With the lights off, the stages empty, and the performers on the road once again, the 20th annual Celtic Music Feis in Ocean Shores has come to an end.
The feis, celebrating the width and breadth of Celtic music, was another successful iteration, said Liam Gibbons, co-owner of the Galway Bay Irish Pub and one of the founders of the event.
“It tickles my heart, it really does,” Gibbons said. “I never knew this thing would grow as big as it did.”
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World
Rory Makem, a noted Irish singer, performs at the Galway Bay on Oct. 21.
Acclaimed artists, new and returning, took to the stage, singing everything from the quiet haunting ballads hundreds of years old to newer, more strident songs, born in the bloody struggle for independence from the English government.
“It went extremely well. Everything was good,” Gibbons said. “I think we are. We were heading towards the highest ticket sales we’ve ever had.”
Performers like Irish music notable Rory Makem, making his first appearance at the feis, packed their audiences as guests came to listen, while others, like crowd favorites the Whiskeydicks and Coming Up Threes got them out of their seats with battle-of-the-bands style face-offs or collaborative sets.
The Whiskeydicks and Coming up Threes perform together for the closer of the Celtic Music Feis. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)
“Rory Makes, a lot of people loved the (crap) out him,” Gibbons said. “Kathryn Rose, she has a beautiful voice. People really liked her.”
A good atmosphere and good company make the feis a fun one for performers as well, said Chelsea Joy, a bagpiper for Celtica Pipes.
“One of the reasons we like coming back is we have a lot of friends in other bands,” Joy said in an interview after a set on Saturday. “It’s like a family reunion.”
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Dancers from the Seattle Irish Dance Company perform to live music on Oct. 21 at the Galway Bay. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)
Bumping from stage to stage between the bar and the Ocean Shores Convention Center can be demanding, Joy said.
“The hardest part about this is setting up and tearing down our gear between every set,” Joy said. “But they take good care of us in return.”
Celtica Pipes, who has played the feis before, last in 2021, is a popular act, with many songs where they play bagpipe versions of popular themes or songs.
“People know them,” Joy said. “And people want to hear stuff they know.”
Sean Daly of Sean Daly and the Shams performs on Oct. 21 at the Galway Bay Irish Pub. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)
Many of the bands will return in just a few months for another, albeit smaller, festival at the Galway, as the bar holds the ABC3 Festival — Appalachian, Bluegrass, Country, Cowboy and Calgary, on Feb. 1-4. Planning for next year’s feis is also underway, scheduled as it is to avoid the clam tides.
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“Quite of few of the bands who were there, they can do Appalachian stuff,” Gibbons said. “That is the off week of the Super Bowl. We plan everything accordingly.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or [email protected].
Dancers from the Seattle Irish Dance Company perform as Sean Daly and the Shams play during the Celtic Music Feis on Oct. 21. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)