Meet The Band

His roots are in Orkney, but he grew up in Dundee where he learned the Highland Pipes. He has played and competed all over the world, winning major pipe band competitons in Scotland at Grade 3A and playing with Scottish rock royalty Big Country at Hampden Park. He is a bit of a metal head and used to sing in a heavy rock band while at Uni, but we'll gloss over that episode! He now plays with Perth Highland Pipe Band and tours WA and SE Asia making a noise with his mates

His love of folk music and desire to play with fiddles and guitars led him to take up the smallpipes a few years ago. He plays with the Scottish Stramash (where he met Fiona, Linda and Graeme) and has performed and recorded with local folk legend Jamie McKinnon.

Seeing the vibrant folk music and ceilidh dancing scene back in Scotland, he recognised there was a real opportunity to harness local folk music talent, mashing it with his passion for rock music to recreate that energy in WA and bring ceilidh dancing to a wider audience. So he brought his enthusiasm to form a unique band for Perth, the result is Gallus Ceilidh Band! 

If you follow Scottish traditional music in Perth, you’ll know our fiddler, Fiona. She comes from a family of musicians from Aberdeenshire and in her youth won various traditional fiddle competitions appearing on TV and radio. 

A highly accomplished musician, she also plays in Trio Failte, a fiddle and cello trio playing Scottish music;  Spirit of Alba, a contemporary Scottish folk group and she is co-founder of the community session group The Scottish Stramash which encourages people of all levels of experience to join in live sessions.. 

She gives generously of her time teaching Scottish Fiddle to old and young here in Perth, sharing her knowledge and experience in workshops and individual lessons.

Linda comes from a family of traditional musicians from the northeast of Scotland and started her performing life as a youngster with the Elgin Strathspey & Reel Society where she met Fiona and performed in many concerts and sessions.

She gave the fiddle a rest for a few years while living in Italy and Egypt but reconnected with Fiona when she moved to Perth and has never looked back!

She co-founded the community session group the Scottish Stramash who meet twice a month in a relaxed and welcoming environment to play the tunes of Scotland

Elgin boy Graeme is our whistle player and fiddler. He is a very talented multi-instrumentalist who also plays the Highland Bagpipes and used to perform as a Highland Dancer. He started Highland Dancing at the age of 7 and country dancing at the age of 9 winning awards and touring Europe showing off his talent. 

He took up the fiddle at 7, the pipes and 13 and the whistle at 21. He has played with both the Elgin and Cults Strathspey and Reel Societies and in several pipe bands over the years. He currently plays with Perth Metro Pipe Band who won the Grade 3B World Championships in 2016. 
He is a stalwart of the folk music scene, having played with the folk band Ferkin based in the Lake District and is influenced by the likes of The Old Blind Dogs and the Battlefield Band. He enjoys a bit of singing and is a regular player with the Scottish Stramash where he reacquainted with Fiona, Linda from his Elgin days and got to know Ali 

Joe is our keyboard player. Born in Glasgow, he moved to Australia as a kid. He has a varied musical career teaching and performing in numerous artistic projects and musical genres from Jazz, Soul, RnB through to Pop and Rock and can now add Scottish traditional music and ceilidh/rock fusion to his list!!

The transitions between genres is the hardest bit of what we do and Joe's experience in musical direction and composition is the glue that makes these transitions work.

Nathan is our electric guitarist, cranking out some serious licks to get you all dancing. Growing up in WA's Wheatbelt, he is the least Scottish of us all, but that's OK, we're all Jock Tamson's Bairns! He is our WA rebel, keeping us on our toes!

Nathan has been playing around Perth's original rock scene since 2007, debuting with The Aztec Suns, he played in various cover and tribute acts and was the writer/guitarist for original 80's Hair Metal original act Jackson Koke. He had a couple of years off before responding to an ad that was a bit "out there for me" and that led him to join the one and only Gallus!

Born in New Zealand with Welsh and Maori heritage, Paul began his music journey at an early age through music theatre, film and the odd extra in TV commercials in the 1980s. He has been active in the Perth music scene both in original and cover acts since the early 1990's and he currently plays with Fiona in Spirit of Alba as well as R&P Acoustic Duo.

Furthering his music training at the prestigious WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts) with a double bachelor of Arts (music and education). Paul plays a variety of instruments adding colour and texture to the Gallus sound. He's a pretty decent signer too! 

Marcus hails from just outside Aberdeen, Scotland and moved to Perth at 7 years of age. His first instrument was the piano but later fell in love with the drums and even later, recording and music production. Marcus has played in live acts around Perth since he was 13 years of age, performing with The Desert Sonnes, The Lammas Tide, Deep State, solo artist Georgia Reed and often filled in for other artists, namely Turnstyle. He now finds most enjoyment as a recording musician, often engaging in songwriting and production for other artists but loves giving back to his Scottish heritage through Ceilidhs. Although Gallus was once an unusual, brand-new musical environment for him, Marcus loves the vibe and holding the dances together.