Rathkeltair

Named for a city in ancient Ireland, here's a band that combines modern sounds -- and songs -- with the traditional pipes.



They're regulars at the Stone Games, so they're a band I know well. Here they are performing in Ohio. I've never actually liked their rock bits all that much, but they're devoted to them. Their best bits are their take on traditional songs, though: advance to 20:25, and watch them throw down on "Atholl Highlanders," an impressive song in its traditional form. It belongs to a non-government military unit in the employ of the Duke of Atholl, a private army long maintained within Great Britain. It has an interesting history, one that includes Queen Victoria and Prince Faisal of "Lawrence of Arabia" fame.



That must have been a fine visit. I imagine that the Arabs with Faisal understood the Scots of those days more or less perfectly.