Norn language ballad Hildina chain danced in Shetland Barry Nisbet 2026-05-09 | Friday 1st May, 2026: at the Shetland Folk Festival, a Chain dance was danced to a Shetland Ballad for the first time in over 200 years.The Hildina, part of the ballad tradition that was once shared across Shetland, the Faroe Islands and the wider Nordic world, was translated into modern Shaetlan by Barry Nisbet in 2025.Over 60 participants assembled and were taught the refrain and the steps; they then danced all 35 stanzas if the story.26 dancers then repeated the dance to the original Shetland Norn words, shown here in this video captured by Anthony Olsson
Bittersweet Landfall - Celtic Connections 25 Barry Nisbet 2026-01-15 | From a performance in Glasgow on January 23rd, 2025
Train to Anywhere - Shetland, 23rd July 2024 Barry Nisbet 2024-07-24 | My 2016 song 'Train to Anywhere', recorded in the North Yell sun on 23rd July 2024. Refugee stories are as relevant in 2024 as they were in 2016, or indeed in 1816 - I'll stop singing this one as soon as they're not. Terrifying things are happening in so many places, and fleeing people are truly desperate.It's 150 years this year since my own family were cleared from their croft in North Yell and made refugees, scattering as far as Australia and New Zealand to find a new life. But today I'm one of the most fortunate people, living on my own terms and with security in Shetland, able to hike and play music in the sun with my dog.This song goes out to all the displaced and fearful people around the world today - we must keep our hearts open to them.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
SaxaVord Sessions Barry Nisbet 2024-02-18 | Join Barry and Peter for some songs and tunes all the way from SaxaVord Spaceport, Unst, Shetland
Affrug - Track 1 from The Springbank Voyage - Lyric Video Barry Nisbet 2024-02-13 | A lyric video from track 1 of my 2022 album 'The Springbank Voyage'.A contemplation on leaving home, on departing for a long sea voyage. Shetland dialect with English translation.Also features fiddle hornpipe 'Da Mogie Haa'.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Dark Streets of London Barry Nisbet 2023-12-08 | In honour of Shane MacGowan, a songwriting inspiration.And a dark little song about some very tough times in London.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Bittersweet Landfall - aboard Lady of Avenel Barry Nisbet 2022-11-19 | Another track from the short concert we performed aboard Tall Ship 'Lady of Avenel' on September 19th, 2022.Featuring Pepita Emmerichs on Mandolin, Barry Nisbet on fiddle and vocals; and Theo Barnard on guitar.'Bittersweet Landfall' is track 11 from Barry's 2022 storytelling album 'The Springbank Voyage' - hear the full album here:barrynisbet.bandcamp.com/album/the-springbank-voyage
Iron and Canvas - aboard Lady of Avenel Barry Nisbet 2022-09-25 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1Barry Nisbet, Pepita Emmerichs and Theo Barnard perform the second track from Barry's new album 'The Springbank Voyage'
The Springbank Voyage Glasgow Launch Barry Nisbet 2022-08-19 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Live Stream Testing! Barry Nisbet 2022-08-17 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Comfortless Cove - recorded in Cullivoe, Shetland Barry Nisbet 2021-10-05 | A video produced for Celtic Connections on Campus, Jan 2021Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Crossing the Minch - while crossing the Minch Barry Nisbet 2021-06-20 | The crew of Lady of Avenel play the classic pipe tune 'Crossing the Minch', written by Donald MacLeod, on passage from Achmelvich Bay to the Shiants, Sunday 20th June 2021.Fiddle: Carol Anderson.Fiddle: Donal BoyleGuitar: Barry NisbetShip: Lady of Avenel
3 Old Men fae Gloup - recorded in the Lingarth porch Barry Nisbet 2020-09-28 | I took advantage of being home in Cullivoe to record a few songs in the porch here at Lingirt; this week's is '3 Old Men fae Gloup'.Please excuse the beer drinking on camera - it was my birthday after all!Please subscribe to my channel!: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
