Dan Houghton grew up surrounded by Scottish traditional music and dance and started his musical career playing the whistles, viola and tíompan (hammered dulcimer) when he was about seven. He has been fingering the pipes and flute since the early ninties and has played and taught throughout Europe, Asia, the New World and the Antipodes.
Whilst a student in Dunedin, New Zealand Dan played pipes, bouzouki and banjo and sang in the Irish band Blackthorn. More recently he has been half of several musical duos in the Europe area including Musion with citternist and singer Chris Wright; The ASBO Duo with guitarist and bouzoukier Cammy Robson, in Edinburgh and The Boussens Which Project with Franck Delieuvin in Toulouse. He also occasionally plays with the Edinburgh based Salsa Celtica and the Puy Laurence based Gartloney Rats and Doolin. In 1999, along with fiddler Jon Bews and Cameron Robson, Dan helped to form the Scottish trad power band commonly known as Cantrip, to which much of his musical and creative energy is devoted.
As well as playing for concerts and sessions Dan has been quite a successful dance piper and has performed for both Scottish Highland and Country dancing. Together with Jon Bews and pianist James Gray he has played for country dances and ceilidhs throughout Scotland and Europe either under the name Rantin’, Rovin’, Reelin’ or Captain Horne & His Hardened Seamen depending on the company and the occasion. In 2004 and 2005 they, along with Chris Wright, provided the music for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society’s show Dancing Forth in the Edinburgh Festival.
When not on the road, in the air or under water Dan partitions his time between Scotland and Vermont where he teaches Bagpipes at the Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts and designs websites.
Click here to hear some samples of Dan’s solo work or here to hear samples of work with various groups.