Harriet Island - August 10-12
Free Admission!
2008 Headliners
Flogging Molly
What makes a band truly remarkable? Insightful lyrics? Memorable melodies? Blow-your-mind live performances? The truth is that it takes all of those things along with a boundless enthusiasm, an infectious energy and a supreme devotion to the fans. With this rare combination, a band may ascend past “good,” – or even the record industry’s Holy Grail, “marketable” – and reach sublime. Drawing on the hardships and joys of their own lives and a musical history ranging from old world Celtic to modern day punk rock, the seven members of Flogging Molly do just that, and they do it with a charm and an ease that makes them one of the most accessible bands performing today.
“We’re not a traditional band,” explains Dublin born singer/songwriter, Dave King. “We are influenced by traditional music and inspired by it, and we put our own little twist on it.” More…
The Tannahill Weavers
The Tannahill Weavers' diverse repertoire reflects the duality of Scotland's musical heritage. It embraces both the mystical quality of the Highlander's Celtic music, and the rollicking, sometimes even brawling qualities of the Lowlander's Anglo-Scots tunes. The Tannahill Weavers' arrangements blend the beauty of the traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms. The penetrating sound of the Highland bagpipes is a thread of ancient memory running through it all. More…
The Elders
Take a group of Kansas City musicians with a passion for Celtic music, an Irishman with a love of all things American, and you get a cross-pollination of elements that is high octane and progressive, yet rooted in tradition. What they have come to discover is something unaffected by fads, trends and the giant maw of mind-numbing commercialism. Some call it arsekickin music from the heartland. Robert Oermann of " MUSIC ROW Magazine calls The Elders “a band to shout from the rooftops about." More…
Wild Colonial Bhoys
The Wild Colonial Bhoys began as a side-project idea for two young veterans of the Minneapolis rock scene. Adam Coolong and Geno Carlson hail from different backgrounds thousands of miles apart (Adam is originally from Pennsylvania and Geno calls Saskatchewan home) but found common ground with a shared Irish heritage and a desire to reinvigorate the local Irish music community. More…
Romantica
These rising stars on the regional and national contemporary music scene are led by Belfast-born Ben Kyle (who spent many Sunday mornings as a youth at Kieran’s Irish Pub performing with his family). Here’s his recent description of Romantica: … if I had to label what we do... I'd probably call it "Irish Americana Pop." Some of the artists I've listened to a lot on the American side are Gram Parsons, Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, Wilco, Springsteen, and Dylan. And on the Irish/Brit side, Van Morrison, The Waterboys, Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian and a lot of Irish folk. I think you can definitely hear some of these footprints, and we definitely take more of traditionalist approach. More…
Scythian
Dubbed by The Washington Post as "one of DC's most energetic and eclectic bands" Scythian (sith-ee-yin) falls nothing short of a "party band". Their high-energy, adrenaline-peddling, interactive brand of music has one goal in mind - to get people on their feet and dancing. The crowd is an essential element of each show and Scythian relies heavily on crowd participation to get people involved and loosened up. As The Washington Post states, their results are always the same: ""the band's enthusiasm is contagious, and shows seem to end with everyone dancing, jumping around or hoisting glasses." Led by a pair of young raging fiddlers, Scythian has a great respect and admiration for the traditional - the foundation of their music; nevertheless, Scythian is not afraid to wink at convention in search of a little fun, lending them an appeal to young and old alike. More...