2011 Entertainment

Enter the Haggis

We are pleased to announce that the CELTIC ROCK band, Enter the Haggis will be returning for a

TENTH year!

Trevor Lewington – vocals, guitar Brian Buchanan – fiddle, vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar Craig Downie – bagpipes, tin whistle, harmonica, vocals, acoustic guitar Mark Abraham – bass guitar, vocals Bruce McCarthy – drums and percussion Over the past three albums and five years, Toronto’s Celtic rock band Enter The Haggis has found itself at the center of a grassroots success story ever teetering on the brink of mainstream success. From playing Celtic festivals to headlining them, and from the festival circuit to selling out multiple nights in rock venues, ETH has blazed a path with heavy and almost constant touring up and down the East Coast, to Canada, the West Coast and back again, winning over success one fan, one town, one region at a time.

The band has made waves in the musicality of the genre, landing Billboard and iTunes World Music charting as well as major television appearances on shows like Live With Regis And Kelly, A&E Breakfast With the Arts and PBS’ popular program Out of Ireland, with its multi-influence style of Celtic rock. It’s the kind of overall sound and devotion package that has created not only die-hard fans, but “Haggis Heads” that follow the band from gig to gig.

The band has been together in its current incarnation since members met in the early 2000s in Toronto, where more than half the band was studying its craft in the city’s colleges and universities. With that kind of classically trained background Enter The Haggis is constantly honing and evolving its sound – blending elements of rock and pop with traditional Celtic fare, an art school eclecticism and a keen sense of arrangement. Past records have seen the band dabble in roots, funk, even adding prog rock elements to the mix, but ETH always manages to bring it home. Alternating between upbeat rock numbers with sing-along choruses and slower, more introspective alt pop songs, the band plays progressive and lyrically driven music that’s strongly rooted in Celtic tradition – from the storytelling to the bagpipes.

“We like to experiment musically, pushing the boundaries of what people think of as Celtic music,” said vocalist and guitarist Trevor Lewington. “Some of our grooves, melodies and lyrics are quite different from other bands that we play with.”

For instance, “Suburban Plains,” one of the songs on the band’s new album Gutter Anthems, mixes an African-inspired drumbeat in 5/4 time with tin whistle melodies and lyrics in English and French. "The Death of Johnny Mooring" combines a fiddle melody with Rage Against the Machine-inspired riff-rock. There’s a fiddle solo in the song in which fiddle player Brian Buchanan uses distortion, wah pedal and whammy pedal on the instrument. Béla Fleck’s done that with a banjo, but fiddle might be a first.

It’s been a long time coming though, and Enter The Haggis has definitely been reworking its music and building success over the past several years. 2004’s release Casualties of Retail (United For Opportunity), not only stretched the limits of Celtic rock musically, but topically as well with straight-shooting socio-political tracks such as “Gasoline” and “Congress.” 2006’s Soapbox Heroes, produced by four-time Grammy award winner Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney), hit number two during its July release on the iTunes World Music chart and later marked the band’s Billboard debut when it landed at number eight on the World Chart there. 2007’s Northampton (Live) was recorded over four sold-out shows in one weekend at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA, and was a testament to the band’s focus on touring, fan participation, and its regional stronghold in the Northeast U.S.

Now, the band’s seventh studio album, Gutter Anthems, is Enter The Haggis’ most cohesive record to date, yet one that makes the band’s eclecticism shine. Songs like opening track “The Litter And The Leaves” with its upbeat tempo and rousing anthemic chorus see the band embracing a jig-punk direction ala The Dropkick Murphys, while tracks like “Did you Call Me Albatross?” embrace the more traditional feel of tin whistle and fiddle throughout. “Noseworthy and Piercy” and “The Death of Johnny Mooring” find the band embracing its Canadian roots in true tales from the homeland. There’s also a marked “little guy vs. the world” theme, derived from the trials of being an indie band trying to make it in the current music industry climate.

They have performed locally many times at the Iron Horse to sold-out shows. Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival is a great opportunity to hear this first class band, as well as all the Festival events for only $16! Discount tickets are available on-line on our home page. To find out more, visit their web site at: www.enterthehaggis.com

They will be playing after closing ceremonies and into the evening. Celtic Pub and food available.
 

