A group of friends who came together to form a band, Emerald Rose is a quartet from North Georgia. They play both traditional music and what they describe as music derived from the Celtic tradition. Band members include Brian Sullivan on guitar, bass and bouzouki, Arthur Hinds on guitar and bodhran, Larry Morris on pennywhistle, drums and other percussion instruments and Clyde Gilbert on bass, drums and other percussion. Bending Tradition is their second CD.

Bending Tradition is a mix of traditional tunes and Emerald Rose originals, with the exception of "Lucky Man" by Greg Lake and their own arrangement of "Castle Arianrhod" by Jerome Geisinger. They have even released a set of original jigs in the Irish tradition to the public domain.

Though the traditional tunes are well done, Emerald Rose excels with their original pieces, especially the rockin' "Pagan Girl" and driving chant "Freya, Shakti." The former is a fun romp through the dating scene, trying to find just the right girl. The latter is a goddess chant accompanied by a hard drum beat and guitar, designed to get the blood stirring.

As a group, Emerald Rose has been around for about four years. If they keep it up, they'll be around a for lot longer. I would love to see these guys in person; if they have half the energy onstage that they do on their CD, they'd have the entire audience dancing.

My recommendation? Go out and find this CD.