When Greg took so ill, we made the very painful decision to
pass production of the WNC Highlands Celtic Festival into the capable hands of
Highland Brewing Company. Along with that decision came the realization that my
band, Marcille Wallis & Friends, must be taken out of the lineup as well.
But sometime after Greg passed, I decided to go to the festival, just
as a spectator. And Matt joined me for the trip, hoping to sit in with
Rathkeltair for a few sets. We both wanted to see the continuation of the
festival that we'd worked on since its founding.
On Saturday, we learned that a transportation mishap caused
one of the bands to cancel. Although not a formal member of the planning team,
my mind immediately went into Festival-Organizer mode: What should be done to
fill the hole in the performance schedule?
It's nice to have friends who are as crazy as you are! I
suggested to Matt that we put together a pick-up band, to which he readily
agreed. Next we enlisted other friends -- vocalist/guitarist Trevor Tanner of
the band Rathkeltair, percussionist Nick Watson, also of Rathkeltair, and banjo
maestro Scooter Muse -- and I pitched our idea to Highland sound man, Jay, who
thought it was a great idea. Next, I put it out to Facebook and Twitter land --
what should we name the band? My friend Peggy Bowe suggested "Henry's
Clan," after my dog Henry, who is jokingly referred to as the CEO of
Celtic Heritage.
So Henry's Clan was born, and it was so much fun! We played
a few instrumental sets from the Marcille Wallis & Friends catalog, sang a
few songs from Trevor's repertoire, and judging from the happy smiles, I'd say
we gave a right good account of ourselves.
I'm already looking for an opportunity to have Henry's Clan
make another appearance!
Here are some more photos taken at this weekend's festival:
And one very poignant photo, memorializing Greg:
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