About
Beltaine’s Fire: Revolutionary Celtic Hip Hop Fusion
There is a place where the protest ballads of the Celtic bards and conscious hip-hop music intersect. Beltaine’s Fire occupies that space.
Their sound blends melodies inspired by the music of the Scottish and Irish Diasporas with funk, rock, jazz, and hip hop elements to create a new and unique sound that is equal parts Celtic rebel music in the tradition of the Wolfe Tones & Dick Gaughan, and conscious hip hop in the tradition of Public Enemy and The Coup. The music is both deeply rooted in tradition and history and completely original, combining ancient and modern in a bold fusion that Epitunes described as “that rare group that succeeds at combining seemingly disparate musical styles into an appealing new sound… unlike anything you’ve heard of before” and that Malcolm Carden of the Livermore Scottish Games described as “The new face of Celtic Music.”
Beltaine’s Fire has played everything from family-oriented events and outdoor festivals to underground hip-hop and rock shows. live radio showcases, political protests, and more. In August’08 they headed to New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia for their first East Coast tour and got back just in time to rock the KVMR Celtic festival – one of the biggest Celtic music festivals in California, drawing over 10,000 people every year. This is a band that can do just about anything, and sound good doing it.
Beltaine’s Fire is Lynx on lead vocals, Todd (Cozy T) on drums, Laura on Bass and backup vocals, Cellist & Mandolin player Kater (K8R), and John playing a custom-modified electric Banjo.
Liberty
Their second album, “Liberty”, was released Sept. 12 2008 – the seventh anniversary of the US Govt’s current War on Freedom. Copies are available at shows and from this website. The album features Lynx on lead vocals, Laura on bass & vocals, Cozy T on Drums, K8R on Cello & Mandolin, and John rockin’ a special custom-modified electric banjo. As expected, the new album keeps the same razor-sharp political slant that fans of the band have come to expect and love, but also mixes it up with uptempo tracks like ‘Reclaim the Streets’ and ‘Kilted’; a song about the reactions Lynx gets wearing his kilt around Oakland.
About the Name:
The name ‘Beltaine’s Fire’ is a reference to Beltaine, the Gaelic festival which marks the beginning of Summer and is a sacred time of rebirth and renewal. The festival is traditionally associated with the cleansing power of fire and flame, creation out of destruction. Beltaine can also be spelled “Bealtine”, “Beltain”, or “Bealtaine”. It’s a Gaelic word, not English, and there isn’t a single accepted way to spell it in English.
Starting in the 1890’s, Beltaine was reborn as Mayday, aka International Workers Day, which is recognized as a holiday in almost every country on the planet except America. Mayday began during the worldwide campaign to stop the execution of the Haymarket 8 – Anarchist labor organizers who were framed and murdered by the state of Illinois for their involvement in the fight for the 8 hour day. Since then it has become a celebration of defiance by working class people all over the world against Capitalism and Authoritarianism.
