As was the case last August, American, Canadian, Irish and Scottish artists will be featured in what Cheryl Prashker, the festival’s artistic director and general manager envisions will be “a magical online experience.” There will be interviews and music from The Bookends, Dave Curley, The Ennis Sisters,Daoirí Farrell, Fàrsan, Emily Flack, The Gilberts, Jane & Kyle, Seán Keane, Mélissandre Tremblay-Bourassa & Alexis Chartrand, Dave Woods, and Ryan Young.

An Emerging Artist Showcase with Acts from Around the World to Debut

For the first time, the festival also will include an emerging artist showcase named for festival founders Eleanor and Warren Robinson and featuring 10 artists/acts from around the world.
Participating in the inaugural Robinson Emerging Artist Showcase are 3 on the Bund (Ireland), Clíodhna Ní Aodáin (Ireland/Switzerland), Daridel (Italy), Harmundi (Brazil), Isla Ratcliff (Scotland), Kinnfolk (USA), Michael Darcy & The Atlantic Tramps (Canada), Miguel Girão (Portugal), Mosquera Celtic Band (Spain), and O’Jizo (Japan). The online audience will help select two who will be invited back to play the festival’s main stage in 2022 and will be mentored monthly throughout the year leading up to it. They will also be invited to participate in virtual artist development workshops and the weeklong Celtic College preceding next year’s festival as they seek to advance their musical careers.

“It has been a dream of mine to bring such a showcase to Goderich since this festival and the college have always been about showcasing young talent,” Prashker told AcousticMusicScene.com. She cited the long-running Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in upstate New York as the inspiration behind it and expressed thanks to Michael Patrick Farrell from Toronto-based Dolmen Entertainment Group “who had a great deal to do with helping put this together.”

In all, nearly eight hours of pre-recorded music made especially for the festival will be viewable via the festival’s website (CelticFestival.ca), as well as its Facebook page (https://facebook.com/goderichceltic).

From its humble beginnings as one-time memorial concert in 1993, the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival is now the oldest pan-Celtic festival in North America. In addition to a three-day outdoor festival showcasing some of the world’s best Celtic musicians, dancers and artists, it has grown/evolved to include a weeklong Celtic College and a Celtic Kids Camp, as well as a series of rural outreach mini-concerts.

A Series of ‘Conversations with ..”-Style Online workshops Precede the Virtual Festival

“During the week prior to the virtual festival, which would have been our Celtic College week, we are offering six different 90-minute workshops, which are more like ‘Conversations with …’,” said Prashker. These ticketed events will take place via Zoom – Monday, Aug. 2 – Thursday, Aug. 5 — and all proceeds will go directly to the artists leading them. With the exception of a knot-work drawing workshop led by David Rankine — which will follow a more hands-on, step-by-step instructional format — instructors will generally spend the first 50 minutes or so sharing music and information about their areas of expertise, while engaging in Q & A and discussion with workshop participants for the last 40 minutes or so.

The Goderich Celtic Roots Festival –- whose physical location is surrounded by the Irish and Scottish heritage reflected in the nearby communities of Belfast, Dublin, Kincardine, Lucknow and Seaforth — was founded on the spirit of community and connecting people with Celtic roots and exploring new Celtic expressions. It generally features more than 60 hours of live musical performances by dozens of artists and acts on five stages, ranging from small intimate ones to a high-powered main stage.

Prashker -– who is also part of the Celtic roots group RUNA and a ‘percussionist to the folkies’ — noted that when she assumed her position with the festival three years ago it was her “secret hope to put the beautiful small town of Goderich on the world map … and now it will again be on the world stage virtually.” As in 2020, she noted that “Although the musicians will have pre-recorded music especially for us, the hosts, will be live all weekend long — and each musician will be Zooming in before their slot happens so we can all interact with the audiences watching.” Prashker, who first taught at the Celtic College and played the festival with RUNA in 2011, expressed hope that the virtual festival experience will give viewers a small glimpse of the spirit and beauty of Goderich that drew her there.

Local, national and international touring artists whose performances are slated to stream @ https://facebook.com/michiganirish over the extended weekend include (in alphabetical order) The Alt, An Dro, Blackthorn, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, Bohola, Daimh, Doolin’, Ian Gould, Shane Hennessey, Seamus Kennedy, The Kreelers, One for the Foxes, Peat in the Creel, RUNA, Scythian, Sharon Shannon, Trout Steak Revival, and Uneven Ground. Singer-Songwriter Ashley Davis will host a songwriters circle featuring Dave Curley, Doolin’, Colin Farrell, and Shane Hennessey, while Shannon Lambert-Ryan, RUNA’s lead vocalist, will host a family-friendly presentation on “Baking with Babies.”

