Longway formed in February of 2003, after a jam session showed us how this lineup seemed a perfect combination. We were knocked out (and somewhat taken aback) by the synergy that resulted in a hard-driving sound coupled with a bounce that we'd each individually been seeking all of our playing lives ! We have since played at most of the British Bluegrass Festivals and many Folk Club venues, as well as concerts, appeared on Radio shows and recorded two albums.The band is made up of

	Bob Stevenson, or Big Stevie, is the powerful-voiced singer and rock-solid rhythm guitarist in Longway. Stevie's introduction to Bluegrass was auspicious to say the least, being at Bill Monroe's legendary Scottish concert in 1975. Since then, he has played bass and sang with Old Hickory and the Runaway String Band. His chief influences are Dudley Connell, Blue Highway, Tony Rice, Lonesome River Band and Nancy Griffith. Aside from music, his big passion is golf, with a handicap of 5. He works as an Electrical Estimator/Surveyor in the construction industry. A mahogany-backed Vanden dreadnought guitar is Stevie's main weapon.
	Robin Wallace plays most of the mandolin in the band, on a very fine instrument made in Scotland by Mike Vanden. He has a very unique style, honed by playing since 1975 with Cedar Hill and the Runaway String Band, and does mandolin workshops at festivals. He is also a fine banjo, guitar and Dobro player, owning a Stelling Red Fox, a Vanden rosewood dreadnought, and a couple of nice Martin D28's. Robin's main influences are Seldom Scene, Dan Crary, and the Dillards.  He is a Professor at Edinburgh University, researching renewable energy, and travels the world extensively as a co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre. His interests outside music are saving the planet.
	Hugh Kelly,Dip.Mus, or Shug, is the root/5 of Longway, maintaining the beat with his solid, but inventive, bass playing. Like the force of gravity, he is the only thing that keeps the mandolin and banjo from flying off into the atmosphere. He has had perhaps the broadest musical career in the band, having played with top-notch Cajuneers, Boogalusa, and with jazz, funk, skiffle, rock, blues, Folk and Country bands over the last 20-odd years. He still divides his skills between whoever wants him to play, but loves Bluegrass. He plays a very fine old double-bass from Hungary, and owns a vintage Fender Telecaster electric bass. Shug is a teacher of special-needs kids, and a dedicated vegetarian.
	Jim Hyndman plays mainly banjo, some mandolin and Dobro, and all the fiddle with Longway. He sings some lead and mostly tenor harmonies. Influenced mainly by Flatt & Scruggs, Jim started out playing banjo in 1973, and has played with Country Kin, High Speed Grass, Chinook, Scots Country Comfort and a string of other bands since then. His banjo is a 1954 Gibson with a new neck, and plays a nice mandolin by Canadian luthier Jim Weldrick. He cites his banjo influences as Scruggs, Reno, Crowe, Keith, Adams, Emerson, Trischka and Mills, and other interests include building instruments and fly-fishing for Trout in Scotland's rivers and lochs. He is an Engineer in the Semiconductor industry, and also plays in a folk band, The Scalded Cats.