Wild Thistle Scottish

Wild Thistle Scottish Celtic Knot

Traditional Scottish, Celtic & Ceilidh Music

We are a fun loving Scottish Dance band, with fiddlers, piano/keyboard, small and highland bagpipes and Scottish country and ceilidh dance callers.

Our traditional Scottish music ranges from the driving reels, jigs, strathspeys, and lively waltzes for Ceilidh and country dances, to the airs and marches, songs and early music for listening enjoyment. We specialize in playing Scottish, Irish, English and even Israeli dance music.

Our first "official" gig as Wild Thistle was for the Scotia Valentine's Day Party, February 14, 2011, although we have been playing together in different groups for many years. To avoid confusion, we have created two band names -- Wild Thistle Contra Dance and Wild Thistle Scottish. For Contra dance music, click on Wild Thistle Contra Dance

The pipes add a special Scottish flavor to our traditional sound. Keyboard adds a strong rhythm and harmonies, and the fiddles provide the dynamic lively and energetic dance quality our music. You can't help but start dancing. We work with a number of traditional dance callers, including Jack Cole and Fergie Ferguson. We love the Scottish and Irish Country, Ceilidh, and Cape Breton traditional music and dance.

For celebrations, there's nothing better than dancing and singing traditional Scottish songs with pipe, fiddle, and keyboard backup.

Wild Thistle Scottish Musicians

Wild Thistle at Scotia Pictures of our band members and guest artists playing at Scotia Scottish Country Dance Parties in 2012 and 2013. This awesome collage was created by Sue Trapp, editor of the Scotia Newsletter, and published in the October 2013 edition,
Mary Morrisson Abdill - Piano/keyboard, concertina, Scottish ceilidh and country dance caller
Jenny Evans - fiddle and vocals
Debbie Neus - fiddle and Scottish Smallpipes
Doug Safranek - Scottish Smallpipes and Great Highland Bagpipes
Sharlene Penman - piano - guest artist from Auckland, NZ
Alice Backer - fiddle and vocals - guest artist
Hannah Marcus - fiddle and vocals - guest artist
Karen Brown - fiddle, accordion and vocals - guest artist
Jack Cole - RSCDS dance teacher and Ceilidh dance caller. Often accompanied with his wife Ann, who is also a terrific dancer.
James Ferguson (Fergie) - RSCDS dance teacher and Ceilidh dance caller. Accompanied with his wife Susan, who is also a terrific dancer.

===> Hey - Jenny wrote this up for our LaMaMa gig July 1. I love it. <===

The Wild Thistle Ensemble embraces Scottish dance music with vigorous energy and glee which often propels even the most bashful of dancers to drop their inhibitions and join in on the fun.

The "leader of the band" and pianist, Mary Morrison Abdill is a well-know dance teacher and musician in the Northeast. It is not unusual to see Mary at a Scottish Dance class on Monday, English dancing on Tuesday and English or Contra dance on the weekend. For many years she was the leader and artistic director of New York Royal Scottish Country Dance (RSCDS) Demonstration Team and the Mary Morrison Dancers. In addition to piano, she also plays traditional music on the English Concertina and Hammered Dulcimer.

Piper, Douglas Safranek fell in love with Scottish pipes at the age of eleven. For our ensemble, he plays the small pipes but is often in demand for parades and other venues requiring a Highland Bagpiper. As well as being an accomplished piper, Doug is a renowned artist. His works have been featured in solo exhibitions in New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. His paintings are in museum collections from the West to the East Coast, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, here in NYC. He is represented by the ACA Galleries in Chelsea, NY.

Fiddler, Jenny Evans has traveled the world on a wing and a jig. She has played from California to New York and all the states in between that start with the letter M—and some that don’t start with the letter M. She is a lover of all Celtic music and has played with some of the finest musicians on the Scottish and Irish music scene. She continues to learn and adapt her music styles and hopes to someday accomplish fiddle nirvana.

Fiddler, Karen Brown, hails from Dundee. In addition to playing in sessions at traditional music festivals in the Northeast, Canada and Scotland, Karen runs the Iona Scottish Session in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These Monday night sessions focus on the pipe and fiddle music of Scotland, Cape Breton and Ireland and many of NYC’s finest Scottish musicians and enthusiasts (including all of the members of Wild Thistle!) stop in to share and exchange tunes. The session is open and everyone is welcome.

Fiddler, Hannah Marcus embraces all types of music, from traditional to indie rock, American Old-Time to Celtic. She is also a well-regarded composer, singer and songwriter. In addition to playing for dances and leading local Irish sessions, Hannah performs her original music in Europe, Canada and the US. In addition to her solo work, Hannah is a member of the Wingdale Community Singers who just released their third album. Some day the Wild Thistles hope to premiere an original composition ala Hannah.

Pianist, Sharlene Penman is a very popular Scottish musician who lives in Auckland, NZ, We are honored to have her join our band whenever she is in NY, which is usually several times a year. We wish she lived closer. Her son and new granddaughter live in NYC, so that will hopefully bring her here more often.

For information about Wild Thistle Scottish, or to book our band, please email: Mary Morrisson Abdill

Home top Celtic Knot

Our performances include a wide spectrum of traditional music, Scottish dancing (Step, Highland, National, Country, Ceilidh, Cape Breton), Gaelic lessons, songs, Robert Burns poetry, history, and stories. We regularly play for ceilidh and country dances and provide a dance caller.

Recent performances include July 1, 2013, with Wild Thistle performing a "Night of Scottish Music and Dance" at La MaMa, 74A East 4th Street (between Bowery & 2nd Ave), NYC., many evenings for Scotia Dancers (30 E31 Street, NYC), weddings, ceilidh dances, etc.

Hannah, Alice, and Mary also teach music. Contact us to learn to play fiddle, guitar, piano, or Hammered Dulcimer for traditional music, ranging from Scottish and old-time to Jazz and classical.