Review of The Gathering at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness featuring artists such as Capercaillie, Elephant Sessions, Manran and Skerryvore
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
REVIEW
The Gathering Festival
Northern Meeting Park, Inverness
5 stars
There’s something special about the timing of The Gathering in Inverness and the weather on Saturday wouldn’t let you forget we were saying goodbye to spring but still only warming up for summer.
As the day – with its grey cold, blazing sun and, late on, icy rain – reminded you, you can’t remember everything you might need to get you through the day. Both sun cream and fingerless gloves will go into the bag first next time.
But maybe the four seasons is a pretty perfect match for the mix of ages and experience of bands and musicians assembled on Saturday, a mix The Gathering has made its signature since the start.
The fresh new morning as the queue started lining up outside the Northern Meeting Park just after 11am was reflected in the music from some of the youngest artists floating through the gates as we waited.
In the tent of Stage 2, the youngsters of Coisir na h-Oige BSGI were having a quick run-through of a medley which featured traditional Gaelic song Morag a Dun Bheagain – a song I’ve often heard over the years but now with a name, thanks to the school’s helpful Iain-Murdo Macmillan.
The youngsters looked excited and sang their hearts out when their early time slot came around. It felt moving to hear the third? fourth? generation on, perform Runrig songs, including Alba, alongside their traditional repertoire.
Officially, it is The City Of Inverness Youth Pipe Band that opens the day. And in front of the stage the bagpipes and drums are always a highlight, Scotland The Brave one on Saturday as proud families and friends watched in the crowd.
Up on the main stage, Project Smok featuring Ali Levack – originally from Maryburgh – on whistle with Ewan Baird on bodhran and Pablo Lafuente on guitar soundchecked, giving time to remember that Ali was BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2020 and that they have been produced in the past by Edwyn Collins on their debut album Bayview – also, just a few minutes into the set, that the words “innovation” and “virtuosity” are words never far away when the line-up is mentioned for a reason.
Chat to a minimum – “How are you all doing – Good?” Ali asked, before ensuring we were, Wee Smoky getting us going and Ali’s concentration on the music finally making way for a revelation just before their last number.
“These boys were out till seven this morning,” Ali grinned. “Can you tell?”
No, the music was keeping their secrets even if Ali hadn’t!
There’s a welcome country twist in the music of Heron Valley, who feature keyboards from Keith Morrison of the Wee Studio on Lewis and the blend of traditional instruments with the creamy voice of singer Abigail Pryde.
Their relaxed sound on the main stage led into the full-on almost show band folk-rock feel of Torridon who specialise in getting a festival party started. Kenny Smith noising up the crowd, found a substitute wedding couple to name when the originals didn’t shout back. Highlights included Michael MacMillan singing maybe their biggest hit Highland Girl
“This went to the top of the charts … in Beauly!” grinned Kenny, introducing it. And he had no trouble training his crowd for a new song, the words quickly sounding like second nature – “She took my heart, she took my soul, and gave ‘em away”.
You’re just thinking ‘Torridon are really a rock band’, ordering their obedient fans to jump, when the bagpipes kick in at a blistering pace, tipping it back to traditional.
Even the band introductions are turned into a mini-party of their own – guitarist Paul ‘Pel’ Elliott’s party piece All Right Now by Free, Michael MacMillan’s Robbie Williams’ Let Me Entertain You and Kenny tapping into the power of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Manran took over the main stage, the first notes of their latest album ÙRAR's track Ailean drifting over the park in the sunshine before the track fully kicked in and Kim Carnie’s voice anchored all the instruments.
“Thank you and how are you all doing?” said Gary Innes, by now presiding over the apparently perfect summer afternoon.
“Northern Meeting Park – look at the weather?! It’s good to be in the Highlands today, that’s for sure.” Crow Flies and Parallels from the new album gave the crowd a good taste of what they were missing if they hadn’t already got their album yet.
