Greenhouse

In recent years there has been considerable interest in roots music from all over the planet. The “World Music” phenomenon has caused artists and audiences everywhere to examine indigenous musical forms as well as their own musical heritages and to create exciting new fusions of traditional and modern styles. Combining this trend with the resurgence of acoustic music in general and Celtic folk music in particular, Sonoma County band Greenhouse creates a Celtic Fusion which they call "Celtic with a Kick".

Formed in 1991, Greenhouse has long been at the forefront of the Celtic revival in Northern California. Their various lineups, anchored by founder Michael Rofkar and lead singer Patricia Casey, have included many of Sonoma County’s finest musicians. The band is equally at home with joyous jigs and raucous reels, tender ballads, and rousing pub singalongs. Greenhouse’s sound melds the time-honored traditional music of Ireland and the British Isles with innovative, contemporary arrangements and a World Beat sensibility. In 2004, ex-Tempest fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Jon Berger joined the lineup. In 2005, Greenhouse were voted Best Celtic Band at the North Bay Music Awards.

Drawing from the immense wealth of traditional Irish, Scots, and English music, Greenhouse combines those influences with contemporary and original material to create an exciting style all their own: a style that is respectful of the tradition while maintaining a decidedly non-purist approach. Acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin and tin whistle meet with percussion, didgeridoo and thrilling vocal harmonies in a Celtic Fusion that is sometimes hard-driving, sometimes mellow, but always interesting and eminently listenable. Their original arrangements bring a creative, modern edge to time-honored material.