Tuatha Dea
Celebrate your favorite music from Celtic cultures with the annual Celtic Ceilidh at the Virginia Highlands Festival. Enjoy a day with your favorite Celtic music, featuring The Appalachian Highlanders, Tuatha Dea, Tempest and a reunion appearance by the band, Coyote Run. Dance a jig, come rain or shine. There will be a beer garden and food vendors.
The event is held Saturday, July 29 from 2 until 10 p.m. at the Abingdon Market Pavilion. Admission is $10 for the day, children under 12 free.
Making their 17th appearance at the Ceilidh, the Appalachian Highlanders Pipes & Drums, based in Abingdon, always kickoff the event. They unite enthusiasts who share a common love for the thrilling sound of the Great Highlands Bagpipe.
Since forming in 1988, Tempest has delivered a globally-renowned hybrid of high-energy folk rock, fusing Irish reels, Scottish ballads, Norwegian influences and other world music elements. In the last 28 years, this act from the San Francisco Bay Area has released 15 critically acclaimed CDs and played more than 2,000 gigs.
Tuatha Dea is based in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and has toured extensively in the U.S. and Canada during the last seven years. Dubbed "The Eclectic Partridge Family in Kilts and Corsets," as well as "The Appalachian Fae," Tuatha Dea has been featured at a wide variety of Celtic festivals and Highland games, Renaissance festivals, interactive drumming events and stand-alone concerts. Their diversity and quality of performance has gained them thousands of fans while their music has received critical acclaim.
Coyote Run is returning to the stage for an all-too-brief reunion tour, bringing their signature style of musical storytelling to the Virginia Highlands Festival once more. Labeled "The Thinking Person's Celtic Rock band," Coyote Run has always charted their own path with tight harmonies, driving rhythms, soaring bagpipes and original music based in Celtic legend and myth.
The event schedule is Tuatha Dea at 2 and 6:30 p.m.; Tempest at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Coyote Run at 5 and 9:30 p.m.
