JULY 20-21, 2013 - THOMAS POINT BEACH, BRUNSWICK, MAINE

Celebrating the March release of The Modest Revolution, Enter The Haggis returns to Saltwater!  From playing Celtic festivals to headlining them, and from the festival circuit to selling out multiple nights in rock venues, ETH has blazed a path with heavy and almost constant touring up and down the East Coast, to Canada, the West Coast and back again, winning over success one fan, one town, one region at a time. The Modest Revolution is arguably their best effort to date and showcases a band that has clearly hit its stride. Welcome Back, Haggis!

Enter The Haggis

The Young Dubliners are quite possibly Celtic rock's hardest working band, playing hundreds of shows to thousands of fans across the US and Europe every year, and certainly one of the most exciting. In recent years they have twice appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had songs featured in TV shows (Sons Of Anarchy, Human Target) and toured extensively as a headliner and as festival favorites. The Young Dubliners’ Maine debut will consist of not one, but two days at Saltwater.

The Young Dubliners

We listened to you, again, and we’re bringing them back, again!! What more needs to be said? The Screaming Orphans are four funny, high-spirited, musically-obsessed sisters with the good fortune to have been raised in the magic of Bundoran in County Donegal, Ireland. Their sound has been compared to many and their musical influences are wide and varied, but the Orphan energy, rooted in solid Irish traditions, makes for a sound and experience like no other. We’ve said it before and we’ll certainly say it again, you won't soon forget these Donegal gals!

The Screaming Orphans

They have been identified as “The best folk band to have come out of Scotland in the last twenty years” by the New York Times and “A band with the potential to dominate the Scottish/Irish traditional scene for the next twenty years” by Fatea Magazine. They also won Composer of the Year and Singer of the Year at the 2012 ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Their exciting sound comes from outstanding vocals, driving guitar and bouzouki, intense fiddle playing, a warm pairing of flute and hiwstles and dynamic bodhrán and percussion. You won’t soon forget these Glasgow lads!

These three sisters from the Pacific Northwest, ages 17 to 26, started out with classical violin training and competitive Irish dance that resulted in competing in the Irish Dancing World Championships for four consecutive years. Also accomplished on guitar, bodhran and voice, their love for music, dance and storytelling is their inspiration for performing and recording. The Gothard Sisters have recorded six CDs, including Celtic Radio's 2011 Album of the Year, and they will make their Maine debut at Saltwater.

Prydein is a Celtic rock band formed in the Green Mountains by a couple of UVM students who were striving to find a sound that was new and exciting.  That sound was bagpipes mixed with electric guitar. The music, the energy and the humor coming from the group quickly propelled them to the national stage. The boys have become staples of the Highland Games’ circuit as well as headliners at Celtic music festivals across the nation. Traditional highland bagpiping mixed with modern rock flavor, tunes that flow effortlessly between time signatures and feel.

Prydein

Maeve Gilchrist returns to perform at Saltwater and to serve as MC on Saturday. Gilchrist was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland and grew up immersed in traditional folk music. She has been credited as an innovator of the Clarsach (Scottish Harp) due to her chromatic style of playing and improvising and has performed at Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the World Harp Congress and Celtic Connections Festival. Maeve Gilchrist offers us a glimpse into the future of Celtic music. She will be joined in the performance setting by Nic Gareis.

Maeve Gilchrist

Nic Gareiss has been described by the Irish Times as “the human epitome of the unbearable lightness of being,” and, "the most inventive and expressive step dancer on the scene” by the Boston Herald. His work re-imagines movement as a musical activity, morphing dance into a medium that appeals to both the eyes and the ears. He draws from many percussive dance traditions to weave together a technique in service of his love of improvisation, traditional footwork vocabulary, and musical collaboration. He will be featured at Saltwater with Maeve Gilchrist.

Nic Gareiss

The John Byrne Band is led by former Patrick's Head front man and Dublin native John Byrne. His first solo effort, After the Wake, was released to great critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic in 2010. With influences ranging from The Chieftains to Planxty to Bob Dylan, Byrne’s songwriting honors and expands upon the musical and lyrical traditions of his native and adopted homes. John and the band promoted the albums with a series of sold out shows at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia and many of the East Coast's premiere live acoustic venues. The Daily News calls him “edgy yet accessible in a Luka Bloom meets Bob Dylan kind of way.”

