The series kicks off on at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at St. Lawrence Arts with Goitse, a flourishing, highly talented five-piece band fast making a name for themselves as one of the most sought after bands amongst connoisseurs of Irish traditional music.

Each performance in the Celtic Roots series will feature a music session with the performers giving local musicians the chance to play their favorite roots music with the band before the show. The concerts will feature an opening storytelling performance from Seanachie Nights and MOOSE and then the feature concert of the evening.

Often the term Celtic music is applied to the music of Ireland and Scotland because both lands have produced well-known distinctive styles which actually have genuine commonality and clear mutual influences. These styles are known because of the importance of Irish and Scottish people in the English speaking world, especially in the United States, where they had a profound impact on American music, particularly bluegrass and country music.

The traditional music of Atlantic Canada is heavily influenced by the Irish, Scottish and Acadian ethnic makeup of much of the region’s communities. In some parts of Atlantic Canada, such as Newfoundland, Celtic music is as or more popular than in the old country.

Further, some older forms of Celtic music that are rare in Scotland and Ireland today, such as the practice of accompanying a fiddle with a piano, or the Gaelic spinning songs of Cape Breton, remain common in the Maritimes.

Much of the music of this region is Celtic in nature, but originates in the local area and celebrates the sea, seafaring, fishing and other primary industries.

St. Lawrence Arts is at 76 Congress St. on Munjoy Hill. For more information, visit www.stlawrencearts.org/celtic-roots. All shows are $15.

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