Mairi McGillivray and Katie Allen

Mairi McGillivray (voice + fiddle) and Katie Allen (guitar + fiddle) are a folk duo based in Glasgow putting their own style on songs from their Tradition in Gaelic, Scots and other traditional styles. Through Live Music Now Scotland, they aim to take audiences on a musical and emotional journey through their songs and tunes as well as trying to connect with each individual audience by incorporating songs they would be familiar with. Mairi and Katie met while studying at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2015 and have performed together at various events and festivals in Scotland since then, most recently playing at Islay Sessions 2022. As well as their work together, they both have other exciting endeavours separately.

Mairi was recently a finalist in this year BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year and won a Danny Kyle Award in 2021. Along with her band she has performed across the UK with one of her notable performance being at Celtic Connections. Growing up on Islay, Mairi has been singing in Gaelic for as long as she can remember. She is inspired to take these songs and make them her own as well as exploring other traditional styles and self-penned songs. Releasing her debut EP, "In My Mind", in 2021 to great review, she plans to record an album during 2023.

Katie is from Callander, Stirlingshire. Her grandparents were at the forefront of the folk revival and due to this, traditional music has encompassed most of her life. With a strong connection to the music, she believes that everyone should have access to it regardless of who they are. As a d/deaf person, she has been learning BSL and is able to translate some of the songs within our repertoire which we look forward to growing on. Some of her most notable performances to date are Strathspey and Surreal, Bruce 700 and The Tolbooth Projections project.

Both are excited to be part of Live Music Now Scotland and to bring their own expertise from working on other projects which have focused on sharing music with audiences that are underrepresented/underfunded. They have a strong belief in making the joy of music accessible to all.