TRADITIONAL Scottish band The Tannahill Weavers visit York for the first time in many years to play the National Centre for Early Music on their 30th anniversary tour on Monday.

Roy Gullane, guitar and lead vocals, and Phil Smillie, flute, whistle and bodhran, are the remaining founder members of a band that grew out of the folk session scene in Paisley in the early 1970s and took its name from the town's main industry and its poet laureate, Robert Tannahill.

On their new album, Arnish Light, they are joined by fiddler John Martin, previously of Ossian and Easy Club; seasoned bouzouki and guitar player and vocal arranger Les Wilson; and the newest and youngest acquisition, Colin Melville, who continues the Weavers' pioneering use of full-sized Highland bagpipes in a band setting.

Monday's concert is promoted by the Black Swan Folk Club, whose organiser, Roland Walls, says: "The Tannahill Weavers' diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs and original ballads, demonstrating the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people."

Flute, fiddle and pipes take the melody, above driving guitar and bouzouki rhythms, with vocals in stirring three or four-part harmony.

Monday's support act will be Susie Fox, a regular on the Yorkshire folk circuit.

Doors open at 7pm for a prompt 7.30pm start at the NCEM, Walmgate. Tickets: £12, £10, on 01904 658338 or from Cassady's Records, Gillygate.

Updated: 09:35 Friday, December 03, 2004