More than two decades in, Skerryvore return to the Highlands with a sound that’s grown in scale but never lost its roots.
More than twenty years on from village halls and west coast pubs, Skerryvore feel like part of the backbone of the Scottish live scene. They’ve put the miles in, built it properly, and earned the kind of reputation that doesn’t need much dressing up.
What’s kept them there is the balance. The sound has grown into something bigger and more anthemic, but it’s never lost the ceilidh instinct underneath it. You still hear it in the way the tunes land and in how the crowd responds.
Live, they’re hard to match. There’s a scale to it now, but it still feels close, like a band that understands exactly how to lift a room rather than just play at it. That connection tends to sharpen further in the Highlands, where the trad roots aren’t just recognised, they’re expected.They’ve carved out their own space over time. Not quite trad, not quite mainstream, but sitting comfortably between the two, and doing it well enough to pull both audiences with them.
We caught up with the band ahead of The Gathering to talk about how that’s evolved, and what still drives it forward.
You’ve played all over the world, but a Highland headline slot carries a different weight. Does that change how you think about the set, knowing the crowd understands the roots of what you do?
Yes, I think we always feel the Scottish crowds and festivals are special compared to anywhere else in the world. Certainly the most energetic and ready to party, so that always comes into our mind when selecting the set list for these shows. The highland and island crowds specifically also tend to know more of our older songs and tracks so it’s also nice to revisit some of them on these shows. (Daniel Gillespie, Accordion)
A US review recently described the live show as “boisterous and bombastic” and even compared the scale to arena acts. Do you recognise that in what you’re doing, or does it still feel like the same band just on a bigger stage?
Sounds more like a night out with the band!
Being a band who have toured for over 20 years starting in the local pubs and village halls we have always tried to improve and enhance our show as the band has progressed naturally. Certainly in the last few years I feel we have taken it up another level. It’s great people are recognising this. (Martin Gillespie, pipes and whistles)
For a crowd that knows trad inside out, do you ever feel a pressure to lean into that more deeply, or is the point now to show how far that sound can stretch?
We always want to make sure the trad element features heavily, but we see our audience singing along to our songs and connecting more and more with the music. We really just like to have a good mixture of what we do. Have the singalong moments and the release of dancing around to a good tune. (Fraser West, drums)
When you’re writing now, are you consciously thinking about how far the music can reach, or is it still rooted in the same ceilidh instincts you started with?
I think the most important thing for me is to write from the heart and to the best of my ability. I want other people to love the songs and relate to them and hopefully that comes from the hard work put in during the original conception. The ceilidh instincts are always going to be part of the mindset. Everything you hear or learn stays with you and shines through in what you do. (Alec Dalglish, vocals, guitar)
The Gathering sits in an interesting place, not fully mainstream, not purely trad either. Does that kind of festival feel like a natural home for where the band is right now?
“Not fully mainstream, not purely trad either” sums us up quite well actually! We’re always trying to push our sound further and reach new audiences, but honouring our traditional roots is also really important to all of us. It’s always in our musical DNA, even in our most “modern” sounding tracks, so The Gathering is an ideal fit for us in this respect. (Jodie Bremaneson, Bass)
You’re over 20 years in, but you still come across like a band building rather than looking back. What’s actually driving things forward at this stage?
“It’s the music, friendship and love of what we do that drives us. We’ve always been a band that likes to try something new and evolve the sound, exploring new ways to be creative and innovative. We’ve been back in the studio a lot over the past year working on the next chapter of our story, and there’s an amazing buzz and energy within the group right now. Aside from the grey hairs and wrinkles, we still feel like the young boys who started playing in the pubs and village halls over 20 years ago.” (Craig Espie, Fiddle)
Tempus feels like a shift towards bigger, more anthemic songwriting. When those tracks hit a live setting like this, do they push the set in a different direction?
“Absolutely! When we perform the songs live and feel the crowd react to the songs, it really helps us to dig back into the meaning of the lyrics when you see faces singing words back to you. That feeling of a shared mutual enjoyment between artist and listener will never get old. Playing so many of these songs in Scotland, where they originate from, will always feels so right to us and the energy of the crowd will also dictate what our set will become.” (Scott Wood, pipes, whistles)
