So, come to the river and breathe in a pint of Ten Penny Ale. 

The Sponsors.
Riverfront Recapture of Hartford, CT and The Olde Burnside Brewing Company of East Hartford, CT are the major co-sponsors of The Pipes in The Valley Festival. This association began in 2004 with a very successful festival that attracted many people from the Greater Hartford area and beyond.

The Food.
'Hearty Scottish Meat Pies with generous potato wedges gently garnished with a tangy 'Houses of Parliament' seasoning.'

  In Scottish dialect ;
'A pie wie chips & sauce' 

Wash it all down with fresh Scottish water straight from the Highlands.

Or better yet, treat your buds to something special and savor a delicious pint of Ten Penny Ale from the Olde Burnside Brewing Company.

The taste will take you back to a time when brewing was a craft, and the brew master was a  well respected person in the  town.

The Crafters.
Along both sides of the main concourse, exhibitors specializing in Celtic arts, crafts, jewelry and apparel will delight the eye.

Here is just a sampling:

◦ AmeriKilt - Casual Kilts

◦ Caps, Scarves and T-shirts

◦ Pipes in The Valley Clothing
    who can resist a shirt that says
        'If it's not Scottish, it's Crap!'

◦ Lady Bridlewood Scottish
     Shortbread

◦ Bonny Craigh specialty
    soaps

◦ Jewelry

◦ Fine Cigars
   

The Music.
From Glasgow, Scotland

Clann An Drumma 'Children of the Drum'

     Clann An Drumma are an exciting, energetic and rhythmic band who delighted the audience at the 2002 Pipes in The Valley Festival. They are world renowned and were a featured performer at the opening of the new Scottish Parliament last year.
With a strong Scottish accent, their sweaty, tattooed bodies wailing and writhing to the ancient tribal drums and bagpipes stirs your blood like no other band you've ever experienced!

     The Glengarry Bhoys! Hailing from Glengarry, Ontario, a musical blending of their Scots-Irish/French heritage, their high-energy, good humoured performances delight any age and bring a huge following where ever they appear.

To see the line of where you're headed, you have to also know where you've been. The Glengarry Bhoys continue to combine the traditional elements of Celtic music with contemporary sensibilities, giving a fresh perspective to that which they've inherited from generations of like-minded artists. In the United States, they are a major act on the Celtic festival circuit as well as their club shows, which draw the size of crowds usually associated with the significant pop acts of today.

     
     A Special Surprise Guest ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

     Rathkeltair!  (Pronounced rath-KELT-ur).
We are proud to have Rathkeltair returning to the PIV festival. Last year the energy of this talented 4 piece group had the crowd on it's feet, wanting more!

Playing Scottish Highland and Irish uillean bagpipes, tin whistle and even mandolin, Neil Anderson crafts the Celtic Fusion that has earned him the nickname 'Jimi Hendrix of the Bagpipes' !

With Nick Watson (also a former Seven Nations member like Neil) on percussion, tin whistle and vocals, those early years in the Drum Corps. of the  Belfast Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, have really earned Nick his 'stripes'! PIV must be a good luck charm for Nick. His  old Pipe Band won the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland for the  4th time on August 14, 2004, the date of last year's PIV festival!

Trevor Tanner (vocals, guitars, mandolin, bass, keyboards, effects) and Collier Hyams (vocals, guitars, bass, djembe', udu, percussion, ebow, loops), round out this fantastic four ! Catch the live CD of their 2004 tour on the Rathkeltair website.

     Mac-talla Mor  - is an exciting Celtic Fusion Band featuring the Great Highland
Bagpipes in a dynamic mix of Celtic Rock, Blues and Jazz.

.Upon hearing the pipes of Mac-Talla Mor, you’ll be transported to a stone pub in Scotland, with a pint set in front of you on the worn wooden trestle. With music simultaneously youthful and ancient, there is magic in that voice. They've played for HBO TV, at Steinway Hall in NYC, opened for Tito Puente Big Band, played Command Performances for The Average White Band and Keith Richards and at major Irish and Celtic Festivals. MTM Press Kit.

     PV O'Donnell hails from Manchester, Connecticut and can be heard every Wednesday evening in the Traditional Irish Music Jam at the City Steam cafe in downtown Hartford. There, you will find him mentoring and encouraging the next generation to live in the musical moment of pure, spontaneous Celtic rhythm.

From the age of four, Patrick has been true to his roots. Bred in Inishowen, County Donegal and studying with Irish masters, PV is now  acclaimed as a master himself.

      Paul Haddock & Two For The Road
What do you get when Counties Galway meets Mayo? John Gannon and Ciaran Kilkenny mix traditional Irish instruments to take you back across the Atlantic to the West Coast of the Emerald Isle. Close yer eyes and you can almost feel the warmth of Inis Free in their traditional Irish lullabies.

     Calley McGrane & The Exiles
Enjoy the music of award-winning 15-year-old fiddler Calley McGrane and her recently formed band, The Exiles. Calley McGrane, recognized as a young
Irish fiddler and contest winner throughout the Northeast, has teamed with
three veteran musicians to create this unique four piece band.
Joining Calley and Dad, John, is baritone vocalist and bodhran player Mark Stein. The band plays an ever changing mix of high energy Celtic Fiddle tunes, mellow traditional vocals by Calley, and Kickin' Rebel songs and Ballad renditions by Mark.  Punctuated by the occasional light hearted wit, this is a fun band for all ages.