Great Canadian Bands Electrify East Durham's Saturday Night

Just getting back from a great couple of days at the East Durham Memorial Day Weekend Irish Festival... IMHO the granddaddy of Irish festivals... simply the most venerable and authentic Irish culture massing you will find. Great weather, great crowds, and fantastic live music.

Our band Celtic Cross appeared twice yesterday in a lineup that we were thrilled to be part of. Our sets alternated with the 17 Grammy Award winning Jimmy Sturr Orchestra... I think more Grammies than Michael Jackson.

But I completely enjoyed the two exceptional groups from Canada that performed after us... Greenwich Meantime and Enter The Haggis.

This festival stage has hosted legend after legend from Irish and Celtic music... the likes of Black 47, Saw Doctors, and Hothouse Flowers in recent years. It was fantastic to see these two Toronto groups that I have been a fan of for a while headline the evening.

Greenwich Meantime were better than ever, with a new lineup and an electrifying tight set. I have loved the songwriting and performance on their two Cd's, but I have to say that their live show last night took my appreciation of these guys to a new level.

Then ETH performed a rock show that was as polished, explosive and fun as any that I have seen in our scene. I really think these guys are the new kings of Celtic music. First of all, they rocked hard. But they are intricate and sophisticated arrangements reminding me of Dave Matthews in spots. Musically, they are intense and impressive.

And both bands could not be cooler to meet and hang out with.

From chatting with folks at the show, it surprisingly seemed that many in the crowd (predominantly NYC/NJ/CT) were seeing GMT and ETH for the first time. I am sure that these great bands have thousands of new fans coming from their fantastic performances last night.

Definitely check out their websites: Greenwich Meantime and Enter The Haggis.