It is easy for the audience to have a good time at a concert when it is so obvious that the musicians are having fun on stage, both with each other and the audience. That was certainly the case when the Steel City Rovers returned to the Mary Webb Centre for the Arts in Highgate on Saturday, Mar. 18 for their St. Patrick’s Day Afterglow concert.

The five very talented and fun-loving group played a wide variety of Celtic and other traditional songs, many of them written by the band members. Some were instrumental and some were vocals in their own unique style, led by two wonderful singers, two brothers originally from Caledonia. As they played many of their songs, explaining why they wrote them, it was obvious how much they enjoyed what they were doing. All of the band are incredibly gifted, including a multi-talented instrumentalist, a fiddler and a drummer.

They had just returned from a very successful tour in the southern United States and were happy to be back in their home region. This was such an easy-going group, coming down at intermission to mingle with the folks and sign CDs and just talk. When they had finished the concert, the audience gave them a standing ovation and would not let them leave the stage until they played one more song. It is easy to see why they are so successful and popular.

One thing is certainly worth mentioning. During the second set, the band drew special attention to Joel Morningstar from Jamstar Records, who runs the Centre’s sound board. The band was extremely pleased with how competent and easy to work with Joel was, both with original sound checks and during the concert. A compliment well deserved.

This was another truly delightful concert, one of the many concerts at The Mary Webb Centre for the Arts.

Photo by Steven Van Waes

l-r: Joel McKenna, Mike Cotton, Ryan McKenna, Devon Martene  and Mark Fletcher