The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay (CSMB) had its origin in 1989 when Tam Paterson, then host of 'The Eagle's Whistle' on KAZU, announced a meeting at The White Cockade in Boulder Creek for those wishing to form a Celtic Society. About a dozen people showed up. Get-togethers at various private residences followed with local musicians providing entertainment.

The real “heart” in the formation of the CSMB was inspired by local musicians and their followers, who had nowhere to showcase their talents, and – in their undying love of the music, and Celtic tradition, wanted to share it with others. After several years of playing sessions, and house concerts and the odd booking, they decided to officially form a group who could promote the Celtic Culture around the Monterey Bay, and start running folk clubs in the area, with the express intention of making Celtic music a household name.

They did everything legally, and the name Celtic Society Of The Monterey Bay was registered and a bank account opened, with money donated by enthusiastic supporters .

The people behind the movement back then really deserve a mention in the grand scheme of the formation of the society for who knows, without their input, the CSMB might not exist today, as the great success it has become. 

Initial President was Brid Caveney, a multi instrumentalist musician who had played extensively in most of the Celtic Nations of the World, before moving to California in the early 80’s.The very first ever Celtic Society newsletter was sent out from the Caveney household – in Marina CA, by his wife Bronwyn, who was at the time working for a printing firm – who sponsored the project. It appeared in the Spring of 1991 where it was announced, "our aim as a Society is to keep alive Celtic tradition and promote same in the community." It was also noted in the first newsletter that monthly sessions were being moved to The Elkhorn Yacht Club in Moss Landing. Other “officials” at that time were Suzanna O’Sullivan, who took on the treasurer’s job. Her (then) husband Jimmy played the highland pipes, and there was an incredible depth of local musicians who helped get the CSMB up and running. It was at The Elkhorn Yacht Club that The Celtic Society presented their first concert on Sunday, April 12, 1992 by the Irish singer Michael Black.

The group developed several venues in the area, including the “O’James Folk Club” at the Grovemont Theatre in Monterey, before moving “Out of town” and setting up the folk club at the Elkhorn Yacht Club in Moss Landing. Before they could actually afford to book “Major “guests, they had many great “sessions” at the venue, and continued their love of the Celtic traditions.With the setting for sessions gradually moving northwards, with McCarthy's Restaurant ( now The Britannia Arms ) in Aptos succeeding The Elkhorn Yacht Club as the venue, concerts began to be organized in the Santa Cruz area as the most convenient central location for the increasing number of people interested in attending events from the South Bay area.

The first of the Santa Cruz concerts took place at The Kuumbwa on Tuesday, December 14th 1993 by Andy Irvine with an opening set by Martin & Jessica Simpson. This was a co-production made possible by the generous financial support, supplementing the meager bank account, by Lisa Eckstrom and Lynda Fotheringham ( R.I.P. ), both of whom continued to help enrich our lives with future co-productions and individual productions.

In the early 90’s, Bob Breheney took on the gauntlet of keeping the CSMB name alive, and taking it to new level. He has contracted many great stars to play in our area, and the title CSMB is very much alive today. Recently, the CSMB incorporated in California as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is run by the board members shown below.

Email Ian Walton
Ian Walton
President

Ian Walton joined the Board in 2017. He became President in November 2023. He grew up in Scotland and first participated in Celtic music in the back of a bus with the St Andrews University Mountaineering Club. He moved to Santa Cruz in 1973 and has been enjoying Celtic Society concerts since the late 90s. He enjoys playing depressing Celtic ballads from all over the world and can be heard at Open Mics around Santa Cruz. A retired community college mathematics instructor, he was President of the statewide Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and Chair of the Commission that accredits two-year colleges in California, Hawaii and the Pacific. Post COVID, he hopes to help bring back the Celtic Society’s wonderful selection of traditional bands as well as to encourage young performers from Scotland, Ireland and Cape Breton to visit Santa Cruz.