The John Byrne Band

Musique Traditionnelle Québécoise - Raz-de-Marée (Tidal Wave) is a unique ensemble on the Quebecois folk music scene. This group of top musicians has evolved since 2004 to evoke the original intent of traditional instrumental music: to make people dance. They reveal a deeply rooted music, authentic and heartfelt, and perform for dances as well as on concert stages and participate in camps and workshops. The band’s impeccable performances make them American and Canadian festival favorites. If you like your music with splashes of accordion, bones and foot percussion, you will love Raz-de-Marée!

Raz-de-Marée

Saltwater’s 2013 Writer in Residence, Paula de Fougerolles, is the recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and has a doctorate in Medieval History from the University of Cambridge.  Exile, the first book in her acclaimed historical-fiction series The Chronicles of Iona, begins the story of the two men who laid the foundations of Scotland, the Irish monk Saint Columba of Iona and the Scottish warlord Aedan mac Gabran—a real-life 6th-century Merlin and King Arthur. Paula will be hosting the Saltwater Lit Tent and will also be featured on the Saltwater Books and Pubs Tour.

Paula de Fougerolles

The colorful author of Last of the Donkey Pilgrims and A Lucky Irish Lad will return to serve as Saltwater MC on Sunday, July 21st. O’Hara, proud winner of the 2012 John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Award, has read his homespun stories on numerous TV and radio stations in addition to appearing at countless libraries, colleges, and Irish pubs throughout New England. He will be on hand all weekend, co-hosting the Saltwater Lit Tent, and he may even make an appearance or two on the Saltwater Books and Pubs Tour!

Kevin O'Hara

SALTWATER SATELLITE EVENTS

The Squid Jiggers will be appearing at 6:00 p.m. on July 19th in the Museum’s beautiful Long Reach Hall in Bath. This Maine-based folk duo comprised of inveterate musician-entertainers, Dave Rowe and Troy R. Bennett, took their name from the A.R. Scammell song “Squid Jigging Ground,” which is a wonderful musical depiction of fishing for squid in the waters off Newfoundland. They combine their talents on guitar, bass, bodhrán, and tin whistles to lay down a thunderous musical base for their robust vocal harmonies.

Maine Maritime Museum
Squid Jiggers

Naia will be featured in a special Saltwater Satellite Event at one of the most beautiful spots in Maine, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, at noon on Friday, July 19th. Comprised of harpist Danielle Langord and flutist Nicole Rabata, Naia plays traditional Celtic music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Quebec along with their own traditionally-inspired compositions. Rich harmonies blend with delicate melodies to create their unique sound.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Naia

The Acadia Trad School will present two Saltwater Satellite events at their base of operations on the campus of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. As part of their Cape Breton, Acadian, Quebecois week they will feature gifted Cape Breton fiddler Troy MacGillivray with Ryan McGiver and Velocipede with Richard Forest in concert on Wednesday, July 17th. They will also present the Acadian powerhouse trio Vishtèn (pictured), consisting of twin sisters Emmanuelle and Pastel LeBlanc and Pascal Miousse, on Friday, July 19th. Both shows start at 7:00 p.m..

Acadia Trad School
Vishten
Troy McGillivry

Saltwater has partnered with the World Acadian Congress 2014 and Skye Theatre to present a musical showcase of our region's rich Acadian roots. The mini-tour will feature Acadian singer/songwriter Pascal Lejeune of Pointe-Verte, New Brunswick, Patrice Michaud of Cap-Chat in Québec's Gaspé region, and Lewiston, Maine's own Denny Breau. The three Saltwater Satellite Events will include stops in Bethel (Bingham Hall, July 16), S. Carthage (Skye Theatre, July 17) and Berlin, NH (St. Kieran, July 18). This is a great way to get in the mood for Saltwater, the Celtic Crossroads Festival later this fall, and the 2014 World Acadian Congress!

Sky Theater
2014 Acadian Congress