I’d like to introduce you to the TARTAN TERRORS – a fierce warrior-like band of musicians who perform Celtic rock music with a little step-dancing thrown in. Think…Riverdance meets Braveheart, with bagpipes and a punk attitude! The band members are all multitalented musicians and their fiddle player is an award-winning step-dancer, too. Tartan Terror shows are full of humour and energy with audiences up on their feet throughout most of the show; dancing and hollering are encouraged!
With a distinctive sound and a proud tradition of making Celtic music fun and accessible to any audience, the Tartan Terrors bring their Celtic Invasion to concerts, festivals and fairs across North America, blending the energy of a rock show with humour and stepdance. They’ve played highland games, renaissance fairs, battle re-enactments (we have to invite Mel Gibson to come out and do his “you’ll never take our freedom” speech!) and in large soft-seater concert halls. They’re perfectly suited for Steampunk fairs, too. They present exciting original music as well as traditional Celtic songs but with a definite edge. So get your kilts on and shine up your knees as Tartan Terrors are about to invade your town in 2025, starting with their Robbie Burns tour of Ontario that kicks off in Brantford on Friday January 10th (tour details at end of this post).
I recently spoke with band spokesman, CHRIS KERBA (bodhran, acoustic guitar & vocals) pictured below, and he shared his thoughts and band history….
Who created the Tartan Terrors and what was the inspiration? The Tartan Terrors started 29 years ago by siblings, Ellen & Ian Irmisch They had been dancers their whole lives as their mother ran a dance school. They started a show at the Ontario Renaissance Festival in Oakville ON. Their father had dubbed them the “wee tartan terrors” and the name stuck. Over the years, they added more musicians and as the band grew it became a variety show including skits, dancing and music. As members came and left the group, the shift from a variety show to a music-oriented group evolved. Now, we’re a Celtic rock band that incorporates traditional Ottawa Valley Step Dancing in our shows. Pictured below, band co-founder Ian Irmisch (Bodhran & Emcee)
What were the band’s first gigs and how well were you received by audiences? Did they expect such rousing performances? The first time I saw the Tartan Terrors was in 2005 at a Ren Faire in Hamilton ON. At this point, it was still the variety type show. Every single performance they had was packed. People were laughing, dancing, and singing along. If you had told me then that in 2 years, I’d be putting on a kilt and performing with them, I’d probably have laughed at you. They were bigger than life!
By including a fiddle-playing step dancer (Emily) the band offers a whole different dimension – how important is that extra vibe to the show? I remember the first time I met Emily; she was a sub fiddle player for the group as we were looking to fill the role with our former fiddle player taking a step back. I picked her up at her place in Oshawa and we began our drive to Maine. Unfortunately, there was a massive accident on the 401 into Quebec and we were diverted through Cornwall and through NY state. At a time when GPS systems didn’t handle well with rerouting, Emily and I easily added 5 hours onto our drive. That was the start of, I feel like, has become a great friendship. She was really quiet at first and I couldn’t help but think “What’s this shy young lady going to add to our show?”. I was in for a spectacular surprise. We performed our show and Emily, at that point, had only played fiddle for the group. I remember being absolutely blown away by her abilities on fiddle. Not only had she learned all of our material, but she performed it and kept chasing excellence between shows. I texted Ellen on the trip and told her, in no uncertain terms, that we HAD to keep Emily. We had a string of Christmas shows coming up and that I’d take half of my pay if it meant we could offer Emily enough to join those shows. Luckily, Ellen had already had the same thoughts.
As the shows progressed, Emily and Ellen choreographed a routine for our final number of the night that combined Ellen’s traditional highland dance/Irish hard shoe dancing with Emily’s Ottawa Valley Step Dancing…the audience LOVED it. We had a video that had hundreds of thousands of views around the world. It was awesome.
Sadly, 8 years ago, Ellen was diagnosed with cancer. While she kept touring with the band and performing as much as she could, unfortunately, she wasn’t able to dance the number of songs she wanted to. Emily stepped up HUGE. She would take over some of the dancing duties from Ellen and choreographed new routines for our songs. As Ellen’s health deteriorated, more and more Emily filled those shoes (yes, pun absolutely intended). Unfortunately, Ellen passed away 6 years ago (in August). Emily and her abilities on fiddle and dancing have become a staple in our shows and her abilities are unparalleled.
Each band member has extensive music education and cross-genre experience; in an age when most “musicians” have never put their hands on an instrument (thanks to computer generated music) how important is that familiarity with each instrument? I don’t want to throw shade at musicians who don’t “create” their own music. Technology has evolved and, as professionals, we have to evolve as well. They have a different skillset that I’ll never know or understand. For me, personally, I’ll always prefer to have an instrument in my hands. I’m fairly certain that the same applies for everyone who puts on a kilt for the Terrors.(Pictured below- Peter McArthur on bagpipes, Charlie McKittrick on drums, Jake Saenz on bass & Phill Hood on electric & acoustic guitar & vocals)
I have to preface this properly because I’m not saying I’m not good at what I do. I pride myself on being a solid rhythm guitar player and a pretty decent bodhran player. But when I look around the stage, it’s not lost on me that I’m the least talented/educated, musically, on stage. Watching everyone else play their instruments, what looks like, effortlessly will constantly be mind blowing to me. The part that really blows my mind is knowing that every person on stage is a multi-instrumentalist, and not just “oh they dabble” no, they can PLAY more than one instrument. It’s wild. Now, while they make it look easy, I know that there are decades, yes decades, of practice, blood, sweat, and tears into honing their craft.
The band has played across Canada and the US – do you aspire to hit the glens of Scotland and Ireland, too? Short answer? Have band, will travel! We love playing. Give us a stage and we’ll perform. We would love to cross the pond and play in Scotland, Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand…anywhere and everywhere.
You have a number of shows booked in Ontario over the next couple of months, then down into the States starting in the early spring. What can audiences expect from the Tartan Terrors in 2025? New music? New merchandise? More dancing? We’ve been reworking some of our older material that we stopped playing for a few years and we’ve been writing our butts off. The creative wheels are always turning and we’re constantly workshopping new ideas. For our January show, we’re bringing back an old pipe tune and we’re premiering 2 brand new songs. We’ve got new posters, pictures, Christmas ornaments, shirts, colouring books…all kinds of new things at the merch table!
Can fans listen to the Tartan Terrors on streaming services or do you prefer offering your music on vinyl or CD, and how can fans purchase the tunes? We’re all over your favourite streaming platforms. We’re working on getting our older catalogue uploaded there as well. Ian says it the best on stage “You can download us 5,000 times and we make $0.0043”. I wish it wasn’t the reality of the situation, but as any musician now will attest to, it’s the reality. Our money is generated when people buy tickets to shows and then buy merchandise. Think of it as a way of supporting the band and getting a cool souvenir out of the deal. We still have CD’s but are going to be releasing a vinyl album featuring some of our favourite Terrors tracks along with some live versions of the songs. I’m not sure if that’s to be public knowledge or not, but here we are. As it’s our first vinyl release, we’re going to be printing a limited number of records…so keep an eye out for that and don’t wait. The best place to buy is at our shows, but we do have an online store on our website that we’ll mail you merch too.
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You can follow Tartan Terrors on social media: @tartanterrors and all band news, merchandise, shows and tickets available on their website: https://tartanterrors.com/
