Scottish band Skerryvore is currently touring the United States and will be playing a free concert on the Memorial Union Terrace on July 30, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in Madison, Wisconsin. We spoke to the band to learn more about the music and the upcoming concert.
1. How has the band’s sound evolved over the years?
Alec Dalglish: We’ve gone through quite a large progression in our sound over the 17 years as a band. In the beginning our style was heavily rooted in the traditional genre of Ceilidh music which is played throughout the west coast of Scotland, and we’d often play for dancing at local village halls and pubs throughout the Highlands and Islands. At that point we weren’t writing any of our own music, and the biggest change in our sound came once we decided we wanted to start writing our own material and move towards adding more songs as opposed to solely instrumental music.
The sound of Skerryvore is really a combination of the various musical tastes of each band member, and as we’ve progressed towards more self-penned material the influence of rock and pop has grown more present. It was always important to us for the original traditional roots of the band to remain, and it’s the combination of these two worlds that really defines our sound as a band.
2. The pandemic brought touring to a halt. What did Skerryvore’s band members do during the lockdown?
Martin Gillespie: We managed to write and record some new music during the various lockdowns. With us not being able to meet together it was a new process to record in isolation which was a great experience. We recorded and released a charity single called Everyday Heroes in support of our National Health Service, which went to No1 in the Official music charts in Scotland. We also released two further singles which were playlisted on BBC Radio 2, achieving our first ever national radio playlisting.
Once we were able to meet together, we performed 3 live-streamed concerts from different locations in Scotland, which were viewed in over 40 countries worldwide. We also kept active on our social media channels, with Alec performing live solo concerts most Friday nights and me hosting cocktail nights with music!
3. When did you start performing live again?
Daniel Gillespie: We were very fortunate to be one of the few bands to be granted a National Interest Exemption (NIE) last summer to allow us to travel stateside when many others could not. Part of this was down to us being selected to perform at the Ryder Cup in Whistling Straits, which was an amazing way to return to live touring after a long break. However, it was not long before touring stopped again because of Omicron variant and that was probably a tougher period to manage since we had a taste of live touring again.
Thankfully, we are now back touring full-time and looking forward to finally performing at these summer festivals that were booked way back in 2019!
4. What material will be performing at your Madison, Wisconsin concert?
Alan Scobie: We will be performing a mixture of material ranging from our two most recent singles ‘You and I’ and ‘Together Again’ and right back to the earlier days with tune sets such as ‘Ginger Grouse Jigs’
The set consists of a range of material from all the albums in between and the live show demonstrates the evolution of the band right up to several tracks from our most recent studio albums ‘EVO’ and ‘Chasing the Sun’.
5. What’s the current band lineup?
Jodie Bremaneson: Skerryvore are: Martin Gillespie, bagpipes and whistles; Daniel Gillespie, accordion; Craig Espie, fiddle; Scott Wood, bagpipes and whistles; Alec Dalglish, vocals and guitar; Jodie Bremaneson, bass; Alan Scobie, keyboards; and Fraser West, drums.
Our music is a fusion of Scottish folk with rock and contemporary pop, blending traditional instrumentation such as the Highland bagpipes alongside electric guitars, bass, drums and keys to create our own distinctive and energetic style. The songs of Skerryvore take inspiration from songwriters classic and current. Our instrumental tune sets combine styles from rock, funk and electronic music alongside Traditional and original melodies that are infused with a deep respect for our Scottish Folk roots.
6. Your last studio album was “EVO” in 2018 and your overall last album was a live recording titled “Live across Scotland” released in 2020. Are you planning to release any recordings soon?
Fraser West: We’ve actually just finished recording a new album. It’s in its final stages of getting mixed before being sent off to get mastered. It feels like a really long time since we’ve released a studio album, so this is really exciting for us, and we can’t wait for people to hear it and start performing stuff live. We don’t have a definite release date yet, but the album will be out next year, with hopefully one single out towards the end of this year.
More about Skerryvore
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.