Heeliegoleerie

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Heeliegoleerie is a three piece folk band playing traditional music and songs from the Scottish, Irish, Swedish among others, in addition to an ever growing number of original compositions. The band cover a range of styles, from high energy reels to the mellowest of slow airs. 

The name Heeliegoleerie comes from the Scots where it means dazed and confused…something which often describes the state of the band's state of mind.

Heeliegoleerie was formed at the 2003 Edinburgh Fiddle Festival - although it was an informal session, the tunes flowed as if the band had been practicing for weeks . Originally the band included fiddle player Ruairidh MacMillan and piper Alex Urquhart-Taylor, however other commitments meant that they were not able to stay.  
 
As a trio the band has since gone on as a trio to considerable acclaim. The most recent success being winning the 2006 Danny Kyle Open Stage at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow.
 
Heeliegoleerie is made up of

Mark Neal - Cittern/Guitar/Vocals

Eilidh Steel - Fiddle

Ali MacLeod - Djembe

Eilidh is from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute and has been playing fiddle since the age of 6. She completed a BA in Scottish music in Glasgow in the summer of 2006. As part of various groups Eilidh has toured in Scotland, England, Ireland, Russia, Romania, Egypt, Denmark and Germany.

Eilidh is a prolific composer and many of her tunes are played by the band. She teaches the Helensburgh and Lomond Junior Fiddlers as well as fiddle workshops at festivals and lead sessions at the Edinburgh Fiddle Festival, Lomond Folk Festival and Celtic Connections.

Originally from East Kilbride, Mark has lived in Edinburgh since moving there to study for a physics degree in 1993.

He also plays in the ceilidh band Teannaich, funk band Hejira and enjoys playing other musical styles including jazz, blues, rock and gospel.

Mark has a PhD in Musical Acoustics from Edinburgh University, and in the ever shrinking time when not playing or teaching guitar he works as a part time associate lecturer on the music technology course with the Open University. Mark has his own recording label ‘EH Acoustics.’

 

 

Ali hails from the Black Isle, Ross-Shire, and has been playing drums since the age of 12. Having started out as a metal drummer, Ali then diversified into other styles, playing with various shows and bands such as the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail, Kiltearn Fiddlers and now Heelie. When not playing any form of percussion, Ali can usually be found throwing people across judo mats or studying towards his degree in Physics at the University of Edinburgh.