The story of the Shetland Cowboy Barry Nisbet 2020-08-30 | Just an average weekend in Shetland, really... a song straight out of the Cullivoe Hall clubroom, poking fun at the legions of cowboy boot wearing, fluffy dice owning, country music listening Shetlanders!Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Rats in the Barrel - Barry Nisbet (and the Pirates!) Barry Nisbet 2020-08-23 | For this week's video I've recorded a recent song for you, 'Rats in the Barrel', a tale of plunder and barratry on the high seas.Please excuse the behaviour of the pirates - they're an unruly bunch!BarrySubscribe to my channel! youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Harpa Dale/Silvergeo - Katherine Liley and Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2020-08-09 | A collaboration with Katherine Liley, a great fiddle player and teacher from Skye who now lives in Angus. Both tunes were written by Barry Nisbet in 2019. Harpa Dale is a valley behind the Breckon Sands in Cullive, Shetland, a peaceful, steep sided daal where a burn trickles through and curlews call.Silvergeo is a rocky inlet at the other end of the Breckon Sands, a place where a shipwreck long ago deposited silver doubloons that were being found for years afterwards, giving this wild place its name. In the winter huge breakers roar in from the north with enough power to cast stones 50 metres inland; to see it in these conditions, with foam forming like whipped cream among the rocks, is worth a winter trip to Shetland! Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
The Ghost of Gilbert Balfour Barry Nisbet 2020-08-02 | The inspiration for this song, written in January 2020, is Noltland Castle in the isle of Westray, in Orkney. Built by the notorious Gilbert Balfour in the 1560, Noltland Castle stands in remarkaby good condition to this day. Balfour was involved in the murder of Cardinal Beaton in Saint Andrews in 1546; and he is considered likely to have headed the murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots in 1567. It is interesting to consider the impact the arrival of Balfour and his entourage would have had on the island of Westray.As children my cousins and I played in and around the castle on every family holiday, telling ghost stories and climbing to parts of the ruin we probably shouldn't have done! In writing the song I imagined the ghost of a fictional (but likely) local serving girl telling her story.Men who act like Balfour seem to be making a comeback right now, and beg the question whether much has changed in the last 500 years.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Saties Gymnopédie No. 1, Stuart Wilson and Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2020-07-26 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1 A collaboration on Erik Satie's 1888 piece 'Gymnopedie No. 1'.Piano recorded by Stuart Wilson in Eaglescliffe, County Durham; guitar added in Glasgow.I have known Stuart since we met three years ago studying the University of the Highlands and Islands Applied Music degree; he is an ex-university lecturer, one-time inhabitant of Dundee, mountaineer and excelllent pianist.I hope you enjoy our working of Satie's 'lent et douloureux' Gymnopédie No 1'.Suggestions, comments or requests for the weekly video are welcomedPlease share, and subscribe using the link above! Barry
Ballad o da Jessie Lyric video Barry Nisbet 2020-07-19 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A lyric video of my Shetland Dialect song 'Da Ballad o da Jessie'.On 20th July, 1881, a sudden gale out of the north caught the fishing fleet out at sea, 40 miles west of Shetlandin open boats.Many boats were lost with their crews, and the community of North Yellwas devastated.Margaret Henry lost her husband John, skipper of the ‘Ann-Jessie’. Theirson, John Nisbet Henry, who was five years old at the time, is imagined narrating this account, which is fictional but is based on real people.From the album ‘A Bright Ray of Sunshine’, 2018Recorded Tpot Studio, PerthshireVocals+guitar: Barry NisbetPiano: Robbie WardBacking vocals: Fiona McAndrew
Ordinary World - Duran Duran cover Barry Nisbet 2020-07-12 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1Maybe it's inadvisable to folk up an 80s pop song... but I have been feeling that this song of coming to terms with catastrophic changes sums up the current Covid situation in a way that I'm sure could never have been imagined when Simon Le Bon wrote it.
Lyric video - Comfortless Cove Barry Nisbet 2020-07-05 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Niel Gows Apprentice Barry Nisbet 2020-06-28 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A song writte by Michael Marra, of Dundee. I learned it during three great years living in that city.