The song San Christobel, also on the album, was moving, starting just with Kim’s voice and acoustic guitar But it was audience participation Gary had in mind, as he yelled like a fitness coach clapping overhead "Let’s keep it going!” to get the momentum going as fiddler/piper/ singer Ewen Henderson got stuck into some superfast mouth music/ puirt a beul, to top a set that had it all. They are back in September, Gary reminded us.
Right at the other end of the field there was also a party going on in Stage 2, though it seemed to have happened spontaneously.
Lairig – fiddle and guitar – were playing to a packed tent.
“This is a set of jigs – feel free to do a wee Strip The Willow,” fiddler Rachel Campbell grinned. But the crowd didn’t need asking twice. And as it ended, Rachel introduced the next set.
“These are two tunes Jordan and I wrote – Trip To The Fairy Glen and Ballad Of The Burning Caravan. It was inspired by some tourists at Loch Ness who had set a fire inside their caravan," Rachel said. Again, Rachel invited the crowd to dance – “Take your partners for a Canadian Barn Dance!”.
And everyone was having such a good time that suddenly it seemed a great idea maybe for next year – a tent just to do the old Scottish dances in?
But back on the main stage, Skye’s Peatbog Faeries – tracks like Spiders scuttling across the afternoon – pumped up the clubbier vibe as the fiddle, whistle and guitar tripped across the big dance beats – a reminder that this kind of fusion has a long history, these masters of the art still sounding fresh.
“Are some of you drinking the booze-juice?” speculated their piper and whistle player Pete Morrison.
And that made Strictly Sambucca something close to perfect timing!
But it was the poppier sound of Skerryvore up next – vocals out in front from a line-up that creates contemporary Scottish songs their big festival crowds can’t wait to sing along to.
Together Again is always a great one for getting the crowd warmed up with its “Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, the sweetest thing!”
And straight into Happy To Be Home – “Inverness, are we ready for a dance?” accordionist Daniel Gillespie asked. Live Forever started off with a solo vocal from Alec before the rest of the band returned to the stage and the pace picked up.
“We’re looking forward to a better summer than the last two years,” Skerryvore reminded the crowd – and echoed one of the themes of the day. And as Alec Dalglish’s songs often do, Waiting On The Sun captured romantic pictures – ‘running through the fields into the moonlight … waiting on a sunny day to come my way’.
What better time to announce tickets for their Inverness date on December 10 would go on sale 10 minutes later, having wooed the crowd with a set full of reasons why they would want to do the whole thing again in December?
Just Hold My Hand was left to play to seal the deal!
By the time Capercaillie started to soundcheck, the temperature had dropped and rain blew across the front of the stage.
Cosy-looking in an aviator jacket and black velvet trousers, Karen Matheson joined the rest of the band and at the end of the first number with fiddle-player Charlie McKerron and whistle-player Mike McGoldrick up front, she smiled: “It’s great to be part of this fantastic line-up. Most of you wouldn’t have been born when we started. We’re going to do a strathspey, but it’s been a long time – anything can happen!”
Then Karen introduced Nil Si I nGra (She Is Not In Love), written in Irish Gaelic by the band’s Manus Lunny.
“It’s a slow one, can you handle that?” Karen asked.
It was beautiful, though by the end, the cold was seeping in and Capercaillie quickened the blood with a fast reel led by Donald Shaw on accordion.
Then it was time for “an old favourite – it’s easy to sing along with!” Karen said.
And Coisich a Ruin is one of the band’s classic numbers that shows off Karen’s bell-like voice, and the crowd obliged.
It hardly seemed time to end the set, but the light was just starting to fade a little which signalled Elephant Sessions were about to make their return to Inverness and a stage where they had already made a big impact on their first appearance – but in a teatime slot.
This time, there was a duty of care – our hometown heroes had to dance us back to life to counter the cold and with a spectacular light show shafts of white and green turned the stage into a theatre of colour.
The arrival of Elephant Sessions got an irresistible urge to move started, with What Makes You – title track from the album.
And pure euphoria fed off the sound of fiddle player Euan Smillie and mandolin player Alasdair Taylor testing each other’s virtuosity for the perfect infectious experience live, to dance The Gathering to the end of the night. MC
