Celtic music band, Emerald Rose, has been playing at Dragon Con for many years, usually several performances at each year’s show. They played to a large, loyal, and enthusiastic audience Saturday night at 10PM in the Hyatt Concourse. The performance started about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled because of audience demand. Only a few people in the crowd raised their hands when the band asked if anyone had never heard them play before. Despite that, many of the audience members clearly knew all the lyrics to the songs this group played, and several people danced in place, whether standing or from their sitting position on the floor.

Emerald Rose presents pieces that come from both traditional Celtic music as well as their own original compositions. All of their songs are captivating, usually with lyrics that are easy to discern and learn, encouraging the audience participation on which the band clearly thrives. The content and mood of their songs go from serious, deep, and contemplative to silly and irreverent, such “Never Split the Party,” which is a song about a roleplaying game and includes the band members acting out a mid-game player negotiation and mouth-generated sound effects.