Boston Blackthorne

Boston Blackthorne (at the Newport RI Irish Festival in 2003) is from left to right:
Rob Griffin , fiddle, from Belchertown, MA, has played with several country and Celtic bands.
Evan O'Connor (special guest and son of Jim ) is an accomplished flute and sax player at 11 years of age.
Pete McAvoy , fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, and bass is a regular on the Boston sessiun circuit.
Jim O'Connor , vocals, bouzouki, banjos, guitars, mandolin. Jim has been playing Celtic and Irish music for over 20 years. In New York City in the 1980's Jim toured with the Paddy Noonan Band. His experiences as house guitar player at Tom O'Reilly's Pub on Lexington Ave. accompaning Irish music luminaries Joe Burke, Johnny Cronin, and Andy McGahon are detailed in the song "Back When the Craic was Grand".
Dale Monette , drums, bodhran. Dale is a well known touring and sessions percussionist and has played with the John Coster Band and John Sheldon's Bluestreak.
Jon Lees , vocals, 6&12 string guitars, harmonica. Jim and Jon toured New England in the 1980's as the folk duo "O'Connor and Lees." As a member of the Tom Willits Band, Jon opened for acts including Maria Muldaur, Jonathan Edwards and Billy Joel.
Jim "Chetz" Keegan , vocals, bass has played bass and guitar in numerous rock and roll bands

Visit their website at: www.bostonblackthorne.com.
 

Stephen Bushway, fiddle and Max Cohen, DADGAD guitar

Traditional Celtic foot-tappin' dance music!

Award winning fiddler, Stephen Bushway has become synonymous with Celtic music in New England. A classically trained violinist, Bushway is equally at home playing chamber music, improvising Jazz standards, accompanying singer songwriters, and delivering heart-wrenching versions of traditional melodies from Ireland and Scotland. In the early ‘80’s Bushway recorded on Archangel Records with the Winged Heart Band. He later formed the Berkshire Trio Consort, a violin, flute, bassoon ensemble. He re-discovered his instrumental muse in 1996, through a concert by the group Solas and hasn’t looked back! He is currently making a CD “From Higher Ground” with backing guitar from Max Cohen and Daithe Sproule.

The award winning Stephen Bushway has become synonymous with Celtic fiddle playing in New England. Accompanied by accomplished DADGAD guitar player Max Cohen, the duo will play exciting versions of traditional melodies from Ireland and Scotland. An accomplished veteran of the New England folk scene, guitarist Max Cohen was a finalist in the 2001 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition, and won the 1995 Performing Songwriter Competition at Mansfield's Rose Garden Coffeehouse. His impressive fingerwork and musicianship may be heard on his most recent instrumental CD, In The Wood, released in 2001. He has also achieved a reputation as a studio musician, a and guitar teacher. Says Guitar Player Magazine of Max's playing, “His relaxed but spirited execution holds true, even at virtuoso speed.”

The Bell Family

A Fiddling Family – a family show about Scottish Fiddling.

Both Nancy and Jerry play the fiddles their grandparents played! Their children have also taken up the instrument and play everything from Scottish reels to Strathspeys.

They will explain the history of the Scottish fiddle and tell a wonderful children’s story about ‘The Boy Who Couldn’t Play the Fiddle’
 

Charlie Zahm

Charlie Zahm is one of the most popular soloists at Celtic music festivals, Maritime and Early American music events anywhere east of the Mississippi. With a baritone voice some have described as "coming along once in a generation," Charlie has become one of the most successful performers on the Celtic festival circuit, weaving magical moments of Scottish and Irish history for the listener and viewer, with passion for the performance and a chosen repertoire pleasing to all members of the family. A master of the guitar as well, Charlie brings an authentic love and respect for the music he sings. Since he's been old enough to sing, Charlie has been entertaining audiences with the beautiful Celtic songs and melodies he first heard in the largely Scottish province of his mother's birth, Ontario, Canada. Keenly aware of his own heritage, which includes healthy doses of Scottish and Irish blood on both sides of his family, Charlie has collected several hundred popular (as well as beautiful and obscure) selections and performs them for thousands of fans up and down the Eastern Seaboard and across America. Today, as one of the most sought-after Celtic singers on the East Coast (he is one of the few singers in the world to be invited to sing live with Scotland's “Black Watch”), Charlie performs regularly everywhere from concerts and festivals to television shows and Celtic-themed Caribbean cruises, where his 6'4" frame and powerful baritone make him one of the most memorable performers around. Charlie has released two DVD projects: “Out of the Mist,” was released in 2002 and was entirely filmed in Scotland; “Charlie Zahm – An Evening of Classic Melodies” is a live concert DVD with Charlie and his band that was produced in 2007 in cooperation with Franklin Springs Family Media of Nashville. These projects, in addition to his many CDs, again demonstrate that Charlie’s vocal ability is rarely matched inside or outside Celtic music, and his mastery of the guitar is the perfect complement to his vocal performance. To learn more about him visit the Charlie Zahm web page.
 

 

Plus

• Historic Highlanders
  Recreating everyday life of Highland society from 1314 to 1746
• The Bell Family - Variety Entertainment
• Pipe Band Competition
• Individual Pipe/Drum Competition
• Highland Dance Competition
• Highland Athletic Games
• Pioneer Valley Harper’s Guild
• Julie MacNayr Pike
• and More!