Celtic Music

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2024 Schedule

Saturday

Sunday

2023 Line Up

Coastline

Coastline

Coastline is a string ensemble comprised of BC’s top young musicians ranging from ages 14-23, coached and mentored by internationally acclaimed fiddler, Ivonne Hernandez.

With intricate arrangements of traditional, original and contemporary fiddle tunes from around the world, Coastline is pushing boundaries and always having a great time whenever they play. From the farthest island on the West Coast of Canada comes a new tradition that is Coastline!
www.coastlinefiddle.com

Ivonne Hernandez

Ivonne Hernandez Some people are born to play music. By the age of three, Ivonne Hernandez started playing violin by ear, everything from her mother’s favourite Maritime reels to her father’s Chilean folk music roots. A child prodigy, she soon was playing guitar, piano, cello, flute, and percussion before joining Daniel Lapp’s BC Fiddle Orchestra. While still in her pre-teens, Ivonne played on the Orchestra’s Fiddleharmonic CD and before 60,000 at a Commonwealth Games performance with the Crash Test Dummies.

At 13, Ivonne was the youngest member of the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra and formed Fiddlemania, a dual-violin band with her younger sister, Kalissa. She was the Merritt Old Time Fiddlers’ Provincial Champion for two years running before becoming a judge at the event as a 15 year old. Ivonne is the reigning 5 time Grand North American Fiddle Champion, and has performed with Mark O’Connor, Alan Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Jann Arden, U2’s the Edge, Natalie MacMaster, Earth Wind and Fire, Steve Winwood, Burt Bacharach, Juan Louis Guerra, Rosa Pasos, Ben Hepner and legendary film composer Howard Shore.

Ivonne Hernandez has mastered Canada’s traditional fiddle music. She embodies the country’s 21st century multiculturalism, and her music reflects the new century’s marriage of cultural influences. The young fiddler transforms her folk music roots into an exciting and dynamic new form. Looking for something new in folk music? This is it!
www.ivonnehernandez.com

Cookeilidh

Cookeilidh has been delighting audiences for years with their high energy traditional, and modernized Celtic tunes. Comprised of 12 string guitar, fiddle, Irish flute, electric bass, bodhran and vocals, they define their music as “Trad with Attitude” “Celtic Craic” and “Pot O’ Gold Folk”.

While being predominantly Celtic, they have an eclectic set of tunes that includes, Irish, Scottish, Folk, Canadian Maritime, and even a few contemporary covers. A timeless blend of music and vocal numbers that caters to all ages and all audiences.
www.cookeilidh.com

The Hounds of Cuchulain

The Hounds of Cuchulain are a high-energy celtic folk band from Victoria BC who perform a wide selection of Irish, Scottish, English, and original songs in the Celtic tradition, dating from the 1600’s all the way up to the 1980’s. Stylistically inspired by such folk giants as the Dubliners, Pogues, and the Corries, the group’s performances feature rowdy pub songs, historical ballads, haunting airs, and ripping reels – all woven together with engaging storytelling of the music’s history.

Combining powerful vocals, driving guitar, inventive harmonies on the fiddle, hard-hitting Irish banjo, sprightly leads on the whistle and mandolin, the powerful heartbeat of the bodhran, and the ancient ambience of the Irish lever harp, the Hounds’ textured and energetic arrangements invite listeners to be swept up in the stories, to sing along and stamp their feet – true to the tradition of folk!

The group is led by seasoned performer and composer Wolf Edwards on lead vocal and guitar, and joined by Madeleine Townley on vocals, Irish harp, and tin whistle, Briana Kennedy on fiddle, Dexter Simpson on Irish tenor banjo, Ben Garrison on mandolin, and Jeff Feltmate on bodhran and second fiddle.

The Hounds of Cuchulain have reached their two year anniversary! Since their inception they have performed over 200 shows at major folk festivals, theaters, pubs, community events, private functions and more. The band has released two full length albums, and head back to the studio this upcoming year to record an album of original songs.
www.hounds-of-cuchulain.com

Black Angus

Black Angus is about good friends, good humour, and good songs. The core of Black Angus is the duo of Gareth Hurwood and Alex MacCuaig, starting their evolving take on the Celtic tradition in 2007. With acoustic guitar and upright bass, they blend two-part harmonies that delve into the familiar and the original from the Celtic repertoire and beyond. Once again this year, Black Angus is fortunate to round out our trio with perennial Highland Games’ favourite Sarah Tradewell on fiddle.

Tom Morrissey

Tom Morrissey

Tom Morrissey Band is: Tom Morrissey, Jeremy Walsh, Ian Todd.

Tom Morrissey, lives on Vancouver island. Playing pubs, clubs and festivals all over Canada bringing high energy east coast music and pub favorites to every show. Born in Mount Pearl Newfoundland Tom has been entertaining audiences for over 40 years

A Newfoundland kitchen party is sure to break out when he plays.

Jeremy Walsh is a high energy Celtic/Folk/Roots singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been entertaining audiences for more than 25 years in Canada and beyond!

Ian Todd is a bassist whose passion for music shines through in every note he plays. Over four decades of playing professionally, and his work as a live sound engineer has honed his playing and his ear, giving him an ability to effortlessly weave rock, folk, Celtic and blues influences into his distinctive style of playing.

Joe Higgins

Joe Higgins is a solo Scottish singer/songwriter, who immigrated to Canada in the mid 90’s and has performed locally ever since. Prior to coming to Canada, Joe performed in Glasgow, London, Germany and Austria. Joe has performed at past Highland Games and his Celtic songs have been played on CFUV and CBC radio stations.

The Slieves

The Slieves are a West Coast Celtic band hailing from Victoria and Duncan B.C., the traditional territories of the Lekwungen, WSÁNEĆ and Quw’utsun peoples. Brought together by their love of traditional Irish Music, this group has brought Celtic folk and Celtic-inspired original music to the coast of B.C. for well over a decade. The trio draws inspiration from such groups as Dervish, The Bothy Band, The Pogues, The Chieftains, Great Big Sea, The Irish Rovers, and others. The talented members include the magical Tasia MacKay (Irish flute and whistles, 5 string banjo, vocals), the accomplished Jeremy Walsh (guitar, vocals) and the foot-stomping Andrew Morris MacKay (bodhran, spoons, vocals).

Blackthorn

Blackthorn is a Canadian Celtic folk band that saw its inception back in 1989 with a group of musicians who found a common interest in a music that wasn’t all that common in Vancouver at the time. Early highlights included performing at Vancouver’s seminal Celtica Festival in 1990 along with De Dannan and Andy M. Stewart and performing and recording with the World Champion SFU Pipe Band. Since then, the group has travelled a long road through the streets of traditional and contemporary Celtic music, performing concerts and at Celtic and Folk Festivals and Highland Games throughout Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

The McGullicuddy’s

Celtic punk rock’n’roll, with lashings of mandolin, tin whistle and accordion all amped up with power chords that will transport you back to a mythical smoky pub with brawling songs of drink, hard living and hard loving.

May 21st, 22nd & 23rd 2016