The Pikeys: The Premier West Coast Irish Punk Band. Co-created by NorCal’s 90’s Punk Scene products Ben and Mike. Their thundering Power Punk Core of guitar (Mike), vocals (Ben), drums (Hennessey) and bass (Adrian) is completely complimented by the addition of fiddle (Erik) and banjo (Buji). The Pikeys’ sound is aggressively organic. Like a visit from the Ghost of Saint Patrick’s Day Future, they shiver the heart and thrill the soul. Ranging from intensely dramatic, hair raising adventures to bawdy and rowdy limericks about liquor; The Pikeys will transport you to a time and place where the injustices of the world are thwarted by ballads and unity of spirit.
Crossed Hares
Pictures by Larry Cusick
Crossed Hares play traditional and contemporary Scottish music, from the fiddle tunes of Neil Gow to the songs of the late Andy Stewart. All members have been active in traditional Celtic and Americana music for years and last played the Scottish Games in 2019. Larry Cusick (fiddle/flute/bodhran) is the leader of the local trad music ensemble, Lark. Karana Hattersley-Drayton (vocals/keyboard/bodhran) is the lead singer for the Celtic band Pipe on the Hob. Mary Smith (clan Campbell) (vocals/Celtic harp) played with the duo Harps at Play for 30 years; her parents were charter members of the Fresno Scottish Society. Joining Crossed Hares at this year's Games is special guest Carl Johnston (hammer dulcimer/penny whistle) who plays with Karana in Pipe on the Hob.
Celtic Motion Dance Company embodies the joy of relaxed folk dance, music, community, and culture. We perform all over the Central Valley at events such as farmers markets, private parties, schools, senior centers, and cultural celebrations. You can expect to see a comic version of the Scottish Sailor’s Hornpipe, English Rapper (Sword) Dance, and a variety of contemporary and traditional Scottish and Irish dances. Celtic Motion Dance Company is the performing team of the Irish Step Dance program at California Arts Academy which hosts a number of other exciting programs including ballet, art, children’s musical theater, and much more.
Our company has been greatly inspired by the Historical Medieval Battle International Association (HMBIA) a non-profit organization formed in 2009 in Liechtenstein; whose aims are: “to make the historical medieval battle a popular cultural and sport movement all over the world, to engage people of all ages to HMB, to promote healthy way of life through HMB, to show through sport battles of HMB the difficulty and danger of real wars and teach people to appreciate friendship and peace, to introduce HMB as mass leisure activity in which a modern person can challenge himself/herself in totally unusual context of full-contact fight in medieval armour, and to encourage public interest towards the medieval history and care about the cultural heritage.”