Pat and Stacey McDougall's
Celtic Music Page
Our first major experience with celtic music (sometimes referred to as Irish or Scottish traditional music) came at an event called the "concert under the stars" in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.  During that concert we were introduced to one of our favorite "flavors" of celtic music, the Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) style.  We soon began attending more and more celtic music concerts and festivals, including numerous "highland games" in the mid-Atlantic area in and around Maryland.  At a festival in Alexandria, Virginia we found we really enjoyed celtic fiddle music while taking in some talented local performers at the "Scottish Fiddle Tent."  Our love of fiddle-centered celtic music grew all the more when we caught an "up-and-coming" Cape Breton fiddler named Ashley MacIsaac opening up for, and playing with, the legendary Irish band The Chieftains at Pier Six in Baltimore.  The never conservative Ashley came out on stage in a green sweat jacket (for a summer concert with the temperature in the eighties), told a little story about fairy folk teaching fiddle music, and proceeded to wow the audience with his high energy style.  From there we became celtic music fanatics, collecting oodles of CD's and keeping an eye out for local and not-so-local concerts featuring our favorite performers.  The concerts exposed us to the diverse nature of the music, as we experienced performers playing a wide range of the music's styles, from traditional to modern to rock-influenced to new age/alternative.  The diversity is expanded all the more by the wide range of national and regional styles of the music, including Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Acadian and French Canadian, Galician and Asturian (Spain), and Bretonian (France), to name a few!  Below you'll find a little bit of information on some of our favorite performers, as well as links to their web sites and other web pages related to celtic music. 
Note: Click on the graphic of the album to link to the performer's web site
ALTAN:  Probably our favorite overall celtic music artists, Altan hails from County Donegal in Ireland.  Altan is a prolific band, having put out a large number of albums, all of fine quality.  Their collective sound is incredible, especially with the dual fiddles of Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh (don't ask us to pronounce it!) and Ciaran Tourish.  Island Angel, pictured at left, is Pat's favorite celtic album, though numerous other Altan CD's, including Another Sky and Harvest Storm, get much playing time as well!  We've been fortunate enough to attend several Altan concerts, including a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in summer 2001.
NATALIE MACMASTER:  Incredible, high energy and very entertaining fiddler from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.  Natalie and her collection of assorted talented band members play a wide range of fiddle-centered tunes, including the wonderful traditional Cape Breton style.  Her Uncle Buddy MacMaster is a Cape Breton legend, and makes magic with the fiddle as well.  We've caught Natalie and her band over a half-dozen times, including one time when we were fortunate enough to have a stage-front table at a small place called the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland.  We've seen her well-deserved popularity skyrocket, as her personality wins over the audiences at the live shows.
BATTLEFIELD BAND:  A long-running Scottish staple of celtic music (30 years and still going!), with a "who's who" of celtic performers of numerous nationalities amongst its past and present band members.  The band excels in telling stories through song, complementing the songs with fine musicianship.  Some of our favorite albums by the band are Threads, New Spring, Home Ground, and Stand Easy & Preview.  Their musical style had varied somewhat over the years, with our favorite band lineup being Alan Reid (the one constant), Alistair Russell, John McCusker, and Iain MacDonald.
ASHLEY MACISAAC:  A somewhat controversial figure in the world of celtic music, Ashley can get a crowd going with the best of them.  An incredibly talented fiddler, he wows audiences with his high energy and powerful fiddling style.  We caught him a number of times earlier in his career, including a concert at the Stonehill College Irish Festival, where he had both young and old up out of their seats.  We love all his albums with the exception of Helter's Celtic (WAY too off the wall for our tastes) and his latest self-titled release.  His 2001 releases, MacIsaac & MacIsaac, with David MacIsaac, and Cape Breton Fiddle Music NOT CALM with Howie MacDonald are excellent traditional albums.
LA BOTTINE SOURIANTE:  While attending the Milwaukee Irish Fest around five or so years ago we noticed throngs of people rushing to get seats for one of this band's performaces.  Crowd following always being a good idea at music festivals, we grabbed a seat and learned why the band was so popular.  This is one wild and crazy- and very talented- bunch of French Canadians!  Their live performances are not to be missed, and their energy and fun-loving nature come out in their albums (even if, like Stacey and I, you can hardly understand a word of French!).If only they'd expand their concert routes a bit!!!
