Summer is here! Knacker’s Yard has a busy schedule! The last month and half brought us back to Port Alberni where we played to a full house at Char’s Landing. A great gig! Earlier that day we performed at “Tartan Day,” downtown Victoria in Centennial Square for a very receptive audience. Tartan Day(part of the Highland Games Association)is a celebration of ancient Scott culture including traditional dance and sports. Check it out: http://victoriahighlandgames.com/tartan-day-event

Video of Knacker’s Yard performing “The Musical Priest and The Blackthorn Stick” live @ Tartan Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ipRg8o0NU

In addition to the Tartan Day, and Char’s Landing performances, Knacker’s Yard has been busy with appearances at Mary’s Bleu Moon, Sidney,BC (www.marysbleumoon.com) where we will be performing every 2nd month, The Irish Times Public House, where we perform every 2nd Monday from 9PM-12AM), as well a regular street performances downtown.

THE HIGHLAND GAMES 2015

Lots coming up(see listings on the right) including three performances at the 152nd annual Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival, happening May 16th-18th. We play two concerts on Saturday, May 16th: 12:00PM @ the Celtic Music Tent, and 3:30PM @ the Entertainment Stage. A third set, also at the Celtic Music Tent, will happen at 3:00PM on Monday, May 18th. We hope to see you there! For more information on the games, including admission, schedules, and events, check out the following link: http://victoriahighlandgames.com/

More soon!!

Celtic Fest!

Thanks to everyone who came to see us at Celtic Fest 2015 in Vancouver! We had a great time on the outdoor stage, which was sponsored by Doolin’s Public House, performing for hundreds of enthusiastic listeners! A special thanks also to Tom, John, and Nicole for inviting us to play, and for all of their hard work on such an extensive cultural event! Congratulations! We hope to perform for you again soon!

See Celtic Fest Vancouver: http://www.celticfestvancouver.com/

 

 

 

 

Thanks also to everyone who came out for our marathon performance (5 45 minute sets!)at the Irish Times and the Bard & Banker public houses here in Victoria on St. Patrick’s Day! The pubs were rowdy and loud, perfect! Be sure to check our listings for more gigs at these venues.

Lot’s of shows coming up! Keep an eye on the upcoming show listings!

 

 

February was another great month for Knacker’s Yard with a good many many gigs and good times. One of the main highlights was our performance at the historic Caleb Pike Music Coffee House(left picture), which took place in the Highlands district just outside Victoria, on the 14^th of February. Zhinoos Armstrong, an extremely out-going, enthusiastic, and positive lady has been hosting folk music shows at the house since 1998. The house itself is actually a small cabin built, probably, around the early 1900’s and tucked away in the more rural highlands district. The house has nothing inside except a wood stove and a small stage for performance. With the stove blazing away, the space was very fitting for a band playing music from the bygone days of an old Celtic world.

During our second set, a four year old girl in a red dress, who’s name was Gwendolin(see picture to the right), boldly climbed the stage to dance and clap along to our songs thus making it a very memorable performance. The cabin was over capacity and the audience very warm and excited to hear the band play. If you don’t know about the Caleb Pike Music Coffee House, we highly recommend checking it out. Especially for people who spend much of their time in the city and perhaps long for a more rural musical experience. The shows happen on the 2^nd Saturday of every month, start at 7pm, and are only $5 entrance. All cash gathered goes to the performers, which is great appreciated! The house is a mere 20 minute drive down Millstream Rd. If heading from Langford. We certainly hope to return to the house very soon! A special thanks to Zhinoos for booking us as a featured act, the Western Community press for gig coverage, and everyone who came out to hear the band!

Caleb Pike Music: http://www.highlands.bc.ca/323/Highlands-Music-Coffee-House

On another note, Knacker’s Yard has been added to the line-up for this years Highland Games. We are very excited and hope that some of you come out to support us for that gig which will take place May 18^th at 3PM. More information and venue will be added shortly.

We’re very excited to play Celtic Fest Vancouver on March 14^th in Vancouver, and the St. Patrick’s day shows at the Irish Times and Bard & Banker pubs here in town. We perform at the Irish Times from 2:30-4:30 PM, and then the Bard & Banker(just a block away!) from 5:00PM-8:30PM. It should be a pretty wild day! 5 sets of music in six hours. Come sing, dance, and drink! Also, to encourage crowd participation, we are offering a free CD to anyone who sings one of our songs with us! Write for song list to prepare! It could be the beginning of a brilliant career.

Hello everyone! Knacker’s Yard here. Sorry for the long gap between updates. Lots going one these days! Aside from regular life, and other musical projects, Knacker’s Yard has been busy performing on a regular basis. Some of the highlights were as follows:

Friday, December 12, we performed at our home “The Dunsterville Horror” opening for Steph Cameron. Steph, an old friend of ours, traveled out to the island for a date with Buffy St. Marie(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brjfy-Yv9QU), so we snagged her for a extra date at the house. And what a great time it was! The house, due to renovations, felt, and looked, more like a construction zone than a home! Still we had a 50 liter keg of stout and a packed house making it a night, and morning, to remember!

