Pipes, punk and tradition

MOSES LAKE — The pipes will skirl and the fiddles will ring out at the Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth May 1-3.

“Building on the success of its inaugural year, the 2026 festival expands its programming, deepens its cultural partnerships, and welcomes visitors for a full weekend of music, dance, storytelling, artisan craft, and community connection,” Festival President Alice Cloutier wrote in a press release announcing the festival.

The festival will feature traditional – and not-so-traditional – Scottish and Irish music by more than 20 artists, many from Washington but also coming from Northern Ireland and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. There are also dance troupes from the Northwest and beyond, showing fancy footwork to Celtic strains. Three stages will showcase everything from traditional pipe and drum bands to high-energy Celtic punk rock.

The Friday headliner will be Blaggards, out of Houston, Texas, performing a Celtic-rock fusion they call “stout Irish rock,” mixing traditional influences with hard-edged styles reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, the Wolfe Tones and Black Sabbath, according to their promotional materials.

Headlining Saturday are the Kilmaine Saints, a folk-punk band from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that bills itself as equal parts Irish swagger, Scottish pride and whiskey.

“This explosive, high-energy Celtic rock band from Central Pennsylvania will lift your hearts, your spirits, and your pint when you’re not looking,” the band wrote in its promotional materials.

More home-grown musical talent will take the stage as well, including Washington artists Ockham’s Razor, Stout Pounders, Whiskey and Brine, Rabbits’ Rebellion, Raising Slane, the Surly Goats, Stark Raving Plaid and Erin McNamee. The Seattle Firefighters Pipes & Drum Band and the Tacoma Scots Pipe Band will bring a more traditional sound.

Among several dance troupes will be Wenatchee dancers An Daire Academy of Irish Dance, which also performed at the Quincy Food Bank’s auction Feb. 28.

Besides the entertainment, the event will feature cultural workshops for beginners and experienced players of fiddle, tin whistle and bodhran, a handheld Celtic drum. Dance workshops for all skill levels in Irish dance will be featured as well.

“The Cascade Celtic Festival is about more than entertainment — it’s about honoring the living traditions of Celtic culture and creating a welcoming space where community and heritage meet,” Cloutier wrote.

    An Daire Academy of Irish Dance, shown here performing at the Quincy Food Bank fundraiser in February, will perform at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 1-3.
  

    The Surly Goats, based in Seattle, will be one of many Northwest Celtic bands performing at the Cascade Celtic Festival May 103 in Leavenworth.