PATRICK STREET:  First of all, the band is named for a street, and is not a person!  The Irish band Patrick Street consists of a stellar cast of top-notch performers in Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine, Jackie Daly, Arty McGlynn, and Ged Foley (not necessarily all at the same time!).  The band is equally outstanding with songs featuring the unique vocal style of Irvine, and with a diversity of tunes.  Patrick Street is somewhat unique in thats its sort of a "permanent part-time" group whose performers regularly play with other groups (including the outstanding Celtic Fiddle Festival).
BRENGA ASTUR:  Hailing from the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain, Brenga Astur plays yet another unique variation of celtic music.  The band's sound is very bagpipe-centered, but in a way very different from the piping you hear from traditional Scottish and Irish pipers.  We first saw the band in the summer of 2001 at a celtic music event at the Mount Hope Estate and Winery in Cornwall, Pennsylvania (a little north of Lancaster).  They were very good, but seemed almost shy in a way.  Less than a year later at a celtic music festival in Leesburg, Virginia they appeared a whole lot more comfortable with the growing attention they're getting.  Catch them live if you have the chance!
DANU:  Relative newcomers to the celtic music scene, this is one of the younger groups touring about and playing some big venues.  Danu is another Irish band, with an almost mellow sound considering there are seven band members.  We caught them as the opening act of the 2001 Altan concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and really enjoyed hearing them live.  Like many a good Irish band, they have plenty of fine gaelic names, including a Ciaran, a Donnchadh, a Eamonn, and a Oisin!  These guys could be a force for quite some time to come, and we're looking forward to seeing them again at the Ram's Head Tavern this August.
DERVISH:  Another Irish powerhouse, Dervish features the lovely and transfixing singing of Cathy Jordan.  Our favorite album by the band is Playing With Fire, which we consider amongst the finest celtic albums we possess.  We've seen them live only once, at the Milwaukee Irish Fest around five years ago (by the way, the Milwaukee Irish Fest, held for three days each August, is undoubtedly a top-notch place to witness celtic music, always drawing in many headliners and featuring a variety of celtic styles).  The band had a very friendly, easy manner with the audience, and was a delight to experience.
SOLAS:  Of American and Irish origins, Solas has gone through a few iterations of band members, and we must admit we haven't experienced them live since way back when in the days that Karen Casey was their lead singer.  The day we saw them in Rockville, Maryland they were quite good, though we were a little put off with the fact that Casey seemed to drift off stage during tunes in which she does not sing.  We still rate their first, self-titled album very highly, with some great fast-paced tunes, excellent flute work, and Casey's spectacular singing.  With any luck we'll get a chance to catch them in concert again.
Fire in the Kitchen, by The Chieftains and Friends, is an album dedicated to the Canadian celtic phenomenon known as the "kitchen party."  We have to admit we're not exactly Chieftains addicts, though we don't really know why they've never stolen our heart.  Maybe it's because the only time we saw them live we weren't yet big celtic music afficianados.  In any case, this album in which they are joined on each track by various Canadian artists is simply phenomenal!  Many of the biggest celtic acts in Canada join The Chieftains on the album, including Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Great Big Sea, the Rankins, and La Bottine Souriante (in a wild, foot-stomping romp of a tune).  Undoubtedly a must-have album as far as we're concerned!
CELTIC COLOURS is Cape Breton, Nova Scotia's annual week-long traditional music festival held each October since 1997 (we think).  An album is put out shortly after each year's festival, featuring most of the headliner acts that play that given year.  All of the albums are therefor quite good, and offer a fine display of the diverse styles of celtic music.  While we've fallen in love with Nova Scotia-- especially Cape Breton Island, and made it a favorite vacation destination (see our Nova Scotia web page), we have shamefully not yet attended any of the Celtic Colours festivals!  THAT will change this year!!!!!
Party Acadien is an album we found at Charlie's Country Music Store (see links) in Cheticamp, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.  Recorded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1995 at an Acadian kitchen party on Prince Edward Island, this album features the incredible fiddling talent of Eddy Arsenault, accompanied by his family and relatives.  It is interesting to hear the Cape Breton tunes with which we were so familiar done in the Acadian style, complete with foot percussion.  A whopping 20 tracks of sheer delight!
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