Enter the Haggis

Enter The Haggis’s live show is a musical feast — viscerally dynamic, emotionally uplifting and intellectually stimulating. The band’s oeuvre darts effortlessly from the trad strains of, say, The Chieftains and The Pogues to the frenetic pop of early Elvis Costello and even to the Latin-tinged spirit of the Buena Vista Social Club and beyond. Complete with Trevor Lewington’s deft guitar playing, the reeling of Brian Buchanan’s flawless fiddle, the diverse rhythmic machinations of bassist Mark Abraham and drummer James Campbell, and Craig Downie’s transporting pipes, not to mention the near-perfect vocal harmonies.

The group’s undeniable power is documented in Live at Lanigan’s Ball, a film chronicling an Enter The Haggis performance at Plattsburgh, New York’s Hartman Theatre in December of 2003, originally taped for a PBS special which continues to air around the country, and now available on DVD. The band has continued making strides with TV appearances on A&E Breakfast With The Arts in December, 2005 and PBS’ Out Of Ireland; which aired several times between 2005 and 2006 on 260 channels nationwide. Continuing to receive numerous accolades in print both in North America and abroad, Enter the Haggis embarked on a European tour in 2006 with dates in their ancestral homeland of Scotland, inviting along 30 fans from their native Canada and the United States.

“...a high octane, tremendously entertaining band.” — Irish American News
“Enter the Haggis does for Celtic music what Nickel Creek does for bluegrass.” — Playback magazine
“...riveting and assertive while also hewing closely to a sturdy narrative template...mined from the best of tradition with a modern drive and delivery that sounds absolutely essential and thoroughly intoxicating to boot.” — Amplifier magazine