Former Runrig frontman Donnie Munro to headline extra day of Skye Live festival

Former Runrig frontman Donnie Munro is to stage a huge concert in his native Skye to mark the return of the island's biggest music festival for the first time in three years.

The singer-songwriter will be headlining an extra day of Skye Live, which has already sold out its two-day event in May in advance.

Munro will be making his first appearance in Skye for five years in a line-up that will also feature Scottish trad supergroup Mànran.

They will join a bill that includes Talisk, Blazin’ Fiddles, Project Smok, Daimh, Elephant Sessions, Fat Suit, Trail West, Niteworks, Heisk and Lord of the Isles.

Born in Uig, in the north of Skye, Munro joined Runrig in 1974, the year after the formation of the band, which became one of the biggest groups in Scotland by the 1980s and 1990s, before leaving in 1997 to try to pursue a political career.

Munro, who has released a number of albums as a solo artists, returned to the fold with Runrig for appearances at the band’s 40th anniversary at Muir of Ord in the Highlands in 2013 and at their farewell show at Stirling’s City Park in 2018.

Skye Live is one of several music festivals in the Highlands and Islands, which is due to make a comeback this summer after a three-year hiatus.

Others include Eilean Dorcha, on Benbecula, HebCelt, on the Isle of Lewis, Belladrum, near Inverness, and the Tiree Music Festival.

Donnie Munro’s son Niall was among the founders of the Portree-based festival and appeared at the first event in 2015.

Acts to appear since then include Public Service Broadcasting, Hot Chip, Capercaillie, Treacherous Orchestra, Django Django, Andrew Weatherall, Pictish Trail, Denis Sula, Optimo, Tide Lines and Lau.

The 2020 edition of the festival, which was the subject of a BBC Scotland documentary in 2019, was called off to allow for “essential groundworks” to take place at its site at Am Meall in Portree, just weeks before the Covid pandemic forced the cancellation of events.

After a planned comeback in 2021 was abandoned due to Covid restrictions, the festival filmed leading acts performing in spectacular locations around Skye.

Former Runrig singer Donnie Munro will open an extra day of the Skye Live festival in May. Picture: John Devlin

Skye Live’s announcement of an extra date said Munro would be appearing with an eight-piece band.

Munro said: “This offers me a fantastic opportunity to bring this amazing line-up, featuring some of Scotland’s top musicians together, for an exclusive performance to open this year’s Skye Live.

“It’s been fantastic to watch the festival grow in strength, year on year, in what must be one of the most special and unique festival locations anywhere in the world, and to see it become internationally recognised as one of the best boutique festivals in the country is just fantastic for the island.

“It is such a great honour for me to be invited to be a part of it all and to be bringing the music back home here to where it all began.”

Donnie Munro conducting the audience at Edinburgh Castle during a Runrig show in 1991. Picture: Jeff Mitchell

Mànran accordionist Gary Innes, whose band played a headline gig at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow at the weekend, said: “Playing on the Isle of Skye has always been a special night for Mànran over the years, but joining Donnie and his band as their special guests for Skye Live will certainly be a night to remember.”