Celtic Christmas at Hagood Mill
Billy Crawford
Celtic Christmas
Hagood Mill, 138 Hagood Mill Road, Pickens, South Carolina 29671
Saturday December 15, 2018 10:00am to 7:00 pm
The music of the Appalachian region was heavily influence by the influx of Scotch and Irish immigrants and this influence has been integral in the development of American folk music traditions. With Christmas approaching and the New Year beckoning, it is time once again to honor our musical traditions by listening to songs of the season. A local seasonal musical tradition is the Memorial Celtic Christmas program, to be held at Hagood Mill on Saturday December 15.
Inspired by Ed Harrison, Hagood Mill’s Memorial Celtic Christmas program has become an annual event, featuring many fine local and even international musicians sharing songs of the season. Ed Harrison was a remarkably versatile musician, with a passion for playing multiple styles of roots music on a wide variety of instruments. He was an accomplished dobro player and clawhammer banjo player, as well as playing Cajun accordion and the aforementioned Uilleann pipes. His warmth, good humor, and ready laugh were a comfort to his family and many friends in the area. Sadly, after over 20 years of battling cancer, Ed passed away in 2012. The annual event continues in his honor.
This year’s show will feature Daniel Hendrix, Creag Dhubh, Don Shabkie, Jenny & Lee, Allen & Goers, Emerald Road, Six Chickens & A Beer, Evan Dehner, and Steve McGaha. At the close of the performances, if there are any stalwarts who want to play in a session, there may be one from 7 to 9.
After hearing the music of The Chieftains for the first time in 2004, Daniel Hendrix decided to delve into traditional Irish music via the Uilleann pipes, Ireland’s national bagpipe. He bought a practice set and started teaching himself to play, but it is a very demanding instrument, and he soon hit a wall. Thankfully, he discovered Ed Harrison, a seasoned Uilleann piper, and took lessons from him from 2004 until Ed’s passing in 2011. He owes a great deal of gratitude to Ed, for without his guidance, the chances of still playing today would be slim to none.
Creag Dhubh
Andrew Farmer has been teaching music now for 18 years. He teaches Guitar, Piano, Dulcimer, and Mandolin. He also leads worship for Celebrate Recovery at East Pickens Baptist Church. Andrew has authored several music method books and participated in various recording projects, the latest being, Corey Steiner’s album “The Good wins at the Last.” He is married to Bridget Farmer and together they have six children.
Bob Rogers owns his own market analyst company working with real estate developers all over the southeast. He plays bagpipes, penny whistle, djembe, and guitar. On bagpipes, he played with the Upstate United Pipe Band from 2008-2015 and the Atlanta Pipe Band from 2015 to present. Both bands compete all over the southeast, frequently winning top awards. He lives in Seneca, SC, with his wife, Carla Rogers.
Carla Rogers has a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of North Texas. She taught orchestra and general music for thirty years in Texas and South Carolina. She is now retired, running a private violin and viola studio for students of all ages in Seneca, SC. Carla is currently assistant concertmaster of the Toccoa Symphony and has played with the Gainesville Symphony, the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium (GAMAC), the Spartanburg Philharmonic, the Charlotte Philharmonic, the Southeast Texas Orchestra (assistant concertmaster), and First Baptist North Spartanburg Orchestra (principal violist). Carla has played Celtic music with her husband, Bob, for the last fifteen years. She also enjoyed playing fiddle for two years with the Walt Urban rock band.
Don Shabkie is perhaps the area’s finest pianist, as well as an accomplished Celtic harp player. He has played Celtic music with noted area bands Windshear and Selkie. Traveling across the state to perform and teach, his extensive education, experience, and skills establish him as an artist who can serve many communities in a number of ways. At present Don serves as dance musician for the ballet program at South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts, organist at Memorial Methodist Church in Greer, and plays for a variety of events in the Greenville area.
Jenny and Lee blend their backgrounds of Celtic and Appalachian songs together by writing or selecting songs with haunting harmony, hypnotic melody and meaningful, poetic lyrics.
“Hailing from South Carolina, singer-songwriter Jennifer Goree is one of the rarest of musical breeds. Like her contemporaries – Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Kim Richey and Iris Dement – Goree’s soul is pure country that expresses itself in a variety of settings, from folk to bluegrass to honky-tonk to countrified pop. As a writer, she is nearly peerless; her empathy with the characters she creates is uncanny. She never chooses the obvious, but instead seeks the overlooked moment where emptiness and pain give way to the magic of possibility for her protagonists. Goree the singer expresses depth, emotion and passion cleanly and subtly, allowing her elegant and graceful lyrics to emanate from the song confidently.” Thom Jurek Ann Arbor, School Kids Records
Perennial performers Allen and Goers return to this year’s event. They have been regulars at the Celtic Christmas show since 2008. Lucy Allen and Marshall Goers are an acoustic duo whose passion for roots music combines elements of various musical genres. The group has performed solo or with other area groups, but their best work happens when they're together in a duet performance. For the past twelve years, Goers and Allen have shared the stage, and continue to create memorable musical performances. They have made two recordings together, Just Passing Through and Won't See Tadpoles Covered in Fur, an album dedicated to kids of all ages.
Emerald Road comprises Kristin Miesbauer – fiddle, mandolin, vocals; Robin Davis on bodhran, cello, vocals; Dave Conley on percussion, whistles, vocals; and Danny Miller on guitar, bouzouki, vocals
If you take classical, jazz, blues, folk, rock, and newgrass, blend them all together and combine them with a passion for traditional Irish music, you end up with the amalgamation that is Emerald Road. One of the few Irish-American bands in the southeast, Emerald road hails from Clemson, SC, a part of the country known more for barbecue and bluegrass than Irish trad. Down here at the tail end of the Appalachians, we have been able to draw on songs and tunes that have crossed the Atlantic and are found in the musical traditions of the region. Grounded in Irish music, we draw on our various musical backgrounds to produce new and engaging arrangements of old tunes and songs, as well as writing original material that pulls in both long-time fans and attracts new listeners to the genre. You might possibly think that five different people with five different musical perspectives would be more entropic than anything else, but it is exactly these differences that allow us to create unique arrangements that appeal to music lovers outside of the Irish tradition. Whether it is the classical mindset of perfect fiddle intonation, free-styling blues guitar riffs, percussive jazz grooves, or traditional Irish rhythms, listeners of various musical persuasions have found a common thread in Emerald Road.
The acoustic musical repertoire of Six Chickens and a Beer has been described as Traditional Good-Time, Old-Time American, Irish and French Canadian String Band Music, seasoned with a little Western Swing and Cheatin' and Drinkin' country music. The band members (Michael Ellison, Elizabeth Adams, Ed Broyals, and Jennifer Rush) come from a wide range of musical backgrounds. Michael played in mountain bar bands as a young man in California, and has been playing fiddle for 40-odd years. Elizabeth provides the band with the definitive Celtic sound of the button accordion. Ed brings the bluegrass and country sound with his singing and guitar work, and adds an important dimension to all their music through his mandolin. Jennifer supports the bottom register on bass, and doubles on the ukulele, adding a unique element to the music. The band has been together for over ten years.
The last two solo acts, Evan Dehner, followed by Steve McGaha, are consumate performers. Steve is an award-winning master of Appalachian blues, but that does not limit the scope of his repertoire. Evan is the leader of the local group The Wobblers. When he Wobbles he is master of R&B keyboard. His guitar repertoire and singing spans several genres.
For more information please visit HagoodMillFoundation.org, check out the Hagood Mill FB Page, or call (864)898-2936
Billy J. Crawford
Director – Hagood Mill Historic Site
