CARTHAGE – New England Celtic Arts will present Scotland’s 2007 Traditional Band of the Year Old Blind Dogs at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center Tuesday, Feb. 12.

This will be the band’s only performance in Maine on its U.S. tour.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m., followed by a preshow jam at 6:30 p.m.

The Old Blind Dogs is known for its energy, even after 15 years in the music business. One of Scotland’s most highly touted traditional folk bands, The Dogs isn’t known for shying away from change. A strong, shared musical vision has allowed the group to ride out inevitable line-up changes to the extent that the only original member still with the band is Jonny Hardie (fiddle, guitar and vocals).

The current foursome of Hardie, Aaron Jones (bass, bouzouki, guitar, vocals), Rory Campbell (border (reel) pipes, whistles, vocals) and Fraser Stone (drums, percussion) has proven more than capable of carrying on the band’s tradition.

Hardie, who was classically trained, has been in demand recently as a freelance producer and guitarist, and has solo and collaborative albums to his credit. Campbell has been playing pipes and whistles since a young age and has fronted groups Deaf Shepherd and Nusa.

Voted Instrumentalist of the Year 2005 at Scotland’s Traditional Music Awards, Jones is a past member of Craobh Rua and is a founding partner of www.tradmusic.com. He has appeared on many albums and continues to work regularly as a performer and as a producer with flute/fiddle player Claire Mann. Stone brings his African-based percussion to both the Dogs and the indie rock band Stereoglo.

Over the years, The Dogs has released 10 albums and has won numerous awards, including Folk Band of the Year at Scotland’s Traditional Music Awards for 2004 and 2007.

Concert tickets are $10 at the door. Reservations are required for this show. Call 562-4445. Skye Theatre is at 2 Highland Drive off Winter Hill Road and Route 2. For more information, log on to www.necelticarts.com.