It doesn't take many notes to transport me back to Cape Breton.

Despite its relative proximity to my home in south-central Pennsylvania, I've never before made it to the Maryland Irish Festival. But learning this year that Coig would be making its festival debut was enough to set me on Route 83 south to Timonium.

Coig is a Cape Breton supergroup consisting of young fiddle phenomenons Rachel Davis and Chrissy Crowley, both of whom I've followed since they were teenagers making their first appearances at the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, plus multi-instrumentalist Darren McMullen and band newcomer Zakk Cormier on guitar and French-Canadian footwork (replacing the recently departed Jason Roach).

Coig's hour-long set was a too-brief taste of the musical excellence one expects from the magical musical breeding ground that is Nova Scotia. There were strathspeys and reels, a bit of song, a bit of Gaelic, and tune blasts that are among the finest you'll hear in the Celtic circuit. It was immediately apparent that Davis, Crowley and McMullen have lost none of their flair, and Cormier has found a niche in the well-oiled ensemble. Coig is a polished example of the very best of Celtic music.

There was even more when I saw them play again, later in the day.

The festival itself is set in the cavernous halls of the Timonium fairgrounds. It's not a venue well suited to music, but they make it work far better than I expected. Kudos to the sound crew for making it work so well.

Two stages dominate the North Hall, otherwise cluttered with food, drink and sundry vendors. There are smaller stages -- and more vendors, of course -- in the South and Center halls. There is certainly no lack of things to do there, and if shopping had been the object of my journey, I'd have left content.

But I was there for the music, and there was plenty. The North Hall stages (the Over the Moon Milk Stout stage and the Guinness Blonde stage, to be specific) alternated, with one band starting as another band finished its set. Additional music kept things lively on the Tullamore Dew and the Portz's Pub stages in the South Hall and the Wee Folk stage in the Center.

(The festival kicked off on Friday and ran through Sunday. My schedule allowed me to attend only on Saturday.)

I could write endlessly about Coig, but I think I've made my point. Those Cape Breton ambassadors aside, there was a lot of fine music on my plate. Highlights included Dublin 5, the Kilmaine Saints, the Screaming Orphans, Seamus Kennedy, Brendan's Voyage and the ShamRogues. It was a lot of good music, and a very appreciative crowd. I can see why the Maryland Irish Festival has been around for 46 years, and I expect it's still got a lot of life in it.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
16 November 2019

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