A Great Year for The Kilt Lifters!

What a year it has been for The Kilt Lifters, and it just seems to keep getting better! Earlier this year we enjoyed a hugely successful spring season with more shows than ever.   We performed at several new, gorgeous venues and met so many new friends and fans. We had such a positive response from our season that we have already lined up a great schedule for 2019. This summer I toured around Ireland and had the unique opportunity to play in local pubs and meet so many outstanding and kind people. It was truly an experience of a lifetime.

Just as I was settling into my fall project of completing our next EP, I got the news that we had been selected to be featured in Irish Music Magazine! This was truly unexpected and we are so honored to be included in such a prestigious publication alongside some of the greatest musicians in the Celtic genre. To top it off, the publication tapped our good friend, Hamish Burgess of Maul Celtic, to perform the interview, so we got the opportunity to have a fun chat with an old friend. Our minds are just blown. Thank you to all of you who have been such a support to us and have helped us to make this all happen. We are truly touched.

On top of it all, we were thrilled to complete The Kilt Lifters’ first official music video, Raise A Glass to You.  We had so much fun filming this, and we are eternally grateful to our friends at Scully’s Pub for graciously allowing us to film on site, and all of the fine patrons who volunteered to participate in making the video happen!

Our 2019 outlook is bright and we cannot wait for all of the exciting things on the horizon! Look for our new EP after the new year, featuring our original title track, Pour Another Round. Our St Patrick’s Day season is set to be as busy as ever as we perform along with Hawaii Irish Dance. In late March we will be holding a birthday bash at Scully’s Pub to celebrate half a century on this marvelous marble in the sky. We will again be performing at the Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Honolulu in April 2019. This summer we have been invited to perform the 40th annual Tacoma Highland Games. We are thrilled to make it back out to such a great venue in forested Frontier Park and see our dear friend, Red McWilliams. During the fall we have been invited to perform on CeltCruise to Alaska, and you are all invited! Join us on this 7-day Celtic vacation to the beautiful Inside Passage with Celtic music and events with people who share your love of Celtic culture.

Again, thank you to everyone who has been with us on this journey. We look forward to raising a glass with you all very soon!

The Kilt Lifters kick off the busy season with Hawaii Irish Dance

The season is upon us, and it’s going to be a great one!  The Kilt Lifters will be kicking off this season with a whirlwind of five shows over two days!  After much preparation, we’re launching into the new season with high spirits and a freshly released EP, Friends Old and New.  Once again, we’ll be privileged to share a stage with our good friends at Hawaii Irish Dance for our combined variety show over the St. Patrick’s day weekend.  We had so much fun with our combined show last year that we just had to do it again!  We will be performing with Hawaii Irish Dance Friday, 3-16 at the Kona Tap Room at Hilton Waikoloa Village, and the Shops at Mauna Lani on Saturday the 17th.  We’re looking forward to a fantastic season, seeing all of our good friends, our fans, and enjoying the opportunity to share our music with our Friends Old and New.

The Kilt Lifters head back to the studio

It’s that time of year again, and the Kilt Lifters are headed back into the studio to record a pair of EP’s.  We’re extremely grateful to Dave Mulligan for granting us the use of Fat Dragon Studio at Waiki’i Ranch.  It’s always a great experience going into the studio and having the band together enjoying the great energy and high spirits.  Robbie Calvo will once again be producing the new EP’s.  Robbie has not only been a huge support to the Kilt Lifters, but also a great friend.   Robbie’s work on the first EP, “Jack in the Green“, was beyond any expectation.  The EP’s are set to be released approximately 6 months apart, with the first targeted to be available mid-March.  The first EP will be titled, “Friends Old and New”

The Kilt Lifters review studio takes

Tacoma and onwards

The Kilt Lifters have just returned from an exciting whirlwind trip to Tacoma, WA for the 2017 Tacoma Highland Games.  We had the pleasure to meet up with and play alongside our longtime friend, Red McWilliams, who was managing entertainment for the games.  It was a great event, with performances from the Jade Dragon Pirates, songwriter Ginger Ackley, and Seattle area locals, Celtic Treble.

Now that we’ve returned from our last major event for the season, we are looking forward to getting back into the studio to record a pair of back to back EP’s for release next year.

This has been such a fantastic year for us, and we’re grateful to each and every one of our Friends Old and New for their tremendous support.

-The Kilt Lifters

 

Tis the season..

Aaaand, we’re off!  The St. Patrick’s Day season has caught us in full swing.  March 1-April 30 have been declared Celtic Days here in Hawaii, and it seems that despite the loss of the St. Patrick’s Day parade here on the Big Island, the Celtic community is thriving more than ever.  This, of course, is due to all of the amazing folks that are a part of the Celtic community out here on the islands.  Our good friends over at Hawaii Irish Dance have been enjoying a steady stream of dedicated new dancers, and are heading toward a long list of performances of their own.  Even as I write this, they are dancing their feet off at the Community Center in Waimea.  We have scheduled several performances with Hawaii Irish Dance here on the Big Island, and it’s been so great to put together shows with Lynn and her Big Island dancers!  Following the frenetic St. Patrick’s Day weekend schedule, we’ll be gearing up for the Highland Games on Oahu next month!!!  Hope to see you all there!

2016 Celtic Bash

November has been a busy month for the us.  We just finished executing what we hope will be the first of many Celtic events here on the Big Island.  I have to say, the Celtic community here in Hawaii is the greatest.  They are collectively the friendliest, most supportive group of people I’ve ever met.  It’s an odd thing to be in the most remote place in the world and have such an enthusiastic group for such a niche.   The Celtic Bash included performances by the Big Island chapter of Hawaii Irish Dance, our local band besties and rabble rousers, Celtic punk band: Craicealite’  Celtic, and of course, The Kilt Lifters.  It was a notable performance for us, as it was our first live show with our mercenary rhythm section.  I have to say that those guys (Michael Suprenant on drums, and Brian Crist on bass) are some of the finest players on the island.  They are consummate pros, and there’s a reason they are so in demand.  Craiceailite’ rocked the house with a fresh lineup.  They really put on a great performance, and personally I loved their new lineup.   The entire event was rounded out by Hawaii Irish Dance, who really made the event feel like an event.  Here’s looking forward to the next one…