Email Kathy Fieberling
Kathy Fieberling
Vice-President

Recent retiree Kathy Fieberling became a big fan of Celtic and traditional music in the early 60s as a young teenager, and has attended festivals and concerts ever since. She studied sean nós singing with Irish singer/songwriter Mary McLaughlin and was a member of Mary’s Irish Gaelic choir, Cor Aingli. With years of experience working for a local non-profit, Kathy hopes to lend her skills to the Celtic Society doing PR, development, and event and volunteer coordination. She is most enthusiastic about helping to bring the best of Celtic performers to the Monterey Bay area. Kathy spreads the word about our concerts by sending press releases to the local newspapers and radio stations and is also a member of our Volunteers and Housing Subcommittee.

Email Peter Schwarz
Peter Schwarz
Secretary

Peter Schwarz got interested in folk music in the 80’s, during his graduate studies in Pittsburgh, PA. Through concerts hosted by George Balderose at Calliope House, he became a fan of Celtic music, as well as old-time string bands and other forms of acoustic roots music. He also got involved in radio, hosting a folk music program (and a punk music program!) on the Carnegie-Mellon station, WRCT. Upon moving to San Jose in 1985, Peter joined the staff of listener-sponsored radio station KKUP, where he has hosted a program featuring Celtic music and a variety of other forms of folk music ever since, and also serves as Music Director. When not listening to music, Peter works as a Research Staff Member at IBM’s Almaden Research Center. Peter believes we live in a musical “ecosystem”: a synergistic community of performers, audiences, venues, promoters and media that combine to give the Bay Area its vibrant musical scene. By serving on the Board of the Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay, he hopes to help keep this ecosystem thriving for many years to come.

Email Pete Haworth
Pete Haworth
Treasurer

Pete Haworth was a founding member of the 501(c)(3) non-profit version of the Celtic Society. Pete has been a music fan most of his life, playing guitar in teenage rock bands in England in the 70's and graduatingto folk muisc in general and Celtic music in particular in the 80's. Along with bagpiper David Brewer, he was a founding member of local Celtic band Molly's Revenge. Pete is now retired and feels busierthan he ever did when he was in full time employment.

Email Lynda Haworth
Lynda Haworth
Membership Secretary

I first became interested in Celtic music after listening to the Dubliners in the 1960’s and was a regular at local folk clubs in the North of England. I have attended many of the Celtic Society shows when Pete and I lived in Sunnyvale. When we moved over to Soquel in 2000 we started hosting house concerts. We also offer home stays for many of the visiting musicians and have made many good friends over the years. I am a founding member of the Celtic Society Board, as Secretary and now Membership Secretary. Our membership has almost doubled since we took the Society into a non profit organization. I am an avid gardener and volunteer at the UCSC Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Email Gloria Rosson
Gloria Rosson
Board Member

Gloria has been with the Celtic Society of Monterey Bay since the organization was formed. An avid lover of all music Celtic, she has also served on the Board of Directors for the Folk Alliance and has been a member of Folk Alliance since 2000. She spends her free time traveling to Scotland, Ireland and folk festivals from here to there. Ms. Rosson works as an Attorney in San Jose, and has performed many hours of pro bono work for musicians throughout her career. She aspires to keep the Celtic Society flourishing, so that the best in traditional music will always find ahome in the Santa Cruz area. In November 2023 Gloria passed on the President position to Ian Walton and the Concert Director position to Jackie Pierce. Thanks to Gloria for all her work on the Society's behalf.

