Celtic music comes alive in Nakusp

One thing was proven on March 5: Nakusp loves Celtic music.

Vancouver group Blackthorn performed that evening at the Bonnington Arts Centre, and people came out in droves to see them.

So many people showed up, additional rows of seats had to be created. Some in attendance actually sat on the stairs.

The group formed in 1989 after finding a common interest in music that was not so common in the Vancouver area at the time.

The quartet came on stage to much cheer and applause.

The second song of the performance was “Rattin’ Roarin’ Willie”, written by the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. The lively tune made you want to jump up and dance.

Much of the music performed was from the band’s most recent album “Open Skies”, which was released in September.

“It had been in the works for a bunch of years, but things kept happening, we’d get sort of side tracked, and life gets in the way,” said Michael Viens, vocalist and guitarist for the band. “We’re really proud of the album, and happy with the results.There’s a lot of new material on there, and things we’ve been wanting to record for a long time.”

One of the songs from the album was “Song for Dianne”, a tribute written for their accordion player, Dianne VanKirk, whopassed away in 2008.

The band played beautifully. Their harmonies were wonderful, and they were very much in sync with each other. They have agreat chemistry and rapport with each other, and they’re very funny. It’s easy to tell they’ve been playing together for decades.

Attendants of the performance were very happy to see the band play.

“This is my third time coming to see them,” said Jan Dion. “We have all their albums and I’m always appreciative of their talents and them coming here. It’s just amazing, I love it.”

Marilyn Massey, a member of the Arrow Lakes District Arts Council, agrees.

“It was good to see people remembering a group that we’ve brought in before,” she said. “That’s the best I’ve ever heard them,and a lot of people are saying the same thing. They could have fallen apart after they lost their accordion player, and they’ve just pulled themselves together.”

For the final song of the night, the band shook things up a bit with the song “Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal”, which featured a bit of Elvis a la “Viva Las Vegas”.

The show ended with cheers, applause, and a standing ovation.

While there is a lot of love for Blackthorn in Nakusp, there’s a lot of love for Nakusp in Blackthorn.

“It’s a lovely place to play, and people are so warm and inviting,” said Viens. “Our friends always have us over to dinner before we play. It’s like coming to visit family.”