Here I Am Again Barry Nisbet 2020-06-21 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1I wrote Here I Am Again a few years ago, and have often performed it with Wire + Wool, and Rack + Ruin; Ash said it summed up how she was feeling during the Covid crisis, so I thought I'd play it for this week's video. I hope you enjoy; and would love your shares and subscribes to help me get my music out there! 'Here I am again, living the life of a rover,And my body is tired but my brain is so wired, and I just want this day to be overAnd we go on, risking it all without reasonI'm tired of the aimless, and fears of the nameless, and hopes for a better seasonHere I am again, living the life of a dreamer,But a dream that's got old leaves me feeling so cold, and looking for something that's greenerUsed to feel so free, used to be motivatedJust moving along living life like a song feeling this was why I was createdHere I am again... here I am againHere I am again, dreaming the life of a rover,And it's looking for ways that a man can get pad and I just want this day to be over,Here I am again, here I am again'Another video next Sunday; till then, take care + all the best.Barry
Lyric video - Within Sadness, by Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2020-06-14 | This song was written in 2017 - it's track number 10 on my 2018 album 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine', and gives the album its title.An exploration of sadness, and happiness - and how these emotions are often wrapped up within one another.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1
Afternoon in Paris - Ross Lynch and Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2020-06-07 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1facebook.com/rosslynchguitarWritten by John Lewis in 1949; recorded in Rutherglen and at King's Park Road, June 2020.Ross and I have enjoyed jamming together since we met in 2017 while studying a BA in Applied Music with the University of the Highlands and Islands
Piano Man - Billy Joel cover Barry Nisbet 2020-05-31 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1It's a cover this week - Piano Man on a guitar! A song about a bar when there are no bars; a song about a gig when there are no gigs.Words and music by Billy Joel
Stoorbra Hill Barry Nisbet 2020-05-24 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A Shetland Dialect song - words by T.A. Robertson (known as Vagaland), 1909-1973, one of Shetland's most well-known poets. shetlanddialect.org.uk/vagalandMusic by Tom Georgeson. 'Sae Golden in da golden hours, da simmer sun gengs by,And baffin trow da kavi shooers in winter he taks way.Fae Houllan's heights tae Nedderdale you keen he canna will,An whan his time is come he sets anunder Stoorbra hillDa folk at built da muckle broch wis wint tae watch him tö,Da udaller afore da loch, da crofter at da crö.And fae we baith were young wir wrocht wi wadder göd an ill,An made hame whan da hümin fell, back ower fae Stoorbra Hill.An mony's da hairst will bring da corn lang efter wir awa, And generations still unborn will skyug da winter sna.Dey'll see da hedder turnin green, da dancin simmermillDey'll watch da sun geng doon at night, anunder Stoorbra HillDey'll see what we are seein noo, da sunset's golden grind, Annd saftly, saftly blowin trow we feel da wastern wind.Da rodd up by da evenin star, we'll keen whaar he gengs tillDa hidmaist time we see da sun geng doon ower Stoorbra Hill.~English translation~'So golden in the golden hours the summer sun goes past,And fighting through snowy showers in winter he goes onFrom Houlland Heights to Netherdale you know he can't will,And when his time is come he sets, behind Stoorbra HillThe peope who built the big Brough were used to watching him as well,The Udal farmer by the loch, the crofter by the cabbage plantationAnd since we both were young we've worked, with weather good and bad,And gone home when the twilight fell, back home from Stoorbra Hill.And Many's the harvest will bring the corn, long after we've departed,And generations still unborn will shelter from the winter snowThey'll see the heather turning green, the dancing light on a wam summer's dayThey'll see the sun go down at night, behins Stoorbra HillThey'll see what we are seeing now, the sunset's golden gate,And softly, softly blowing through we feel the western windThe road up by the evening star, we'll know where it leadsThe final time we see the sun go down over Stoorbra Hill'.I've loved this song since I heard Hom Bru perform it at a Shetland Folk Festival concert.
Gin I Were a Barons Heir Barry Nisbet 2020-05-17 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A traditional Scots song, recorded at the flat in Glasgow, 16th May 2020.
Cat in a Box Barry Nisbet 2020-05-10 | Featuring Selina Clare Ross on fiddle and Eilidh Macintyre on flute.Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1Thanks to the following for their video clips:Pixabay (Cat #1; tadpoles; shark; dancing parrot; monkeys in a zoo; Cat #3; cat figurine);Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels (Spider); harabe 1001 from Pexels (chicken);Magda Ehlers from Pexels (Cat #2);Pressmaster (DNA strand; chameleon);Peta (Lab dog);Anthony from Pexels (Herd of Deer Running on Snowy Road);Tom Fisk from Pexels (Fish);Vidsplay (Chimpanzee);Beachfront B-Roll (Cat Eye)Lyrics and music by Barry Nisbet (C) 2019
Washington Square Park/Farewell to Whalley Range Barry Nisbet 2020-05-03 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1This week I'm trying a solitary jam with myself... a couple of tunes I've been enjoying lately, 'Washington Square Park', by Angus Lyon and Ruaridh Campbell, followed by 'Farewell to Whalley Range' by Michael McGoldrick.
Beeswing - Richard Thompson cover Barry Nisbet 2020-04-26 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1Isolation Session #3! Thought I'd play this cover for you this week - it's my interpretation of a great Richard Thompson song. Hope you like it! ~B~
Desert Wind - Live recording Barry Nisbet 2020-04-19 | Subscribe to my channel - youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1I wrote Desert Wind a couple of years ago; it's based on my travels in Australia and South-East Asia. It's on my 2018 album, (barrynisbet.com/music); and I thought I'd do a little live video of it today to make up for the fact that I'm not able to play any gigs right now.
