Niteworks Farewell Tour: The Electronic Gaelic Group Disband After 17 Years
The popular Scottish Gaelic band from Skye, Niteworks, are currently on their farewell tour and will be playing their final shows in November. Discover how this electronic Celtic fusion band changed the way we listen to traditional Scottish music forever.
Not every band can get away with a year-long lead-in to their final show. But Niteworks, who announced late last year that they would disband in 2024 after 17 years together, have always done things on their own terms.
“We wanted to end things on a high after a particularly great couple of years, rather than risk being the kind of band who fades into obscurity,” says Allan MacDonald (guitar, bagpipes and keyboards), as the folk-electronica four-piece embark on their final run of shows including a performance at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival last month.
“We’re all in different places in our lives now, with jobs and kids and families, and when you’re struggling to commit the time to the band that it deserves, we knew it was time to draw the line.”
Niteworks – Allan, vocalist/keyboardist Innes Strachan, bassist Christopher Nicolson and drummer Ruairidh Graham – met in and around Portree High School. They bonded over their shared interests in playing ceilidh music and listening to the underground dance and electronica music that found an unexpected home on Skye.
Allan cites Skye native Mylo’s 2004 album Destroy Rock & Roll as a formative influence, as well as the dance-heavy Isle of Skye Music Festival, which ran for a few years in the mid-2000s.
“It felt natural to take the more traditional music we were making in various ceilidh bands and shape it into something more dance-y to reflect what we were listening to,” he remembers. “The trick, though, was to get it to sound good – it’s fairly easy to put a dance kick drum to almost any genre of music, but there was a lot of trial
and error those first few years trying to come up with a cohesive blend of the two genres.”
Allan says he’ll “let someone else be the judge” of whether the four were ultimately successful – but with achievements like high-profile collaborations with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, sell-out shows across the country and recognition from the Scottish Album of the Year Award (their second album, 2018’s Air Fàir an Là, was longlisted for the prestigious prize while their latest, 2022’s A’Ghrian, made the 10-strong shortlist), the school friends have plenty to celebrate when reminiscing about their 17-year “hobby”.
Recent research by VisitScotland shows a resurgence in support for Scottish traditional music, with over half of those surveyed keen to explore more of the genre. Festivals such as Celtic Connections, Edinburgh Tradfest and HebCelt on Stornoway showcase performers who push the boundaries of what “trad” can be. But for
Niteworks, starting out back in 2007, finding an audience for their fusion of folk and dance music took time.
“We’d get booked for festivals and they wouldn’t know what to do with us – we tended to be too dancey to be on during the trad stuff, and too traditional to be on during the dance stuff. We’d end up in these late night slots in tiny tents – so we couldn’t wait to be on the main stage at Belladrum,” says Allan.
For their final shows – which will include dates in London, Inverness and Glasgow in November, along with selected festivals – the band will perform with an expanded line-up including “unofficial fifth member” Fiona Macaskill on fiddle and vocal trio Sian.
The shows will also incorporate visuals charting the band’s history: they have dubbed the tour “Solas na Maidne”, from the Gaelic for daybreak, symbolising the end of their “night’s work”. The idea of legacy also plays into their choice of final song: a cover of Runrig’s An Toll Dubh (The Dungeon), a call to wake “the Gael” and use
language to keep Gaelic culture alive.
“We didn’t set out to be torchbearers for Gaelic music – but we’ve been able to do so many cool things as a band that might not traditionally have been open to have Gaelic front and centre. I hope in that way we leave behind some kind of positive impact,” says Allan.
Niteworks will be play the last shows on their farewell tour in November at Eden Court, Inverness, The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh, and a sold out final show at O2 Academy Glasgow. This week, the group also added an extra final date at Aberdeen’s Music Hall.
There are still ticket left for their final show at Aberdeen’s Music Hall on November 14. Keep an eye on the Niteworks website for full details and to join any waiting lists for tickets.
