The McKassons

The McKassons

The McKassons are a dynamic, young and highly accomplished Celtic band based in Tacoma, Washington.  They have played to packed houses and festival crowds all over the country, bringing a distinctly American sensibility to traditional Scottish music and creating new music that blends Celtic, folk, and bluegrass elements. Our co-artistic directors, Jennifer Schoonover and Margaret Lepley, who are both founding members of Highland Dance Boston, have been inspired by the McKassons’ music to provide a seamless blend of old and new, of traditional Highland and Scottish Country dances and new choreography in the Scottish style. You won’t want to miss this energetic and talented group of musicians and the dancing that their music has helped create.

The McKassons are definitely a family affair. In 1996, Ryan McKasson (fiddle, viola) was the youngest ever National Scottish Fiddle Open Champion, and his playing has only matured and grown since then. He has appeared with other fiddle greats, such as Alasdair Fraser, Laura Risk, and Hanneke Cassel. This concert will emphasize traditional repertoire and new music in the Celtic style, but versatile Ryan has worked with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Philip Glass, Beck, and Bjork! Cali McKasson (piano) is Ryan’s sister. Her playing ranges from “dynamically percussive” to “evocative” to “fragile, . . . [and] loving.” The haunting vocals are provided by Brooke McKasson, Ryan’s wife. Honorary family member, percussionist Matt Jerrell provides the beat. He has worked with renowned percussionist Johnny Rabb, who has appeared with Deane Carter and Tanya Tucker.

The band has issued two very well received CDs, Tall Tales and Tripping Maggie.   The critics have given them rave reviews, such as these:

Sometimes it seems like Irish fiddling is played with the wrist, and Scottish fiddling with the shoulder. The bow drives across the strings, thick and throaty, creating a pulsing sound that feels more of muscle than tendon. The McKassons, a vibrant young Scottish band from Seattle, play like that. On their new CD, "Tripping Maggie," they thunder through jigs'n'reels one moment; then dazzle with a compositional sophistication that is cinematic, transporting, and tantalizingly modern. Brooke McKasson sings with a breathy, in-your-ear mezzo. Cali McKasson's keyboards are dynamically percussive and evocative; and her brother Ryan has fiddled with everyone from Beck to Bjork.                                ~ The Boston Globe

Neither Irish nor Scottish [by birth], the Celtic folk band the McKassons have nothing to worry about as far as authenticity is concerned. To put it bluntly, the McKassons surpass many of their European contemporaries. The vision of the McKassons is wider in scope than that of your typical Celtic group; the McKassons also embrace the various elements of American folk, vintage country, and bluegrass in their sound. As if to prove how eclectic they are, they even cover Bruce Springsteen, turning his blue-collar rock & roll into blue-blood balladry.

Based in . . . Tacoma, Washington, the McKassons have been touring U.S. clubs with their dynamic melting pot of musical influences. I'm sure they are as bewitching in concert, perhaps even more, as they are on record. The interplay between Ryan McKasson's viola playing and fiddling and Cali McKasson's piano creates an undefended rush of emotion. On “The Grapevine/Piper's Jig,” the title cut, and the Springsteen track “If I Should Fall Behind,” Ryan and Cali are simply mesmerizing.

“Haymaker's” has an engaging swaying beat that again showcases the McKassons' superb musicianship. This is a band that truly plays off each other.

What's intriguing about the McKassons is how their songs - old and new, originals and remakes - have a strong thread of unity connecting them. Despite the distance in years and creative minds, they all add up to part of an exciting, completely satisfying whole.           ~ Shotgun Reviews

The McKassons will also showcase cuts from a CD that is currently in the works.

Dan Houghton (pipes)

Dan Houghton grew up surrounded by Scottish traditional music and dance and started his musical career playing the whistles, viola, and tíompan (hammered dulcimer) when he was about seven. He has been fingering the pipes and flute since the early 1990s and has played and taught throughout Europe, Asia, the New World, and the Antipodes.

While a student in Dunedin, New Zealand, Dan played pipes, bouzouki, and banjo and sang in the Irish band Blackthorn. More recently he has been half of several musical duos in the Europe area including Musion with Chris Wright, the ASBO Duo with Cammy Robson in Edinburgh, and The Boussens Which Project with Franck Delieuvin in Toulouse. He also occasionally plays with the Edinburgh-based Salsa Celtica, and the Puy Laurence-based Gartloney Rats and Doolin. In 1999, along with Jon Bews, Cameron Robson, and Gavin Marwick, Dan helped to form the Scottish traditional power band Cantrip, towards which much of his musical energy is focused.

Besides playing for concerts Dan is in demand as a piper for both Scottish Highland and Country dancing. Together with Jon Bews and pianist James Gray, he has played for country dances and ceilidhs throughout Scotland and Europe, under the name Rantin’, Rovin’, Reelin’ or Captain Horne & His Hardened Seamen, depending on the company and the occasion.

When not on the road or in the air Dan divides his time between Scotland and Marshfield, Vermont, where he teaches Bagpipes at Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts.

Highland Dance Boston

Founded by Robert McOwen and Karen Campbell Mahoney in 2002, Highland Dance Boston is a performing company that specializes in the traditional and contemporary dances of Scotland. The company includes competitive highland dancers, teachers of Scottish dance, and musicians. Their repertoire includes traditional highland and step dances, as well as original choreographed pieces. The group has performances at the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA), the New Hampshire Highland Games, the Gaelic Roots festival, Burns Nights in various cities, and they recently performed at the Opening Ceremonies of the World Curling Championships in Lowell, MA. They hosted their own concert of Scottish dance in June, 2007, in Cambridge, MA. Whether performing traditional dances or their own inventive explorations in the Scottish style, they are a treat for the eyes-and (when hard shoe is involved) the ears!

RSCDS Boston Branch Demonstration Team

The Scottish Country Dance Demonstration Team of the Boston Branch dances at various celebrations, festivals, town fairs, and private events around the New England area. The group performs each year at the New Hampshire Highland Games, the New England Folk Festival, the Boston Celtic Music Festival, and at the RSCDS November concert. It creates original medleys of traditional dances, choreographed for maximum energy, elegance, and audience appeal.

Artistic Directors

Our artistic co-directors, Jennifer Schoonover and Margaret Lepley, are both founding members of Highland Dance Boston. Margaret has performed as a dancer and musician for groups in Boston, New Hampshire, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.  She toured Scotland with the Strathspey & Reel Society of New Hampshire and in the Pacific Northwest with the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers.  In addition to Highland Dance Boston, she has performed with the New Caledonians, the Waverley Dancers, and Childsplay. Jen has created dance and theater works for groups in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. She directs Cape Dance Theater, a community ensemble on Cape Cod, and co-directs, with Kieran Jordan, Turnstyles Dance Project, a group that fuses modern and traditional dance ideas. Jen has performed on Good Morning America, at the Kennedy Center (in Bonnie Rideout's A Scottish Christmas), and with the Back Porch Dance Company, among many others.