Thistledown Tinkers will play Celtic music with ‘Southern swagger’

You may not think of Celtic music as the kind that makes you stomp your feet, but Thistledown Tinkers just may change your mind.

Thistledown Tinkers will play at 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Davis Theatre, 65 Union St. S., Concord.

Tickets are $12 and may be purchased online at www.CabarrusArtsCouncil.org, in person at the box office 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday or via telephone at 704-920-2753. The performance is part of the Cabarrus Arts Council’s Footlights series of local music.

The duo, Tom Eure and Tripp Rogers, are “on a mission to play Celtic music that makes you stand up and take notice … not the fragile, romanticized Celtic music you hear in music soundtracks, but the kind that makes you sing along and stomp your feet,” according to their website. They call it Celtic with “Southern swagger.”

The Tinkers weave traditional Scottish and Irish music with original tunes, playing an impressive arsenal of instruments including guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer and concertina.

They have recorded several CDs, including one featuring Christmas songs that was released in December. They also both have recorded solo CDs.

Eure and Rogers are veteran North Carolina musicians.

Eure describes himself as an Americana singer/songwriter. He got his start in music in the early 1990s, when he fronted bands ranging from psychedelic rock to pop, and played bluegrass and old-time music on his days off.

Rogers has been in Southern rock, country and blues bands.

The two also play in the Celtic rock band Stirling Bridge, and Eure plays with Carolina Gator Gumbo, which performed at the Davis Theatre in 2011.

Preview the music or find out more about Thistledown Tinkers at www.thistledowntinkers.com. Staff reports