Skerryvore is that truly unique band that begs to be seen live. The band will return to the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor to play a 7:30 p.m. concert on Thursday, Sept. 3. 

Four-time winners of Scotland’s ‘Live Act of the Year’ award, the band formed over 20 years ago on the Isle of Tiree where brothers Daniel and Martin Gillespie (Tiree natives) first met school friends Fraser West and Alec Dalglish from Livingston, after Fraser visited the island on a family holiday. According to band member Craig Espie, “There was an immediate realization that the combination of the west coast traditional music influences on the Gillespie brothers, combined with the pop/rock upbringing of the lowlanders, had the potential to create something pretty special."

Shortly after, Espie joined on fiddle. Over the years the band grew in size:  Alan Scobie on keys, Jodie Bremanesan on bass, and Scott Wood on bagpipes and whistles. Said Espie, “Each member adds their own personal style to the sound which has evolved from a west-coast Ceilidh band into the modern trad/folk/pop fusion it is today.” Ceilidhs, for the uninitiated, are social events at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling. The new album, "Beautiful Mistakes," is due to be released Nov. 6.

“We love to perform–to have a crowd up dancing and singing along with you, to see happy faces and create joy. Music has an ability to make all worries fade away and allow people to connect emotionally, and we are extremely honoured that we have the opportunity to do that every night,” says Espie. “We just want people to leave with a smile on their face, and to be exhausted after dancing more than they ever have before. Our shows do have intimate moments, and lyrically our songs have meaning and deep emotion, but at the end of the day we are always recreating the ceilidhs of our youth in the village halls of the west coast of Scotland, and encourage audiences not just to watch and listen, but to join the party.”

For more information about the band, go to https://skerryvore.com/.

Advance discounted tickets for the Sept. 3 concert are $35, and available now, from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor or by calling 207-633-5159. The box office is open Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Buy regularly priced tickets, $40 at https://boothbayoperahouse.com. 

Doors for seating open at 7 p.m. Music begins at 7:30. The bar will have cold drinks for sale, cash only.