Every musician dreams of making it big, being in a long-running band. Craig Downie, founder of the Canadian Celtic Rock band, Enter the Haggis, can consider his band a resounding success.
Formed in 1995 in Toronto, Enter the Haggis has built a reputation as a fun-loving, fan-dedicated, and talented band that uses traditional Celtic instruments to blend the traditional with the contemporary, creating a sound that is uniquely Haggis.
While the lineup has had many changes over the years, three members: Downie, Trevor Lewington, and Brian Buchanan, have remained the core of the outfit since the late ’90s. The final lineup of the band includes Rose Baldino on fiddle and vocals, Caroline Browning on bass and vocals, and Tom Barraco on drums. Both Baldino and Browning, along with Buchanan, are also members of another Celtic-influenced project, the Philadelphia-based, House of Hamill. You can catch House of Hamill at The 443 Social Club and Lounge in Syracuse on May 8 and at Unity Hall in Barneveld on May 9.
Enter the Haggis has a long history in Central New York, headlining many editions of the Syracuse Irish Fest, the Great American Irish Fest in Frankfort, and the CNY Irish Festival in Deansboro. They’ve also headlined many of the 315’s stages over the years, including at Saranac Brewery in Utica and The Westcott Theater in Syracuse.
The band has decided to call it quits, after 30 years of performing, to focus on other endeavors. Their farewell tour brought them through Syracuse on March 14 for a sold-out performance at the Middle Ages Brewing Company Beer Hall.
The packed beer hall was treated to a show that spanned the band’s career, “Donald, Where’s Your Troosers?” from the band’s debut, up through the present-day with the 2023 sea shanty, “Swallowed By a Whale.” Jubilation and tears filled the faces, feet, and eyes of the Haggis Heads in attendance, many of who would also be making the trip to Troy for the final two shows. A surprise guest appearance from members of The Town Pants, who performed at the Beer Hall the previous night, included a collaboration on a rousing version of CAKE’s “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” that was met with enthusiastic approval from those in attendance.
Thirty years of building a grassroots fanbase, performing on big stages and small, all the while, engaging the people who have followed them all these years. That is how you build a legacy. Enter the Haggis may have exited the stage for the last time, but their music lives on in those they have touched. Cheers to 30 years and a well-deserved rest.
