The Tannahill Weavers were formed in 1968 in Paisley, Scotland, following a regular session in a back room of a club run by Pat Doherty, father of one of the group's founding members, Neil Doherty. They take their name from the town’s poet laureate and writer of folk songs, Robert Tannahill (known as the "Weaver Poet"), and the industry for which Paisley was once known: weaving. Known as the Tannahills, or the Tannies for short, the band’s traditional musical style focuses on Highland Celtic music, and it was one of the first bands to incorporate the predominately solo instrument, the Great Highland bagpipes, as a main stage instrument. 

The line up that will be appearing at the 2015 Great Lakes Folk Festival will be:   Founding members, Roy Gullane (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Phil Smillie (flute, whistle, bodhrán), and more recent additions, John Martin (fiddle, vocals) and Lorne MacDougall (Highland bagpipes, Scottish small pipes, whistles).