★★★★★ Some Fringe venues feel like they’re trying to be something they’re not. The Ukrainian Community Centre isn’t one of them. Its main room — cosy, lived‑in, almost like stepping into someone’s front room — turns out to be the perfect setting for Celtic folk. The atmosphere wraps around you before the music even begins, and when Skyrie take the stage, the space feels made for them.
Formed in 2015 by Lesley Thompson Smith and Christopher Martin Smith, with James “Jimmy” Anderson joining in 2020, Skyrie have built a reputation for blending Scottish and Irish traditional tunes with their own original compositions. Their albums Ceilidh – Celi (2023) and Hunger Road (2024) show a band rooted in tradition but unafraid to push into new territory.
What stands out immediately is how accomplished they are as instrumentalists. Lesley, a multi‑instrumentalist and composer, moves between fiddle, whistle, pipes and mandolin with ease. She’s competed three times in the Glenfiddich fiddle competitions — a detail that tells you everything about her calibre — yet she speaks to the audience with warmth and humour, introducing her fiddle “Smillie” as though it were an old friend. Hearing her play her own “Smillie” composition is a highlight: tender, expressive, and full of character.
Her stories add a lovely intimacy to the evening. She talks about fiddle retreats in Inverness, all‑day sessions, late‑night concerts, and how those experiences inspired her composition “Beauty Sleep.” Another touching moment comes when she introduces “Come Back Home,” written when her children left home. These personal threads give the performance emotional depth without ever feeling sentimental.
Jimmy Anderson brings a steady, confident presence on guitar, and the fact he has toured with Shirley Manson adds a quiet prestige to the trio. Christopher Martin Smith, meanwhile, anchors the rhythm on bodhran and percussion. His background as a session drummer with Big Country shows in his precision, but it’s his storytelling that wins the room. The audience love hearing that his bodhran is made of goat skin, and his tale of writing “Take Me Home With You” — a song about two middle‑aged people meeting as the bar closes — is delivered with a charming self‑deprecating grin.
One of the most memorable moments of the night comes when the band talk about performing in Colorado in 2024. Their story of a four‑wheeler ending up in a ditch at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is told with such good humour that the audience is already laughing before the song begins. “Jimmy’s Ditch,” performed with Lesley on fiddle, Jimmy on guitar and Christopher on bodhran, is beautiful — lively, melodic, and clearly a favourite with the crowd.
Skyrie are one of those rare Fringe acts that feel both polished and deeply personal. Their musicianship is exceptional, their rapport with the audience effortless, and their storytelling adds richness to every tune. This is Celtic folk at its most heartfelt: rooted in tradition, shaped by lived experience, and delivered with genuine joy.
It’s one of the most uplifting music events of the Fringe, and absolutely not to be missed. Listen to their music, buy their albums, and if you’re in North Carolina later this year, catch them at the Raleigh Wide Open Festival on 3rd October or at the Scottish Society of Wilmington on 4th October.
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
