While I have always had a diverse interest in music, I didn’t start listening to a lot of Celtic music till about 15 years ago when I lived in Texas. While I do listen to a good bit of traditional stuff, I really do enjoy the more modern Celtic Rock variety. After being introduced to bands like Six Mile Bridge in the mid 90s, I became hooked on that sort of sound. I guess I have a soft spot for musicians that mix different cultures and genres.
Well, today Kate and I went to Fairhill Scottish Games to see Rathkeltair, Brother and Seven Nations. These three bands have some of the best musicians in Celtic music today and it’s was quite a while since I’ve seen any of them in action. Each set was awesome and it was definitely worth making the two hour plus trek up to the top of Maryland. It’s not a big surprise that I came home with three CDs worth of music.
The only downside to the trip is that Kate and I both came home a little on the crispy side. Neither of us really thought that we’d be out in the sun for such a long period of time. Well, we ended up sitting there for over three hours watching the bands play and we were pretty red by the time we left. Despite being as white as they come, I really didn’t get it too badly but Kate is a bit on the cherry side right now. Hopefully she’ll feel a little better tomorrow after the aloe starts doing some magic.
The best part of the day was getting to see Neil Anderson again. I first met Neil at the Texas Scottish Festival around 1998 and I’ve done my best to follow his musical ventures over the past decade or so. Neil is not only of the best pipers to grace the planet but he’s also hell of a nice guy. Below is a picture of him doing what he does best.
