Big Country may have headlined Inverness’ Red Hot Highland Fling, but Skerryvore collected a lot of the plaudits. Still fresh in the memory of many, they make a swift reappearance at the Ironworks on Friday 12th April.
The Skerryvore story, however, goes further back than Hogmanay past.
When Skerryvore first formed on the tiny Isle of Tiree off Scotland’s west coast in 2005, little could they have known that within only a matter of years they would be performing in over 20 countries worldwide, playing to audiences from Chicago to Shanghai, with four albums and an array of industry awards under their belt.
Back then, Skerryvore consisted of Tiree-born brothers Daniel Gillespie (accordion) and Martin Gillespie (bagpipes, whistles & accordion) who bonded with holidaymaker Fraser West (drums & vocals) and friend Alec Dalglish (lead vocals & guitar) over a shared love of music: everything from traditional to rock and jazz.
It was this mix of musical styles and sounds that set the path for the band’s debut album, ‘West Coast Life’, released later the same year and awarded Album of the Month by BBC Radio Scotland’s Celtic Connections programme. The more the fledgling band experimented with fusing together different influences, the more their signature sound evolved, aided by the arrival of new members Barry Caulfield (bass & vocals) and Craig Espie (fiddle) in time for second album, ‘On The Road’, in 2007. But it was with the release of self-titled third album, ‘Skerryvore’, that the band found themselves catapulted into the musical limelight winning a string of prestigious awards, including SNMA Record of the Year 2011 and STMA Live Act of the Year 2011, and garnering much critical acclaim.
Tickets on sale Friday 11th January at 10am on www.IronworksVenue.com.
