Entertainment

Scottish Ceilidh

Friday, June 12th, 6:00pm

Families will love the energy and fun of the Friday night ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”), a traditional Scottish community dance party that combines live Celtic music, simple group dances, and plenty of laughter. Think of it as a Scottish version of a square dance or barn dance, complete with a live caller who teaches every dance before the music begins, making it easy and welcoming for beginners of all ages. Dancers form circles, lines, and groups while spinning, linking arms, and changing partners throughout the evening to the sound of fiddles, accordions, guitars, and drums. The atmosphere is wholesome, inclusive, and high-energy, where children, parents, grandparents, and friends can all join together on the dance floor. No dance experience is needed — just comfortable shoes, a willingness to have fun, and readiness for an unforgettable night of Celtic celebration.

Jamie McGeechan

Friday, June 12th, 2:15pm

Saturday, June 13th, 1:00pm

Award winning singer-songwriter

Born in Falkirk and raised in Ayrshire, Jamie has released three albums to date, High Hopes in 2015, Midnight Kingdom in 2020 (which was nominated for Scottish Album of The Year) and Roots in 2016 (which saw Jamie record the songs of Robert Burns live inside Burns Cottage in Alloway, Scotland making history as the first person to do this). Jamie has performed at festivals across the world including Celtic Connections and The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, Camperdown Burns Festival in Australia, New York Tartan Week, New Hampshire Highland Games, ScotFest in Oklahoma, Ohio Scottish Games and the South East Florida Scottish Festival. Jamie has performed on TV shows including BBC Alba’s RAPAL show, STV’s The Hour and has had his music played on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Scotland and Celtic Music Radio. At times performing under his own name and other times performing under the name of ‘Little Fire’ Jamie has experimented with sounds and genres through his career so far but his distinctive vocals remain a constant throughout.

Logical Fleadh

Friday, June 12th, 3:45pm

Saturday, June 13th, 3:30pm

Celtic Music Chicago Style

Logical Fleadh is an album over a quarter century in the making. The initial flash of inspiration came in 1996, when Logical Fleadh bandleader Ethan Taylor Sellers and his father attended an early concert by Irish-American super-group Solas in Philadelphia. Amazed by Solas music’s precision, speed, and beauty, Sellers was instantly a fan.

As a listener, Sellers subsequently followed the “family tree” of related projects to broaden his knowledge of traditional Irish, Scottish, and other Celtic music. Sellers also began penning a series of original compositions that reflected this influence, occasionally performing them with his rock band Tautologic.

After more than a decade of listening and co-curricular dabbling in Irish/Scottish music, Sellers decided to make a serious go of it with Character Fleadh in 2009. Starting as an exclusively-instrumental fiddle/guitar duo, Character Fleadh gradually expanded its line-up and learned hours and hours of traditional Irish/Scottish songs and instrumental repertoire, playing regional festivals, concert series, and private events.

After a few years, Sellers began to get the impression that some of his bandmates in Tautologic – Emily Albright (fiddle, vocals), Pat Buzby (drums, bodhran), and Nathan Britsch (bass) – wanted in on the action. Dana Joras (flutes, whistles, vocals) and Joe Kilroy (tenor banjo, mandolin, bouzouki) from Character Fleadh were both amenable to a “cross-over” collaboration. Logical Fleadh – a mash-up of Tautologic and Character Fleadh – was born.

Logical Fleadh gigged and rehearsed for nearly two years before recording most of the album in a 2-day session at Rax Trax Recording. Over the course of the next two years, Sellers worked around busy schedules and a pandemic to complete overdubs by each band member and an array of special guests, including Tautologic electric guitarist Jay Montana, violist Chuck Bontrager, Grammy-winning cellist Nick Photinos, Seán O’Riada Gold medal winner Seán Gavin, and Solas co-founder and accordionist John Williams.

The tracks on Logical Fleadh marry Irish/Scottish tunes/songs with a driving rock rhythm section – connecting tradition to the present day.

Frogwater

Friday, June 12th, 1:15pm

Saturday, June 13th, 2:15pm

Celtic Folk

Frogwater is the acoustic musical pairing of John “Jack” & Susan Nicholson. Renowned for their virtuosity and exuberant live performances, they like to think of themselves as musical ambassadors. Their repertoire spans from Celtic to Delta blues, from classical to pop with a healthy dose of unique original material filling out the mix. For the past several years Frogwater has performed regularly at the Milwaukee Irish Fest, Bastille Days & other area festivals. They have received honors as best band in the Bluegrass & Country categories in the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) awards. In recent years they have also been featured in Lancaster WI “Music on the Square” The Gay Mills Folk Festival, The Bayfield Folk Fest, The Wheatland Traditional Arts and even a performance in England!