It’s been a memorable year for Celtic rockers Skerryvore – and it’s set to end on another huge high.
The Inner Hebrides-formed band soared to the top of the Scottish charts back in May with their seventh studio album Tempus, which also saw them breaching the UK’s top 40 for the first time.
As he prepares for their final gig of 2023 tomorrow, Skerryvore’s piping maestro Martin Gillespie describes such recent success as “absolutely incredible”.
“When I started playing music in Tiree I never thought we’d have anything in the top 40, never mind a number one, so it’s been a good year music-wise for the band,” he says.
“It’s been a lot of work – a few years of writing and pulling Tempus together, but it’s worth it in the end when you get a reward like that.
“Touring so frequently, it leaves the space for writing and recording quite limited so we were a wee bit under pressure but we got there in the end – and we’re pretty happy with how it all turned out.”
Almost 20 years of Skerryvore
It was Martin and his accordionist brother Daniel who formed Skerryvore back in 2004 after teaming up with drummer Fraser West and songwriting frontman Alec Dalglish, releasing their debut album West Coast Life the following year.
Influenced by Runrig, Skerryvore‘s rousing live shows have led to a steadily growing fanbase both in Scotland as well as countries such as the US, Canada, Germany and Denmark, and they’ve long been established as one of the leading lights of a trad rock scene that’s exploded in popularity in recent years.
The band enjoyed a massive fillip when they were given extensive airplay by Radio Two for the first time in 2020, a big part in explaining their eventual UK-wide success.
“Our first playlisted song was You And I, which came together after the pandemic struck,” Martin recalls.
“One thing that was good about that time for us was it enabled us to figure out how to record at home in isolation and be able to send ideas back and forth to each other.
“Alec built his own studio in his house and ended up doing demos of tracks. At that point we were on an independent label, so to be on the playlist for six or seven weeks was incredible, then six months later we got Together Again on it as well.”
Be prepared for a Skerryvore party
Now based in and around Glasgow, the band kicked off their customary end-of-the-year Scottish tour this week and Martin says anyone going along to either of their gigs at the Music Hall tomorrow or Fort William’s Nevis Centre on Tuesday is guaranteed a typically high-energy show.
“We always like to create a bit of a party atmosphere,” he adds.
“We’re always laughing because we want to play this or play that, but we’ve only got 90 minutes. It’s harder now trying to pick the set but we’ve got plenty of options if we want to change it up.”
Joining Skerryvore in Aberdeen will be rising acoustic troubadour Nati Dreddd, with live favourites Trail West and The Laurettes playing support sets at Fort William.
“The Nevis Centre is a great venue,” says Martin.
“I think this’ll be the sixth or seventh year we’ve kept it back for our end of tour party. We’ve always toured in Scotland around New Year so we just keep it that way.”
Skerryvore play the Music Hall in Aberdeen on Saturday December 30, and take to the stage at the Nevis Centre in Fort William on Tuesday January 2. Both concerts are sold out.
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