed the music very, very much, excellent musicianship and arrangements all the way through..." Alan Morely, UK Folk Music

"A serious talent…." Tony McManus, Scottish guitarist

"..fantastic fiddle player…" Kevin Henderson ( Fiddler’s Bid, Boys of the Lough, Session A9)

"Malcolm is one of my favourite fiddle players, a great player and a good friend"....Tom McConville

"Real fiddling, played by someone who understands and loves what he is doing" Fiona Haywood, Living Tradition Magazine

Glasgow based fiddle, bouzouki player and singer Malcolm Bushby is considered to be one of the UK’s finest folk musicians of his generation. Originally from Tasmania, Australia, his family roots lie in Scotland with his forebears coming from Kirkhill near Inverness, Caithness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Ayrshire and Dumfries. Malcolm has devoted his life developing his unique style, drawing high acclaim from established artists across the UK and beyond.

Malcolm’s handling of dynamics, ornamentation and beautiful tone lend a soulful, haunting and exciting magic to his music.

Malcolm started playing fiddle back in his home state of Tasmania, Australia, and developed his love of playing Scottish fiddle when he was taught by one of the world’s finest exponents of Scottish ‘classical’ fiddle playing, Chris Duncan.

Arriving with his family in the UK in 2005, he was accepted into the premier North East folk ensemble Folkestra, under the direction of Kathryn Tickell where he remained as a member for 3 years.

In 2009/10 he studied Scottish fiddle with Anna-Wendy Stevenson in The Western Isles. Whilst there he also performed with Kathleen MacInnes, Iain MacDonald and many other luminaries in the Scottish music scene. 

In 2012 at the age of 22 he released his debut album Islands which was highly acclaimed and gained airplay from radio stations across the world including many programmes on BBC Scotland. My first CD, ‘Islands’, was released to critical acclaim such as: ‘Stunning, first class….’ Iain Anderson, BBC Radio Scotland; ‘….outstanding fiddle player’ MusicScotland.com; ‘…..a player of real substance’ Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman; ‘….impressive debut’, Froots Magazine and many more.

Malcolm has worked with various instrumentalists and singers from across the UK and around the world. He has performed and collaborated with the likes of Tom McConville, Aidan O'Rourke, Tony McManus and Catriona MacDonald to name a few. He has performed at venues around the UK, including Celtic Connections, The Sage Gateshead, The Royal Albert Hall, the Hexham Gathering, Towersey Village Festival, Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany, Perthshire Amber in Pitlochry, venues in Sweden, Spain and France, and many folk clubs and festivals.

2014 saw him involved in recording project of 17th Century Scottish music, from the Balcarres Lute Manuscript with Australian based Early Music specialist and Baroque lutenist, Susan King.

In 2015 he took part in a 44 show theatre UK tour with Irish dance and song show spectacular, Essence of Ireland.

As of the beginning of 2019, Malcolm joined the world reknowned Scottish band, The Tannahill Weavers. The Tannahill Weavers are among the trailblazers of Scottish traditional music and in 2018 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary with the release of their latest album, Orach. Malcolm has toured the length and breadth of the USA and Canada with the Tannahill Weavers, and they continue to be in high demand nationally and internationally, with the band regularly touring North America, UK, Europe and beyond.