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★★★★★ For many Fringe regulars, The Sorries are as much a part of August in Edinburgh as the crowds on the Royal Mile. Martin Philip and Douglas Kay have been returning to the festival for seventeen years now, carrying with them a deep affection for The Corries — the legendary Scottish folk group whose influence still echoes through the country’s musical traditions.
The Corries themselves emerged in the early 1960s and became woven into Scotland’s cultural fabric, not least through Roy Williamson’s “Flower of Scotland,” a song that has become the nation’s unofficial anthem. Today The Corries continue as a duo, and The Sorries honour that legacy with obvious respect and genuine joy.
Their hour‑long set is exactly what audiences come for: foot‑tapping, hand‑clapping, full‑throated Scottish folk. Martin and Douglas move easily between guitars, bodhrans, mandolin and tres, their harmonies warm and confident, their rapport with the audience relaxed and inviting. When they encourage the room to sing along, people don’t hesitate — it’s that kind of show, where participation feels natural rather than forced.
The setlist draws from the national songbook, including Jacobite ballads and pieces rooted in the oral traditions of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. There’s a sense of continuity in the way they present these songs: not as museum pieces, but as living, breathing stories that still have something to say.
If traditional Scottish music stirs something in you — pride, nostalgia, or simply the pleasure of hearing it played well — you’ll walk out of this performance lighter than you walked in. The Sorries deliver exactly what they promise, and they do it with skill, humour and heart.
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
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