The Man who Sold the World - David Bowie cover Barry Nisbet 2020-04-08 | Subscribe to my channel - youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1Here's a Bowie cover; I've loved playing this song for years - ever since my brother Michael and I played it at a Cullivoe Hop Concert a braw while ago. Enjoy! And do leave a comment below - let me know if there's any songs you'd like to see on here, my own originals or otherwise!~B~www.barrynisbet.com
Forest Lullaby - Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2020-01-08 | Subscribe: youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A new song, written summer 2019 and recorded in Glasgow January 2020. (C) Rattled Rig Music. www.barrynisbet.com
Barry Nisbet + Band Come in the Summertime, Eden Festival (2019) Barry Nisbet 2019-09-11 | Barry Nisbet and the Rattled Rig Band perform "Come in the Summertime", also available on the 2018 studio release 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine'.Filmed on the Rabbie's Tavern stage on a rainy afternoon at Eden Festival (2019), by OnRed Productions.The band are: Gavin McGinty (guitar), Robbie Ward (keys), Stephen Jack (bass), Jamie Anderson (drums).
Train to Anywhere - Barry Nisbet Band Barry Nisbet 2018-08-20 | Subscribe to my channel - youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1'Train to Anywhere', written by Barry Nisbet and available on the album 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine' barrynisbet.com/musicFilmed live at Dundee Summer Streets Festival, 21.7.2018, by Susan McAndrew.Drums: Ade Dacre. Piano: Robbie Ward. Guitar: Gavin McGinty. Bass: Stephen Jack. Backing Vocals: Fiona McAndrew.
All Of Me/Swing 42 - Barry Nisbet and Ross Lynch Barry Nisbet 2018-05-07 | Performed at the UHI Gala concert, May 3rd 2018. Filmed by Eilidh Grant Leslie.
Within Sadness - Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2018-04-17 | Recorded on the porch in Bourg de Visa, France, 17th April 2018.This song is available on the album 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine', launched on the Rattled Rig label in March 2018 and available at:amazon.co.uk/Bright-Ray-Sunshine-Barry-Nisbet/dp/B079YW34BY/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1524003769&sr=8-1
Come in the Summertime - Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2018-04-17 | Recorded on the porch in Bourg de Visa, France, on 17th April 2018. This track is available on the album 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine', released on the Rattled Rig label in March this year and available here: amazon.co.uk/Bright-Ray-Sunshine-Barry-Nisbet/dp/B079YW34BY/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1524003769&sr=8-1
Hungers Daughter - Barry Nisbet and Band Barry Nisbet 2018-03-08 | A snippet from our last rehearsal ahead of the album launch gig on Sunday 4th March. Hear the rest of Hunger's Daughter and more on the album 'A Bright Ray of Sunshine', available now through Amazon, iTunes, Google.
Shetland session in the Lounge Bar, Lerwick Barry Nisbet 2018-01-08 | Subscribe to my channel - youtube.com/c/BarryNisbet?sub_confirmation=1A good going session in the Lounge with members of The Chair, Hom Bru, Vair, Fiddler´s Bid and Rack n Ruin. (And a hyoogh from Melvin)
TOB - Barry Nisbet and Martin Henderson Barry Nisbet 2017-12-04 | A tune by Barry Nisbet, performed at Shetland Fiddle Frenzy, 3rd August 2017. Thanks to Shetland Arts, and to Keiba Film.
Comfortless Cove - Barry Nisbet Barry Nisbet 2017-11-13 | Performed at Shetland Fiddle Frenzy 2017; more information available at www.barrynisbet.comIn the early 1800s the British navy were patrolling the coast of Africa to put an end to the slave trade, and they used Ascension Island as a base for this. Often sailors fell ill with fever, and were put ashore to 'Comfort Cove'. The sailors quickly renamed it Comfortless Cove, which it remains called to this day. A beautiful golden beach where the Atlantic swells break and the volcanic rock cuts out all external sound, Comfortless Cove was avoided by the healthy population of Ascension, who would deliver food to a halfway point and fire a gun in the air to alert the invalids that their provisions could be collected. Grave markers denoting the ships and number of sailors buried here can still be seen. The character in this song is a fictional young Orcadian who falls ill with fever and retreats into thoughts of his family and of the shores and history of his home to cope with his situation. The song explores the places where others search for their comfort at their own absolute worst of times, whether they be enslaved and finding companionship in shared rhythms and music, or sick and turning to religion or to alcohol. May you find peace in Comfortless Cove.
Da Crab and da Capstan/Sleep Soond ida Mornin - Barry Nisbet and Martin Henderson Barry Nisbet 2017-10-30 | Two traditional Shetland Reels played in the North Yell style, as per the playing of the Cullivoe Fiddlers.
Brydon and Anonas Wedding Waltz/Flippen. Barry Nisbet and Martin Henderson Barry Nisbet 2017-10-15 | Live at Shetland Fiddle Frenzy, Mareel, 3rd August 2017. With the kind permission of Shetland Arts. Filming and editing by Keiba Film www.keibafilm.com
