Sally Simpson (BA Scottish Music – Fiddle, 2016) is a fiddle and viola player specialising in Scottish and Swedish traditional music.

Originally hailing from Edinburgh, Sally was drawn to folk music at an early age. She performs with party-band HEISK along with Isla Callister (BMus Traditional Music, 2020 and MA Psychology in the Arts, 2024) and Lauren Macdonald (BMus Jazz Percussion and Drumkit, 2019), folky quartet Westward the Light with Joseph Peach (MMus Scottish Music Piano, 2018) and innovative piper Malin Lewis (BMus Traditional Music – Piping, 2022).

Her time studying at Stockholm’s Kungliga Musikhögskolan sparked an interest in the role of traditional music in theatre, and she later toured with Sting’s musical The Last Ship. She teaches private and group lessons on a regular basis, and in her duo with Catriona Hawksworth, worked with Live Music Now Scotland taking music into a range of care and education settings.

Sally recently finished working on Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse in London as part of the band on fiddle, alongside Musical Director Shonagh Murray (MA Musical Directing, 2017) and performer Yna Tresvalles (BA Musical Theatre, 2024). Blending original music with traditional Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian ballads, Ballad Lines is a story of love, legacy, and the ties that bind us all.

Excited to take on her next role bringing folk music to theatre, Sally has joined the band on fiddle in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe Theatre. Taking folk influences from Scotland, Ireland and Eastern Europe, it’s directed by Emily Lim with music by James Fortune and arrangements by Zac Gvi, running until 29 August.

Sally is also releasing her debut solo fiddle album named Retreat later in 2026, comprising mostly of original compositions influenced by Scandinavian solo fiddle traditions. It is produced by Sarah-Jane Summers, a long-time friend and mentor from Sally’s time at RSAMD Junior Academy.

Sally said: “In my time at RCS, collaborating with the BAMT and MACCT courses was a real highlight, so it’s a joy and an honour to be getting to work in these areas whilst still very much staying grounded in the folk music world. Connection and storytelling are at the core of both theatre and folk music! I think there’s a tendency to think of ‘Traditional’ music as being a museum piece or being all tartan and tweed, when it’s as innovative, evolving, evocative and relevant as any other genre.”