The schedule for the virtual festival appears below. Videos may also be posted on the festival’s Facebook page for replay later if you miss or want to see any of the acts again.

Thursday
5-7 pm Sounds Like Ireland Radio Program
8 pm Runa
9 pm Seamus Kennedy
10 pm An Dro

Friday
6 – 9 am Michael Patrick Shiels The Big Show radio show broadcast live from downtown Muskegon
5 pm Ruth and Max Bloomquist
6 pm Ian Gould
6:30 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashley Davis (featuring Colin Farrell and Dave Curley)
7 pm Dave Curley
7:50 pm Five Farms
8 pm Best of Scythian on Dan’s Wedding Day!
9 pm Shane Hennessy
10 pm The Kreellers

Saturday
12 pm Conklin Ceili Band
1 pm Peat in the Creel
1:30 pm Cathy Jo Smith Storyteller – Seanín the Piper
2 pm Kennedy’s Kitchen
2:30 Bob Harke with Kennedy’s Kitchen
3 pm Baking with Babies
4 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashley Davis (featuring Doolan’)
5 pm the Alt
5:30 pm Cathy Jo Smith – Questions about the Irish Wake
6 pm Friel Sisters
7 pm One for the Foxes
8 pm Daimh
9 pm Doolin’
10 pm CrossBow

Sunday
11 am Uneven Ground
11:30 am Deb O’Carroll’s Irish Magic Show
12 pm Runa featuring Eamonn and Cormac de Barra
1 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashely Davis (featuring Shane Hennessy)
2 pm Trout Steak Revival
3 pm Bohola
4 pm Best of Sharon Shannon
5 pm Blackthorn

Now in its ninth year, the festival will feature more than 100 performers, a mix of established artists and new or emerging acts from the Boston area’s Celtic music community – including fiddlers, flutists, accordionists, guitarists, singers and other musicians, as well as dancers. Their styles and approach run the gamut from dyed-in-the-wool traditional to more contemporary sounds.

BCMFest kicks off with a customary Friday night “Roots and Branches” concert at Club Passim that will feature a diverse array of the area Celtic scene’s talented young musicians and singers. Fiddlers Hanneke Cassel, Kimberley Fraser and Emerald Rae, singer and multi-instrumentalist Grace Van’t Hof and Irish stepdancer Siobahn Butler will join the house band composed of Eden Forman (fiddle, vocals), Abbie MacQuarrie (fiddle, feet), Jefferson Hamer (guitar, vocals), Neil Pearlman (piano, mandolin) and Nic Gareiss (feet). Also slated for Friday night is the ever-popular Boston Urban Ceilidh – a Celtic dance party – at The Atrium, featuring a variety of dance music including New England contra (The Reiner Brothers), Breton (Triple Spiral) and Scottish (Neil Pearlman and Friends).

The festival continues on Saturday with a day-long series of performances at Club Passim and on three different stages at the nearby First Parish Church, where a grand finale concert also takes place.

Musicians Nic Gareiss and Bill Wiegant will lead a tribute to Nic Jones, one of the most influential artists to come out of the 1960s-70s British folk revival, whose albums like The Noah’s Ark Trap and Penguin Eggs showcased his distinctive guitar style and his idiosyncratic yet expressive singing as well as his penchant for reviving obscure or overlooked songs. Although not even born when Jones was in his heyday, Gareiss views his work as “crucial to understanding where the trans-Atlantic folk revival – and I would argue, revitalization – stands today.” He believes “Jones’ songs, particularly his harmonization, guitar parts, and innovative accompaniment approach, have influenced countless folk singers, perhaps the most notable of this generation being Kate Rusby. In turn, these younger folk artists have set the bar for the standard and aesthetic of traditional English, and by extension in these post-global times, Irish, Scottish and American folk.” Joining Gareiss, a stepdancer and foot percussionist, singer and musician, in paying tribute to Jones, aside from vocalist and guitarist Wiegant, will be Laura Cortese (fiddle, vocals), Jefferson Hamer (guitar, vocals), and Lissa Schneckenburger (fiddle, vocals).

