The sounds of Celtic rock will be heard at the Reservoir Park Amphitheater this Sunday, July 22 when the Celtic rock band ‘Full Kilt’ takes the stage as part of the Tyrone Regional Arts Council’s Summer Concert Series.
‘Full Kilt’ will perform songs from ‘Gaelic Storm’, ‘Great Big Sea’, The Prodigals’, and ‘Flogging Molly’ as well their own arrangements of traditional Celtic songs.
‘Full Kilt’ was formed in April 2006 and started performing for audiences all over the Altoona and Johnstown area in November of the same year. The band consists of four musicians from different backgrounds.
Mike Zerbee started playing rock music in bands like ‘Excalibur’. However, he decided to change direction musically after attending a three day Celtic festival. This is where Zerbee, who plays guitar and provides vocals for ‘Full Kilt’, had his first exposure to Celtic music.
Finding musicians that wanted to go the same direction musically was not an easy task. Zerbee wanted a full band sound and looked for years to find other musicians to complete the ‘Full Kilt’ project.
The other three members of ‘Full Kilt’ include Chris Myers, Pat Boland, and Mandy Passmore.
Myers, who plays bass guitar, bodhran, and provides vocals, grew up all around music. His father and uncles played rock and roll and would jam with a family band known as the ‘Rattlers’. When Myers was asked to join ‘Full Kilt’, Zerbee asked him if he could play bass guitar. Myers replied “not yet”. He quickly learned it and also adds percussion support playing the Irish drum, known as the bodhran.
Boland, who provides vocals and percussion, joined ‘Full Kilt’ after many years of playing rock and roll music and a number of other musical genres.
Passmore, who plays the fiddle and whistles, has been playing the violin/fiddle for 19 years. Joining ‘Full Kilt’ was a long awaited wish she had to play with other Celtic-minded musicians.
All Sunday concerts begin at 6 p.m. Concerts are free of charge and audience members should bring a chair or blanket for seating. If rain occurs, the concerts will be moved to the First English Lutheran Church, at the corner of Logan Avenue and 13th Street.
Upcoming Sunday concerts include ‘Big Band Sound, Inc.’, a 17 piece big band on July 29; ‘Zupe’, performing a variety of big band, oldies, and contemporary music on August 5; ‘Lou Stein Band’, performing a variety of jazz and big band music on August 12; ‘Michael O’Brian Band’, performing a variety of Irish music on August 19; and the Summer Concert Series concludes with ‘The Local Country Band with Clayton Hoover’ on August 26.
All concerts are made possible by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and Tyrone Borough. For additional information, contact the Arts Line at 684-ART2.
