A well-known Scottish traditional musician credited with making fiddle playing “cool” has died at the age of 49.
Angus R Grant performed with Edinburgh-based bands Swamptrash and Shooglenifty.
Mr Grant grew up in Fort William, Lochaber, and was the son of well-known left-handed fiddle player Aonghas Grant.
With Shooglenifty he helped to create a genre of music called acid croft, described as “a blend of Celtic traditional music and dance grooves”.
Shooglenifty said Mr Grant died on Sunday following a short illness.
The band, which posted a tribute to Grant on its website, is well-known in Edinburgh, but also the Highlands and Islands where it tours extensively.
It has performed at the HebCelt in the Western Isles, the Highlands’ Blas festivals and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections.
A statement released on the band’s Facebook page said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that our brother Shoogle, Angus R Grant, passed away last night after a short illness. “We would like to thank his doctors and the team from St Columba’s Hospice who enabled him to die peacefully at home surrounded by family and close friends.”
Mr Grant played fiddle and wrote music, including the tunes Two Fifty to Vigo, She’s In The Attic, Nordal Rhumba, Glenfinnan Dawn and Fitzroy Crossing.
The band rounded off their 25th anniversary tour last December with a special performance at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, where they had appeared regularly in the previous two decades.
Writing on Shooglenifty’s website yesterday, manager Jane-Ann Purdy said: “With Venus in Tweeds, Shooglenifty’s first album, the band took the folk world by the scruff of the neck, and they’ve kept on shaking ever since.
“Through seven studio albums, gigs to a few hundred in small Highland village halls, playing to tens of thousands in festival fields across the globe, and a couple of line-up changes, Angus was there, centre stage.
“He had never missed a gig until this July when illness forced his hand, but he returned to the stage to complete Shooglenifty’s run of August festival appearances.
“Somewhat bohemian in outlook, Angus was more rigorously unconventional on stage, leading audiences in a merry dance for over 30 years, and influencing a whole generation of musicians. With his rock n roll swagger, he made fiddle playing cool.”
