by Julia Kelm 
It was a sweltering sunny day in Blue Lake on Sunday, Oct. 5 — though, it wasn’t just the sun that was blazing that afternoon. Sweat dripped from the band members’ faces as fire shot up before the crowd — Celtica Nova lit up the stage, a bagpipe-centric rock-and-roll group that impressed audiences with their magnificence for all near to hear.

Celtica Nova was formed in 2009 in Austria, originally called just Celtica. The band was created by guitarist Gajus Stappen and his former partner. However, the band fell apart; Stappen wished to continue, but struggled to find skilled bagpipe players. To solve this, he looked abroad, making connections with bagpipers in California. 

One of these connections was Duncan Knight, a bagpiper from Edinburgh, Scotland. From there, things snowballed for the band, leading them to perform at various cultural festivals and renaissance fairs. In 2018, the group split into two versions — one continuing to tour in Europe and the other performing across the United States. Knight, who was performing in both bands, just recently left the Europe group to perform full-time in the U.S. for the summer season.

Renaissance fairs, including the annual Medieval Festival of Courage, harbor a specific audience that cultivates an energetic scene.

“When you’re playing with an audience that appreciates what you’re doing and is energetic, you kind of feed off the energy,” Knight said. “It’s very much a reciprocal thing. We give energy, we get it back. Vice versa.”

This energy was definitely present in the crowd. Humboldt locals danced and moshed to the fiery sounds of bagpipes and heavy metal.

“It just builds up this adrenaline rush; it’s hard to describe the feeling, but it’s just transcendent,” Knight said.

 With that note, it was clear both the band and the crowd shared in that transcendent rush like none other. Sadie Decker, a senior sociology major and DJ for KRFH, absolutely loved the band’s performance.

 “It was truly a majesty to behold,” Decker said. “I was impressed; I think I’m going to include some Scottish bagpipe music into my day-to-day playlists and onto my radio show.” 

Some members of the crowd had come to see the band perform many times. Kyrie Flores, a College of the Redwoods alum, came for her friend’s birthday, but also for more aesthetic reasons. 

“They’re very rock-and-roll, they’ve got fire,” Flores said. “I like the arms of the men, and I like the fire. It’s very masculine, and I’m ovulating.”

Other members of the audience identified more with the culture, beyond just musical enjoyment. A community member, Andrew Willis, was dancing in the crowd with a group of friends. 

“No matter what the culture is, we share these touchstones. We share this rebellious spirit, this desire to be individual,” Willis said. “I think that that is really important to recognize cross-culturally, because today we live in such a divided time.” 

Overall, the crowd was an eclectic, lively bunch that was passionate about bagpipes and flames. It’s no wonder that the band continues to come back to Humboldt County year after year.  

Julia is a journalism major, and is the life and arts editor for the paper. She loves film and is a regular on Letterboxd. She also enjoys going on walks in the forest, and taking pictures to relax. If you have a movie you want her to review, email her at jk328@humboldt.edu.

Additional reporting done by Ursula Newman: Ursula Newman is a journalism major, Lumberjack social media manager and Humboldt local. Contact her at uon1@humboldt.edu.