Väsen (from Sweden) is returning by popular demand.
Local fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves will be Väsen’s special guest.

The Swedish word Väsen has three meanings — essence, spirit, and hullabaloo — making it the perfect name for a band that is part Nordic tradition and part whirling dervish. To its roots in the musical traditions of Uppland, Sweden, Väsen brings playfulness and vitality, transforming venerable polskas and marches into modern groove masterpieces, yet retaining the consummate playing skills and ageless appeal of the best traditional music.

Väsen’s unique sound showcases the playing of Olov Johansson, a virtuoso of the nykelharpa, a bowed, 16-string instrument related to both the hurdy-gurdy and the fiddle, along with violist Mikael Marin and guitarist Roger Tallroth, in a ensemble that swings through dense, sinuous arrangements with amazing intensity and deft interplay, on stage and on albums like their recent Väsen Street.

Public radio’s All Things Considered said of the group, “The absurdly broad term ‘world music’ is rendered useless in the face of these musicians who play with such passion and glee that everything on the globe seems to disappear except their hometown fires. This is ‘local music’ in the best sense of the word—believable, human-scaled, and fluent in the international language of musical interplay.” As one member of Väsen put it more succinctly: “We can promise you one thing. You never know quite what’s going to happen.”

Alex Hargreaves and Nathaniel Smith join with Sarah Jarosz to form the Sarah Jarosz Trio.

SARAH JAROSZ is a 22- year-old, Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who hails from just outside Austin, TX.  A recent graduate from the prestigious New England Conservatory, she released her third album, Build Me Up From Bones, for Sugar Hill Records on September 24^th.  Over the past four years, Jarosz, who musically fits comfortably where contemporary folk, Americana and roots music intersect, has covered a remarkable amount of ground thus far.  She has toured the United States extensively, as well as Canada and the UK, taped Austin City Limits and the BBC Series The Transatlantic Sessions and appeared on A Prairie Home Companion.  Her two previous records (Song Up In Her Head andFollow Me Down) received high praise from outlets including Rolling Stone, New York Times, USA Today, Paste, Mojo, Acoustic Guitar and American Songwriter, and she has received multiple Grammy and Americana Music Association nominations.

Sarah is supported on the road by stellar musicians Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) and Nathaniel Smith (cello).  Hargreaves recently completed the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been tapped to perform and record with such musicians as Jerry Douglas and jazz master Danilo Perez.  Smith has toured for years with renown Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster and, more recently, in various configurations with Jeremy Kittel.  Jarosz, Hargreaves and Smith, who met at various music camps when they were much younger, have been performing together since 2010; the sheer joy they express on stage during performances is contagious.  Hargreaves and Smith are both featured on Jarosz’s upcoming release Build Me Up From Bones.

San Miguel Fraser

Celtic + Castilian fiddle duo, María San Miguel and Galen Fraser, are multi-instrumentalists and educators who celebrate the values of community and traditional music in their unique chamber music style.

San Miguel Fraser is a project that will always stand for connection, celebrating the joy of music and shared inspiration. The dynamic duo was born as a result of the 2020 quarantine with the “Stay At Home Festival”. Thanks to the beautiful and universal folk community, they raised over $60,000 with the aim of bringing light to the world, maintaining morale and financially helping musicians around the globe. The “Stay At Home Festival” family lives on today with San Miguel Fraser.

As a lifelong fiddler and the son of Alasdair Fraser (Scottish fiddle champion), Galen Fraser continues the tradition of bringing us the traditional music of Scotland while adding contemporary tunes, some of which he has written himself. Maria San Miguel adds the voice of traditional Spanish music to the mix.

John Doyle and Mick McAuley

Irish musicians extraordinaire,

John Doyle (guitar) and
Mick McAuley (accordion, melodeon, concertina, whistles, guitar),

both previous members of the Irish-American supergroup Solas, and now soloists on the international stage, will perform a concert of instrumental music and songs in Corvallis before heading to the Yachats Celtic Festival. John Doyle is considered one of the best guitar players of traditional music in the world and is well-known for his guitar accompaniment of Liz Carroll, Karan Casey, and many others.

John Doyle & Mick McAuley have been playing music together on the international stage for over twenty years. As multi-instrumentalist members of Irish-American supergroup Solas, they combined to create part of the group’s unmistakable early sound which garnered critical worldwide acclaim with the Boston Herald heralding Solas as “The Best Traditional Band in the World”.

John Doyle is the most influential Irish American guitarist of his generation. Born in Dublin, John came up in a family where “everybody played something,” and his father, singer and song collector Sean Doyle, nurtured his interest in the deep wellspring of Irish song.

Kevin Burke

is an Irish master fiddler considered one of the finest living Irish fiddlers. For nearly five decades he has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music and Celtic music, performing and recording with the groups The Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival. He is a 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.  He has been living in Portland for decades but this is his first concert in Corvallis in many years.