Email Andy Doerr
Andy Doerr
Board Member

Andy was introduced to Celtic music many years ago while a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He has loved it ever since. More recently, he has become an avid Irish set dancer. He also plays guitar and sings at Irish sessions around the Bay Area whenever he can. He’s excited about serving on the board of the CSMB because it gives him an opportunity to actively promote the music, dance, and culture he loves. In the past, Andy directed the Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention and Festival in Goleta, California. As director, he added Irish, Quebecois, and contemporary string bands to the musical mix while maintaining the festival’s Old Time core. While living in Santa Barbara, Andy also hosted the Roadtunes Sessions program on the UC Santa Barbara radio station KCSB FM 91.9 for 10 years. The show was wide-ranging, but almost always started with Celtic music of some kind. He was introduced to Irish set dancing at the Lark in the Morning music camp in Mendocino, which he has attended for over 20 years. Now retired from working at UC Santa Barbara Associated Students, Andy is actively involved in the international Irish cultural organization Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and travels to local and international festivals, dances, and other gatherings whenever he can.

Email Susan Keith
Susan Keith
Board Member

Susan Keith was born near London to an Irish mother and an English father. She moved to California as a young girl and grew up listening to her mother’s endless céilí band records. She started Irish step dancing at 18 and became involved with the South Bay Irish music scene. She continued to dance as an adult and performed with her parents and sons at local events. She has taught Irish céilí dances at Lark In the Morning music camp and at children’s céilís at Lilly Mac’s in Sunnyvale. She is an avid set dancer, a participant and sometimes host of the local monthly Irish singing session, and currently the Chair of the SF Cooley-Keegan branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. A retired elementary school teacher, Susan hopes to help the Celtic Society promote traditional music and dance and also to encourage young folks to engage with our Celtic world.

Join The Society

Benfits include monthly newsletter, concert ticket discounts, no credit card fees on ticket purchases, free CDs, and exclusive member only events

Help us to continue bringing world class Celtic musicians to the area by becoming a member. Individual and family memberships are available, starting at $20 per year. . 

You can also join our mailing list for free

Community Events

These events are not sponsored by the Celtic Society. If you have any questions, please direct them to the contact information in the event listing. Check out the Americeltic and Irish Culture Bay Area events calendars for more local events.

You can now list online shows!

You are invited to O'Flaherty's Traditional Irish Session every Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 10:00 pm or so at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in downtown San Jose! Experienced Celtic musicians 21 and well behaved dogs. We play in the open doorway looking out onto the parklet on San Pedro Street. Celebrating 18 years of playing Irish music together on Tuesday nights at O'Flaherty's, where you are a stranger but once!

#livemusic #irishmusic #celticmusic #irishsession #irishjam #sanjose #sharks #oflats

A community gathering of the finest kind. Join the Santa Cruz Irish music scene as we play rollicking tunes every third Thursday in downtown Santa Cruz. Join us at Rosie McCann's Irish Pub on Pacific Avenue from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. All ages. 

Announcing the First Annual Ceili on the Lake Irish Music and Dance Festival at Lagoon Park, Marin County Fairgrounds.

Produced by Red Barn Productions, based in Marin County in California, a full-service event production company with decades of experience in the design and production of large and small-scale events. Together with an expanding community of over 1,000 enthusiastic artists, theatrical performers, musicians, directors, designers, and event professionals, we specialize in theatrically entertaining, historically authentic events, encouraging participation and learning. Founded in 1963 by the Patterson family, creators of the popular Great Dickens Christmas Fair.

Tickets go on sale March 15, 2024: https://ceilionthelake.com/
$20 Adults | $10 Children under 12

Marin County Fairgrounds, 10 Ave of the Flags, San Rafael, CA 94903

Celtic Music On The Radio

Get your Celtic music fix and support our local radio stations by listening to the following programs.

89.3 FM

The Mountain Road

Julie Horner

Monday 8 PM - 10 PM


91.5 FM

New Wood

Peter Schwarz

Thursday 7 AM - 10 AM

Friday Folk-Off

Greg Winslow

Friday 3 PM - 6 PM

The Rising of the Moon

Captain Nashville

4th & 5th Mondays, 6 AM - 9 AM


90.7 FM

Celtic Cauldron

Cindy Odom

Friday 11 AM - 12 PM


88.1

Bushwackers Breakfast Club

Dangerous Dan

Friday 6M - 9AM


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