Celtic Connections

SKERRYVORE teamed up with We Banjo 3 to put on a great show in the Old Fruitmarket on Friday January 15 as part of Celtic Connections.

The venue was sold out and what an atmosphere there was inside. We Banjo 3 began the evening and immediately got the crowd totally enthused. If you haven’t heard their music, I recommend you look them up. They are two sets of brothers from Galway – Enda and Feargal Scahill, and Martin and David Howley – who are all multiple instrumentalists. Their normal line-up is two banjoes, a guitar, and a fiddle. What a driving sound they make out of four acoustic instruments. On Friday they shouted: let us hear you if you like the banjo. The command was greeted by a deafening scream from the crowd.

By the time Skerryvore came on, there was a great atmosphere. They started with Alec Dalglish’s song Put

Your Hands Up – easily getting the whole crowd to do just that. When Martin Gillespie walked on with the bagpipes, he received a momentous cheer. At midnight, the boys made their big announcement about ObanLive – the concert due to be held in Oban’s Mossfield Stadium on May 13-14 this year. Part of the lineup was announced on the massive screen at the back of the stage. The festival will feature Capercaillie, Julie Fowlis, Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, Skipinnish, and the heroes of that evening at Celtic Connections – We Banjo 3 and Skerryvore. That line up certainly went down well with the Old Fruitmarket audience. After the announcement, both bands came on together for a few sets to finish off the night. It was an absolute topper of a gig. I cannot wait to get to more gigs over the course of the next week.