Tannahill Weavers bring Scottish tradition to Plachta Auditorium

• Tweet
• 

A bagpipe solo resonated through Plachta Auditorium Friday night as the Tannahill Weavers brought Scotland’s rich musical tradition to Mount Pleasant.

The Celtic band, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Roy Gullane, flautist Phil Smillie, fiddler John Martin and highland bagpiper Colin Melville, performed to the near-capacity crowd gathered in the 1,226 seat venue.

Gullane invited the audience to sing along early in the show, encouraging a sea of voices to echo, “heave away my laddie o, sing all the way my laddie o.”

Tannahill Weavers fan assistant professor of communication Nancy Eddy has seen the band perform twice and said the performance did not disappoint.

“The only problem was that there was no room to dance,” she said. “But they were still very good.”

Claps and chants from the audience prompted smiles from the band all night long.

The Weavers’ 40-year song collection tells stories of Scotland during the revolutionary times of the 18th century. The band played songs written by Robert Tannahill, an 18th century Scottish poet and the main inspiration of the Tannahill Weavers.

Gullane explained the importance of keeping such storytelling and tradition alive.

“Telling stories goes hand and hand with tradition,” Gullane said. “It’s a very intimate thing between storyteller and audience that you don’t see a lot today.”

Greenville resident Bruce Beauvais, who has seen the band live several times, enjoyed the memories the show evoked.

“You can’t beat the first time you see a band because it’s always the best,” he said.

The night’s festivities were tempered by some bad news.

John Sheffler, director of radio at CMU Public Broadcasting, announced to the audience that the Front Porch Radio Series would be cancelled after 31 years.

“We simply cannot keep producing enough shows to keep the series going,” Sheffler said. “It’s time to turn the page.”

The Tannahill Weavers are affected by the cancellation as well. Gullane said,

“We come (to CMU) mainly because of John and all he has done for our band,” he said. “It’s a shame the show’s over and it means just one less avenue for our music.”

The Celtic band Solas will perform March 24 as the final show of the Front Porch series.