RURAL HILL NEWS RELEASE
Contact: 704.875.3113 or office@ruralhill.net, Photos available at www.ruralhill.net

SCOTTISH/CELTIC MUSIC CONCERT AND JAM LINEUP SET FOR 2009 SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND LOCH NORMAN HIGHLAND GAMES

February 19, 2009 

HUNTERSVILLE, NC:  The Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games will be held April 17 – 19 and the talent is set to get the crowds on their feet.  As part of the Festival this year, there will be a Scottish/Celtic Concert and Jam on Saturday evening that will begin at 6:30 PM in the Chief’s tent.  Featured musicians at the Concert and Jam include Brian McNeill, The Hooligans, Clandestine, Jil Chambliss and Scooter Muse from Henri’s Notions, and Ed Miller.  Admission to the Concert and Jam is $10 if bought alone, or the Concert and Jam is included in the full Saturday ticket admission.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase in the food court.  Please visit www.ruralhill.net for complete weekend details.

Brian McNeill's professional career spans more than three decades and he is now acknowledged as one of Scotland's great musical forces; as a songwriter, composer, producer and musical director, as well as a performer. In 1969 he formed the Battlefield Band, which became one of Scotland's best known ensembles. Brian plays fiddle, octave fiddle, guitar, mandocello, bouzouki, viola, mandolin, cittern, concertina, bass and hurdy gurdy. The importance of his songwriting, mostly about Scotland's past and future, has long been recognized. Songs including The Yew Tree, The Lads O' The Fair, The Snows of France and Holland, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, Any Mick'll Do and No Gods and Precious Few Heroes have established him as one of Scotland's leading songwriters. www.brianmcneill.co.uk

The Hooligans are a five member Celtic rock band from and around the mountains of Western North Carolina. This band was started with a desire to be something truly different and special. Influenced by such ground-breaking bands like Seven Nations and Enter the Haggis, The Hooligans set out to play Celtic music that also included their personal tastes. In the music, you're likely hear influences that range from Toto to Bowling For Soup and all points in between. Mix in the haunting sounds of traditional Celtic instruments like the Highland bagpipes, whistles, flute, mandolin and other instruments of the like, and what you get is The Hooligans. www.myspace.com/thatcelticband

The now re-formed Clandestine was well-known and well-loved from 1996 to 2003 for their particular brand of Texas Celtic music. They were regulars at the Texas Scottish Festival and the North Texas Irish Festival for many years and had full houses at McGonigel's Mucky Duck in Houston, the Cactus Cafe in Austin and Poor David's Pub in Dallas. The band toured the US extensively and had successful stints in Canada and France before breaking up in February 2003.  Together again with percussionist and singer Emily Dugas, fiddler Gregory McQueen, piper EJ Jones and a new member, Al Cofrin, (former member Jen Hamel is pursuing her Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology at University of Missouri-Columbia) most of the group's blasting tune sets remain the same, complemented by some new ones in similar style. www.clandestineceltic.com

Jil Chambliss is without a doubt one of America's top Celtic music vocalist and musicians. A native of Montgomery, AL, Jil was first introduced to Celtic music in the 1980's when she met the Tuscaloosa, Alabama based band, Henri's Notions, and the rest is history.  During her tenure, the Notions have completed four recording projects and performed nationally at concerts and festivals

Scooter Muse has his roots in Bluegrass Music and has been privileged to win eight State of Alabama & Tennessee Valley Championship titles for 5 String and Old Time Banjo. Scooter began to tap into the incredible world of Celtic Music about 25 years ago. After learning a flood of traditional jigs and reels on the banjo he began to explore the Celtic domain of open tunings for the guitar and from 1994 till 2002 was founder and leader of one of the country's finest Celtic bands, The Full Moon Ensemble, which toured the US, Canada and Scotland. After the FME went their separate ways in December of 2002, Scooter was proud to join Henri's Notions after being a big fan of the band for many years!

Ed Miller, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and now living in Austin, Texas, is a product of the 1960’s folk revival in Scotland. He moved to the US in 1968 to complete his graduate work in geography, and later folklore, at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his singing career, Ed is the host of a folk music program on Austin’s NPR station, KUT-FM. "Ed Miller is one of the best singers to emerge from the Scottish folk revival, a guitar-wielding folkie who wins his audiences over with a sweet but powerful voice, a great ear for material, and equal doses of populist politics and wry humor..." Steve Winick, contributor to The Music Hound —The Essential Albums Guide.  www.songsofscotland.com

The Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games offer something for everyone.  The fun begins with The Call o’ the Clans on Friday, followed by a Scottish Country Welcome Dance.  Saturday and Sunday offer Scottish heavy athletics and a variety of competitions that anyone can enter.  Other activities include a Children’s Activity Village, Council of Scottish Clans and Associations, Tartan Museum, Scottish genealogy and Family Tree DNA, Scottish and Celtic music and dancing, the Scottish American Military Society, Highland Cows, and a variety of demonstrations and seminars.  Sanctioned competitions include Individual Piping and Drumming, Pipe Band Competition, Carolinas Open Highland Dancing Championships, Scottish Country Dance Competition, Scottish Fiddle Competition and Scottish Harp Competition. 

Saturday and Sunday also offer one of the highlights of the Games - the Professional Scottish Heavy Events including the 16 lb Stone, 22 lb Hammer Throw, 28 lb Weight Throw, 56 lb Weight Throw, 56 lb Weight Toss for Height, Turning the Caber, and Tossing the Sheaf.   Note: Professional athletes are by invitation only. 

Complete Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games information is available online at www.ruralhill.net. Discount tickets are available.  Tickets may be purchased in advance via the website or admission at the gate is as follows:  

• Friday Evening Call o’ the Clans: FREE

• Friday Evening Scottish Country Welcome Dance: Gallery: $3/Participant: $15

• 2-Day Ticket (Sat. & Sun. and includes the Sat. evening Concert and Jam): $25

• Saturday Admission (includes the evening Concert and Jam): $20

• Saturday Evening Concert and Jam Only: $10

• Sunday Admission: $10

• Saturday Evening Scottish Country Dance: Gallery: $3/Participant: $20

• NOTE: Saturday & Sunday Parking: $5 per day (Includes one commemorative program per car)
  Proceeds support the preservation of Rural Hill.

Rural Hill is located at 4431 Neck Road (off Beatties Ford Road) in Huntersville, 28078.  The former homestead of Major John and Violet Davidson, the 265 acre site is maintained and promoted by The Catawba Valley Scottish Society (CVSS).  Rural Hill features annual events such as the Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games, The Amazing Maize Maze at Rural Hill and the Rural Hill Sheepdog Trials.  CVSS is a non-profit organization supported through membership and donations.  For more information on events or for financial support accepted securely online, please visit www.ruralhill.net. 

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