GALLOWGLASS

Gallowglass, a Contemporary Celtic Folk Band from Bellingham, WA will present a fundraiser concert for The Corvallis Celtic Festival and the South Benton County Food Bank. Presented by the Corvallis Folklore Society, the show is at Heritage Hall in Monroe (the old Methodist Church, 648 Orchard Street, Monroe) on Saturday May 24.

With a combination of emotional vocal delivery, fresh melodic arrangements, and airtight accompaniment, Gallowglass has developed a style of contemporary Celtic folk that Irish Music Magazine calls “an inspired approach to the tradition.” The group, featuring Jan Peters (vocals, harmonica), Mishon Kirkland (vocals, Irish flute), Zach Bauman (Irish Bouzouki) and David Pender Lofgren (Bodhrán), has become one of the Pacific Northwest’s most celebrated Celtic music

They will be joined by Corvallis fiddler Erika Nagamoto.

• 6pm-dessert potluck, wine available for purchase to benefit the South Benton Food Bank
• 6:30pm- doors open
• 7-9pm- concert

There will be an open Celtic session with the band after the show. All instruments and abilities welcome!

Tickets $25 with $5 going to the South Benton Food Bank. Tickets online at corvalliscelticfestival.org or at the door.

Please join us at this lovely concert space for what promises to be a great community concert and jam!

Corvallis Celtic Festival
2025

The third annual Corvallis Celtic Festival will be held in several locations downtown.  All Events are free except the Open the Door for Three concert on Friday at PRAx and Saturday performances at Tyee Winery.

Activities will take place::

Check the full schedule here.

This will be the third year for the festival, now becoming a favorite summertime tradition in Corvallis. While the general theme of the festival remains the same, bringing the finest local and regional Celtic musicians and dancers together and encouraging participatory sessions open to all, there are also a few new and exciting changes!

The festival kicks o@ Thursday evening, July 24 with a free event at Common Fields including dancers from the Blackthorn Academy of Dance and performances by The Nettles and The Ballybogs. Friday night, July 25 features a concert at PRAx with the Boston-based Irish music trio Open the Door for Three. Legendary fiddle player Liz Knowles, uilleann pipes player Kieran O’Hare, and bouzouki-player and singer Pat Broaders will spark plenty of musical joy! Come early to hear local favorites Sharon and Dave Thormahlen on harp, guitar, mandolin, and tenor banjo and enjoy refreshments for purchase in the PRAx lobby. Tickets are available through prax.oregonstate.edu/events. If you’re a member of CFS, you may apply the code cfs2025 to receive a $2 discount on tickets.

Saturday, July 26 is the biggest day of the festival. Events begin with bagpipers at the riverfront and morning workshops on Celtic instruments and singing at the Corvallis library and the Dragon’s Whistle in downtown Corvallis. Workshops are free to all on a first-come, first-served basis. Check the schedule and workshop descriptions on the Corvallis Celtic Festival website for more information. Saturday’s music performances will be held this year at Tyee Wine Cellars, located on a scenic farm and vineyard 10 miles south of Corvallis. Come and enjoy a variety of Celtic performers (Fionnghal, Willamette Valley Pipes and Drums, James Wilson, Amhranaithe, Schmid & Guest, and Steeplechase) in this gorgeous outdoor setting from 12:30-8:30 pm. In addition to fine music, there will be food and craft vendors and beer and wine for purchase. There is plenty of shade, but you may want to bring a blanket or camp chair. Children’s craft activities will be o@ered from 1-5 pm, and the nature trail is open all day! Please, no outside alcohol or dogs. Tickets for this event are $20/person in advance or $25 day of show. Children 12 years old and under are free, so bring the whole family! Tickets are available online from the Corvallis Celtic Festival website or in person at Grass Roots Books and Troubadour Music Center (cash or check only). After the festivities at Tyee, all Celtic musicians are invited to a free late-night jam session at the Brass Monkey from 9:30-11:30 pm.

Sunday morning, July 27, begins with performances by Whitehorn Crossing and Loose Flagstone at the Old World Deli, followed by afternoon instrumental and singing sessions at the Old World Deli and Common Fields. A special treat will be a Ceili Dance led by Ceili of the Valley, with Triple File, a youth trio from Portland, providing live music. Close out the festival at the no host slow-tune session. Come and play, or just listen!

The festival needs volunteers.  Go to https://www.corvalliscelticfestival.org/volunteer/

Kalos

Kalos is made up of three innovative interpreters and composers of Celtic roots music: Eric McDonald, Ryan McKasson and Jeremiah McLane. They are masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges, delivering an alluring musical complexity full of spontaneity and joyful exuberance. They set the standard for traditional repertoire with an underlying drive and pulse charged with rhythmic electricity and integrity, forging a new musical path that draws on Celtic, Breton, American and other musical traditions on accordion, guitar, fiddle, and vocals. The title of their new album, Headland, which refers to a point where land meets sea, is a fitting analogy for the exploratory space Kalos inhabits — one that calls forth driving, heartfelt music journeying through unknown territory to seek and find its essence – the enduring, resilient experience of the human heart.

Rated: G