Hello and welcome to our website!

This website was built to introduce an album we released in 2010 called "Escape".  The album celebrates and highlights the story of the Shetland Bus, the secret war time travels which took place by boat between Shetland and Norway.

Here's a little bit of info on the project:

Shetland sisters Jenna and Bethany have been playing music together since an early age and continue to do so throughout their career's as musicians.  As graduates of the RSAMD and Strathclyde University, the girls have combined their instrumental and compositional skills to work on new music together.

'Escape' The Story of Jan Baalsrud and the Shetland Bus'.

The brand new suite of original music was inspired by the incredible story of the Shetland Bus and was performed for the first time at the 2010 Celtic Connections festival. It was so well received we made plans to get into the studio and record. So here we are with a brand-new album that we hope you enjoy.

Along side fellow musicians, James Thomson, Iain Sandilands and James Lindsay we set about arranging the original melodies composed by Jenna and Bethany, creating a suite of music inspired by the secret World War 2 mission, known as the Shetland Bus. These missions did not go over land, but across the north sea.

With no lights and at constant risk of discovery by German aircraft and patrol boats, crossings were made between Shetland and Norway during winter under the cover of darkness across the dangerous waters of the North Sea.

Our music tells the story of Norwegian Jan Baalsrud, a 26year old instrument maker who found himself alone and on the run for more than 2 months in the Norwegian artic wastelands. This album tells the remarkable tale of Jan’s incredible journey of survival.

Jenna Reid – Fiddle

Bethany Reid – Fiddle & Piano

James Thomson – Flute & Pipes

Iain Sandilands – Percussion

James Lindsay – Double Bass

Phil Goodlad – Narration

Martyn McLaughlin – Words