Ceilidh by moonlight at Nomad's Rest

Sep 15, 2011

Photo: Meghan and Kaitlin Balogh and Bob Miller entertained at Nomad’s Rest

Guests at Nomad’s Rest, the magical Bed and Breakfast located on Highway 7 near Mountain Grove, enjoyed a moonlit Ceilidh on September 10 courtesy of hosts David Daski and Linda Tremblay. The co owners and operators of the business have a reputation for putting on quite a party and Saturday night was no exception. The event began at 7:30 pm with the full moon rising and guests gathered by the sparkling backyard pond and sweet smelling gardens to enjoy an intimate outdoor concert of Renaissance music, courtesy of three local players, sisters Kaitlin and Meghan Balogh, both on violin, and Luthier Bob Miller, who sang and played one of his own hand-crafted guitars.

The trio has been playing together since the sisters were tots and they eased into an evening of Renaissance classics transporting listeners to an earlier place and time. Their rich repertoire included a mixture of Irish and Scottish classics, tunes like the Scottish air “Huntington Castle”, “’P’ Stands for Paddy”, “the Martin Hayes Waltz”, “The Waters Wide” and “The King of the Fairies”. These favorites were interspersed with numerous reels and gigs including “Swallowtail”, “Lisdoonvarna”, “The Rolling Wave” and Brendan Tonra’s Jig, with ne'er a break bewtixt each. The sisters played beautifully together, wile Miller added the perfect guitar accompaniment and also played a few of his original tunes in the old style tradition.

I spoke to Meghan in between the sets and she spoke of the ability of music to bring people together. “It's been proven that all kinds of music can bring a random group of people together. Music is a binding force and it has been scientifically proven that endorphins are released that cause listeners to feel closer to one another than they otherwise would.”

The event was free and donations were accepted to the music, technology and linguistic departments at Land O'Lakes Public School. Between sets, listeners sipped hot cider and enjoyed dessert and had a chance to mingle under a bright moon. Perhaps the only sad note uttered during the event was Linda's announcement that this would be the last musical event at Nomad's Rest. But guests can rest assured that she has other events planned for the near future.