Grandfather Mountain Highland Games 2005

Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
MacRae Meadows, Linville NC
July 7th-10th, 2005

So the 50th Annual Highland Games on Grandfather Mountain were a lot of fun. Imagine a high school track and field, on top of a green North Carolina mountain, surrounded on the outside by colorful tarten-laden tents each for a particular Scottish clan. You've got men in kilts and women in tartan skirts, folks carrying fiddles and bagpipes, and in the center of the green men, women, and children doing all sorts of athletic events.

The music was spotty, the sound off and on terrible, the people exceptionally cool, and the weather was beautiful. The bands, who played for free -- bless them!! -- were mostly "Celtic rock" bands, but there were a few that were folky and traditional.

The "Celtic rock" bands were fun, loud, raucous party bands that were great to watch, but yet I didn't feel driven to buy any of their CDs -- which makes me hate that they weren't getting paid for the gig. The problem was there just wasn't much Celtic about most of them. Most were just your standard rock band playing mostly standard rock covers with a bagpipe or maybe a fiddle thrown into the mix. Very fun, and very rockin', but not really Americana nor traditional. My favorite was Hunting MacLeod, pictured here, a very high energy band that had both a fiddler and piper in the band. They played several fiddle tunes and did a great job of truly incorporating the fiddle and bagpipe into the rock mix.

On the traditional side there were some great folk singers and a great band from Alabama called Henri's Notion which I enjoyed a lot. I really regret not getting a CD of theirs now, darnit. They were much more in line with the traditional sound of Scottish folk. I also liked the neo-traditional Ric Blair Band, who's based in Nashville. I did get one of their CDs, a collection of traditional Celtic hymns, but I haven't had a chance to give a listen to yet.

The most popular band of the festival, though, was a poly-rhythmic multi-drummer plus one bagpipe band -- Clann An Drumma. The crowd was wild for them, and I saw tons of folks in their t-shirts the entire weekend. These lads -- and one lassie -- were dressed in rough Scottish "tribal" garb -- rough wool kilts and dress with long, wild hair. Some of them looked like extras straight out of Braveheart. They put on a show similar to what I'd imagine a Stomp concert would sound like but with a constant drone and light melody from a single piper. I'll admit the sound was lost to my untrained ears at first, but I was warming to them by the end. I'm going to borrow a friend's CD to really figure them out.

And then there were the amateur folks playing all sorts of instruments -- but mostly fiddles and bagpipes. The entire mountain, pretty much the entire time, was haunted by the droning of pipers practicing, warming up, jamming, or competing. I have to tell you -- I love the sound of the bagpipes. I thought it was great!

All in all, the games had a real Bluegrass festival feel to it, actually. It was similar in that you've got folks who're there mostly just to catch up with their family and friends, families with young children competing in the fiddle, pipe, and dance competitions, and some devoted music fans there to actually see a particular band or too. I'm guessing there was lots of jamming when it got dark in the camping grounds too, although unfortunately I didn't see for myself. As for the athletics, well, they were there in the background the entire time, but -- being me -- I was just more attuned to the music and the people. Maybe I'll actually catch a caber toss or a sheepherding competition next year.

Speaking of which, if you decide to attend this festival next year, I really recommend camping and staying on the mountain. I think there will be lots more opportunity to jam and mingle with folks that way. And if you're a fiddler, be sure to bring yours as there's a fiddle workshop where they actually teach you real Scottish songs! Most workshops -- especially those at Merlefest -- seem to just be celebrities showing off their stuff. Not that I'm complaining about that mind you, but going to a fiddle workshop where everyone but me actually had a fiddle in their hand the entire time was different. I also recommend you try the meat pie, a bridie, and the fish & chips -- although you should probably only do one a day! Also, bring your own beer, and some to share!