With a summer packed full of festivals, sell-out shows at Scotland’s most iconic venues, and legions of new fans, the burgeoning trad and folk music scene is the stuff of dreams for Skerryvore‘s Daniel Gillespie.
The popular eight-piece Celtic rockers are just one of many bands breaking through to new audiences and even bigger stages in recent years.
Daniel, who founded the band alongside brother Martin in 2004 in the surfing paradise of Tiree, is excited to see what feels like the whole nation riding the wave.
“The scene’s so diverse at the moment in all aspects,” Daniel said. “It’s really exciting and with such a young following. The English and Irish bands are always blown away at the age profile of the crowd.
“I used to play a lot of football when I was younger and guys that I thought would never be interested in folk and trad are all of a sudden messaging saying they’re coming along and getting right into the scene.
“Every style’s got a niche or a market, but it seems to be getting broader and broader. I think a lot of that’s to do with the bands coming through the music that’s getting made, the collaborations that are happening. It’s a pretty exciting time to be involved.”
‘The stuff of daydreams’
With the band recently getting airplay on BBC Radio 2 and selling out some of the country’s most iconic venues, it seems like trad is breaking into the mainstream.
“Ten years ago the idea that there would have been eight or nine bands from the folk trad scene all out on tour in the same month, selling out The Barrowlands, The Usher Hall, Perth Concert Hall would be the stuff of daydreams,” Daniel admits.
“The whole nation seems to be really keen to be part of the ride at the moment and the energy that’s going with it. Long may it continue.”
Positive outlook
Part of Skerryvore’s appeal in particular has been the positive, uplifting sound they create through fusing pop, rock and more traditional elements in to a unique blend.
“Obviously, because there’s bagpipes, fiddle and accordions, people straight away want to go ‘oh it’s a teuchter band’ or whatever you want to call it,” Daniel laughs.
“It’s far more than that, for us, it’s always about writing positive music, good songs that people could engage with or resonate with in some way.
“There was a conscious push for us to make things more radio friendly, more pop friendly from the feedback that we had, but try and get the balance right between that and what we’d done previously and what we do live. It took time but we’ve been really pleased about where we got to.”
Special event
Skerryvore play a number of festivals this summer, including HebCelt, Speyfest and Belladrum.
Tiree Music Festival, July 7-9, is extra special for Daniel, coming from the island himself. As well as it being a homecoming gig, it’s a year-round job for him as a co-founder and organiser.
“It’s not quite as relaxed for me as some of the other boys! We’ve been doing it for a decade now. Myself and [co-founder] Stewart MacLennan that I grew up with wanted to to give something back to the island and try and put Tiree on the map and bring more people out to discover it for the first time. It’s been a rollercoaster experience.”
Daniel was relieved the festival managed to ride out Covid, and knows its location is a challenge but also a great unique selling point.
“We certainly can punch well above our weight,” he said. “Not many festivals can boast having a big white sandy beach on the doorstep, so we’ll just use that to our advantage as much as we can.”
Flying the flag
As well as the Scottish shows, Skerryvore continue to fly the flag abroad for Scottish music.
For over a decade, they’ve been touring America three or four times a year, something Daniel feels extremely fortunate to be able to do – but which is not without its difficulties.
“It’s challenging, particularly on the financial and administration front with visas and things,” he said.
“I don’t think the bands and Scottish scene as a whole get anywhere near the level of support for international touring that the likes of the Irish groups get.
“It’s something we’ll keep lobbying for because there’s a huge market out there.
“It’s very important that we try and get as many of our bands and musicians, not just to America, but Canada and other parts of the world and showcase music the same way we do with whisky and other produce.”
Skerryvore play Tiree Music Festival, July 7-9. More festival dates here.
