Rathkeltair will be in concert at the SC State Museum Saturday evening as TartanFest winds down.

Saturday’s TartanFest will wind down in concert with Neil Anderson’s new Celtic band, Rathkeltair. The evening event at the SC State Museum will be among the first opportunities for Columbians to hear the band, although it has been touring regionally in recent months.

Prounounced rath-KELT–ur, the high–energy band makes music for all ages, appealing to both contemporary and traditional audiences. Rathkeltair is accoustically–based and plays original material combined with innovative arrangements of traditional music.

The band is led by Anderson, who is back in Columbia following a military tour of duty. The other three musicians play multiple instruments. Anderson was a founding member of Seven Nations and played with that internationally-renowned Celtic band five years.

Anderson has also performed on highland and uillean pipes and tin whistles with other highly-respected Celtic groups such as The Chieftains, Paddy Keenan, John Whelan, and New York City’s legendary Irish rockers, Black 47. He began piping at the early age of six and in recent years has been on the cutting edge of bagpipe fusion.

Percussionist Nick Watson, who doubles on drums and vocals, is a native of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. For a dozen years he was a member of the drum corps with Belfast–based World Champion Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band. Watson has performed with Celtic rock groups on both sides of the ocean, including Seven Nations with Anderson. He left that group in 1997 to form his own group, Celtic Soul, based in Jacksonville, FL.

London–born and bred Trevor Tanners plays guitars, bass, and keyboards in the band, and vocals. A critically– acclaimed singer-songwriter, Tanner fronted for one of the most influential English bands of the ’80s, The Bolshoi. Later, he worked with Watson as lead guitarist in Celtic Soul.

Singer/songwriter/

instrumentalist Collier Hyams, has worked with highly–regarded artists in various areas, including live appearances at the Montreaux and Newport Jazz festivals. The New Orleans–born Hyams worked with Anderson on the 50 Man Machine and other projects.

The idea for Rathkeltair began to take shape in March 2002 when Watson and Tanner traveled to SC to record with Anderson for an upcoming Celtic Soul release. The resulting band has been received enthusiastically on the Celtic circuit.

Admission to the concert is separate from TartanFest.