Just reflecting on the past two days at the 44th Annual Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival. I hated for the festival to end! We had gorgeous cool weather and the festival ran smoothly and professionally. Great dancers, musicians, crafts, clans, pipers, drummers and much, much more. I enjoyed every moment!
This year, the combination of entertainment was exceptional...a true musical cornucopia that featured Seamus Kennedy, Brother, Sligo Rags, Scott McDonald and Shannon Miller. All were outstanding and I enjoyed hearing Seamus' new cowboy songs, too.
The special musical surprise for me this year was the Australian band, Brother. I had heard of them over the years as I have attended dozens of Celtic festivals here and throughout the Bay Area. As someone who has handled the PR for the Monterey Games for over a decade and as a wanna-be-nearly made it bagpiper (well, I actually could play the pipes a bit but then got injured ... still love the sound)...anyhow, I am especially partial to bands that feature a talented bagpiper.
It's been that way for years! I love Aaron's piping in the Wicked Tinkers, John Allen's in Stand Easy, David Brewer's in Molly's Revenge, Lorne Cousin, Finlay McDonald, and others, and even just recently discovered the pipes in AC DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" (thank you, You Tube ). For me, bagpipes add something so special to a group - they should be in every great band, don't you think? Also, when I helped to launch a bagipe school in Pebble Beach for several years, it brought me closer to gold medal pipers who I continue to admire.
But as a true longtime lover of rock music, for me, seeing a band blend a skilled piper and an electric guitarist successfully applied to interesting original music is such a complete musical treat!
After hearing Brother's four performances this past weekend with many friends and fans, I simply want to urge everyone to go out and catch a live performance of Brother - or just obtain their CDs and get a feel for what they're doing. They're creative, intuitive and best of all, feature some bagpiping prowess. I love their blend of didgeridoo and bagpipes which are two "exciting" instruments that don't always meld well together.
Here's more information about the Brother...
Chances are you’ve seen BROTHER on NBC’s ‘ER’, maybe heard their music on the classic ‘Baraka’ soundtrack. The band has shared stages with Joe Walsh, John Entwhistle, Linkin Park, and Alicia Keys and are the only independent band to have played the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fusing signature vocals, guitar and keyboards with the deep pulse of the didgeridoo, the soaring highs of the bagpipes and tribal percussion, BROTHER is wholly original. The band’s powerhouse live performances are an energetic celebration, captivating and engaging the audience from the first song to the last. BROTHERmusic.com
Check them out!
