Barry Nisbet is a Shetland musician whose work draws deeply on language, history, and the sea, rooted in tradition yet unmistakeably current. 

His writing engages with the lost Norn tongue alongside his native Shetland and an isles-accented English. Recent projects include researching and reconstructing the mediaeval Hildina ballad in both Norn and Shetland, part of his wider interest in musical archaeology and vernacular culture. As one of the Cullivoe Fiddlers, he plays fiddle in a  style that is distinctive, rhythmic, and inherited from an older lineage. He performs both solo and with Aespeniða, a new fiddle–voice–marimba duo exploring Nordic and North Atlantic soundscapes.

Open ocean, story, and atmosphere run through his work; nature’s power threads through shared human experience on albums such as The Springbank Voyage (2022), combining maritime history and contemporary songwriting.