Scotia's Hardy Sons

Scotia's Hardy Sons performed their new and traditional Scottish music at Te Papa on the 17 January 2008. They then answered a few of our questions right after their concert.

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More about the band

A big bang of great Scottish music came all the way to New Zealand in the form of Scotia’s Hardy Sons. The trio’s repertoire mixes new and traditional Scottish songs with dazzling accordion work and generous amounts of good humour. The travelling troubadours arrived in late January 2008 and played 15 performances in 30 days.

‘We'd have loved to stay longer, if only to spend some time with our many friends over there, but we all have such hectic schedules. We had to pencil this into our diaries three years ago and just make sure we would all be free.’

Those diaries show just how busy their schedules are. The individual members regularly perform at concerts and ceilidhs (social events with Scottish or Irish music). They also tour with theatre groups and make Edinburgh Festival appearances and occasional forays into Europe. They travel the length and breadth of Scotland, England, and Ireland in their relentless pursuit of musical happiness.

The trio claim they always play for free, charging only for driving to the gigs, setting up, and hanging around waiting. However, they don't mind the travelling in New Zealand.

‘We've been here four times before and love the whole country. Outside Scotland, it is definitely our favourite place to play.’

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