Others set to perform during Saturday’s “Dayfest” include: Bob Bradshaw; Amanda Cavanaugh & Gareiss; Chasing Redbird; Dylan Courville, Wells Burrell & Bob Jennings; Corvus; the Deadstring Ensemble; Fellswater; Highland Soles; Adrienne Howard & Emily Peterson; Katie McNally & Eric McDonald; NOIR; Neil Pearlman’s Scottish Infusion; Ken Perlman & Jim Prendergast; Hannah Sanders & Liz Simmons; Triple Spiral; and The Whiskey Boys. In addition, The Boston Scottish Fiddle Club and the Stoneybatter Band will lead open music sessions, while the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society’s Boston branch will demonstrate dances and afford audience members opportunities to join in. Also on the schedule are a “Kitchen Ceilidh” of Cape Breton song and dance led by Kyte MacKillop; a “Bawdy Breakfast” presenting a more cheeky, risqué side of Celtic music; and “McThriller,” a Celtic send-up of the music of Michael Jackson.

“Our feeling is, yes, let’s have a serious side, where we explore these vital, enduring music traditions – but let’s not forget to have fun, either,” says Shannon Heaton, who co-founded BCMFest with Laura Cortese. Heaton’s husband, Matt, and fellow guitar, bouzouki and mandolin player Flynn Cohen have organized Saturday night’s finale concert which will feature collaborations by an array of artists who are generally more likely to be found at sessions in pubs than in concert settings. Among them are Tina Lech (fiddle), Ted Davis (flute), Katie McNally (fiddle), Sean Clohessy (fiddle), James Hamilton (flute), Joey Abarta (Uillean pipes), Kimberley Fraser (fiddle) and Maeve Gilchrist (harp, keyboards). Heaton also will perform with his wife, Shannon (Irish, flute, whistle, vocals), while Cohen joins his “alt-trad” band Annalivia. Heaton and Cohen also will perform as a duo and, along with some of their guest musicians, pay tribute to the Bothy Band, one of the seminal groups in the modern Irish folk music revival.

“We’re looking forward to sharing the stage with people we play music with regularly, but also some of the more underappreciated ‘tradition-bearers’ and ‘sessioneers,,” says Heaton. “There will be a good sampling of Irish, Scotttish, Cape Breton and other music that makes Boston such a wonderful place to be a Celtic musician.”

For more information on BCMFest 2012 – including a schedule and ticket prices – visit www.bcmfest.com.

North America’s largest highland games take place during the Celtic Classic. The U.S. National Highland Athletic Championships will include the lifting of heavy stone, throwing a 22-pound hammer, and tossing of the caber. Border collie exhibitions, a “Showing of the Tartan” parade, a haggis eating contest, a whiskey tasting event, a kids craft tent, clan tents, and a Celtic marketplace featuring crafts, merchandise and collectibles also are on tap.

The festival grounds are located along the banks of Monocracy Creek and adjacent to downtown Bethlehem’s Main Street shopping area. More information on one of the most popular events in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, including daily schedules, may be found at www.celticfest.org.

Now in its eighth year, the festival will explore and affirm the interrelationship between the song and instrumental traditions in Celtic music – affording musicians an opportunity to explore the richness of traditional songs and ballads and singers to gain a better appreciation for jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, marches, strathspeys and airs.

More than 100 performers, a mix of established artists and new or emerging acts from the Boston area’s Celtic music community – including fiddlers, flutists, accordionists, guitarists, singers and other musicians, as well as dancers — will be featured during the festival. Their styles and approach run the gamut from dyed-in-the-wool traditional to more contemporary-minded sounds.

BCMFest kicks off with a customary Friday night concert at Club Passim in Harvard Square, Cambridge (featuring Plaiditude, Susie Petrov & Reinmar Seidler and Long Time Courting) and the ever-popular Boston Urban Ceilidh – a Celtic dance party –at the Canadian-American Club, a few miles west, in Watertown (with music provided by Kimberly Fraser & Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese and the Boston Urban Ceilidh Band, and Pelham Norville, Adam Cole-Mullen, Bethany Waickman & Dan Gurney).

The festival continues on Saturday with a day-long series of performances at Club Passim and on three different stages at the nearby First Parish of Cambridge. In addition to featured artists, there will be a showcase of Celtic-style rock power ballads, an open stage and opportunities for all to sing along during “Lift Every Voice.” Halali (featuring fiddlers Cortese, Cassel and Lissa Schneckenburger, as well as guitarist Flynn Cohen – all of whom have branched out on their own and achieved some solo success) will reunite and close out the festival on Saturday night, along with a number of guest musicians and dancers. The three fiddlers met as teenagers while attending Alasdair Fraser’s School for Scottish fiddlers in California.

Tickets for the BCMFest finale concert are $15; $13 for Club Passim members, while combo passes for the festival “DayFest” and the finale concert ($25 and $23) also are available. For more information on the festival, visit www.bcmfest.com.