If you don’t know Steph yet  you’d better check her out! She’s currently one of the best country folk artists in Canada. She recently signed contracts with Pheremone Records, from Toronto, and is now touring regularly. Check her out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCGsZnjgRzs you won’t regret it!

Christmas Eve at the Irish Times Public House was raging! A very loud and spirited crowd showed up  making it a memorable gig. By the way, if you want to check us out, the Irish Times is a great way to do so.  The pub offers live music for free every night of the week! A great way to enjoy local talent! Check out their listings at: http://www.irishtimespub.ca/

Another past event was the McConnell family re-union gig which took place at the Metchosin Community Hall on Metchosin Rd. A beautiful old venue that certainly brought a nostalgic vibe to the show. This was a private event to celebrate a family visit from Australia. We performed for a 150 people, drank all night, ate great food, and danced with the kids! A great event. We are, by the way, always happy to play private events so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Other news: We have many dates coming up. Including the Highlands Music Coffee House on Valentine’s day(see embedded poster). We’ll be performing some old love songs on that date including some by the great Scott poet Robbie Burns songs(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns). Hopefully we’ll see you out!

If you don’t know the Highlands Coffee House you should! They’ve been providing live folk music locally since 1998, thus celebrating their 15th year! You can check out their site and listings at: http://www.highlands.bc.ca/323/Highlands-Music-Coffee-House. Hopefully we’ll see some of you out for that!

 

 

Other exciting news: Knacker’s Yard Plays Celtic Fest Vancouver, March 14th!!! We’re very proud to be a part of this major tribute to Celtic music and culture.  Check it out the full schedule, its quite the event: http://www.celticfestvancouver.com/

Our date: http://www.celticfestvancouver.com/performer/knackers-yard/

Also: We have a new guitar player named Jon who performed his first gig January 22nd at the Irish Times Pub. Welcome Jon! Special thanks to JP, our original guitar player, for filling in after Jon wiped out on his bike(a day before what was supposed to be his first performance a few months ago). Jon suffered a broken collar bone and some nerve damage, but now he’s back rehearsing and ready to play!

On that note, Knacker’s Yard is currently seeking a bassist, since Devo left us a couple of months ago. We are open to either electric or stand up. Anyone who plays bass and is interested in what we are doing should drop us a line.

We are also looking to add a pipe or violin to the ensemble. Anyone who plays fiddle/Celtic style fiddle, or tin whistle, can get in touch with us!

-Knacker’s Yard

 

A special thanks to everyone who came out to support us at the Irish Times Pub last Wednesday! We performed three sets (3 hours of music!) from 9pm-12am. Quite the marathon! Overall the show was well attended and a lot of fun to play! We’ll be performing more shows at the Irish Times in the near future, so stay tuned for that information. We are confirmed for this years Christmas Eve celebration at the pub December 24th (see upcoming show listings to the right), which I’m sure will be a lot of fun!

Other shows include our regular gig at Cenote Restaurant and Lounge on the last Sunday of the month (November 30^th).  Cenote is an intimate situation with a limited capacity of 50, so come early!

NEW RECORDING!
Knacker’s Yard has just completed a second recording! This demo features six songs including “Many Young Men of Twenty Said Good-Bye” written in 1946 by the Irish playwright John B. Keane,  the Scottish traditional border ballad “The Raggle Taggle Gypsy,”  and two traditional Irish reels; “The Swallow-tail” and the “High Reel.”

We’re also very pleased to announce that three original tunes will also be included. “The Milton St. Mine Disaster,” “They’re Happy That You’re Gone,” and two instrumentals (played as one, which is generally the case) entitled “The Sooke River Reel,” and the “Leechtown Reel.”

The recording will be released on our site, as well as on CD.

KNACKER’S YARD @ THE IRISH TIMES!
Knacker’s Yard will be performing at the Irish Times pub, 1200 Government St., from 8:30pm-Midnight, Wednesday, November 5th.
The band will be performing three sets of traditional Scottish, English, and Irish songs.

A quick update:

09-10-2014 Was the “For the Love of Soil” benefit show for the Victoria Compost Education Centre, a non-profit society  promoting composting, organic gardening, conservation, local food production and urban sustainability. A very active society with many free and cheap work shops and classes for anyone interested in growing things. Check out their website: http://compost.bc.ca/ for more information.

The show was at the Fernwood NRG Community Hall on Gladstone. It went off nicely with a very positive and spirited crowd, good food, and beer (lots of beer!). Beer was provided by Hoyne Brewing, located here in Victoria. These guys brew some of our best local ale and are also into community support, so hats off to them! Check out: http://hoynebrewing.ca

We’d like to thank the Compost Education Centre for the opportunity to perform! We had a wonderful time and hope to do it again in the future.

29-09-2014 We performed at Cenote Restaurant and Lounge(http://www.cenoteloungevictoria.ca), which went very well. It was great to see new people out, as well as many of our  usual guests. We thank you  for the support!

 Just a reminder to our listeners that we do play Cenote on the last Sunday of every month. This month falls on October 26th. We invite everyone back again for that date. Please spread the word!

Also note that we do take requests for these events! So anyone interested in hearing something specific from our repertoire, or something from the general literature, please do not hesitate to write!