The Fire bring their exciting blend of Scottish music to Carson City this Saturday at the Levitt AMP Concert Series. The Fire has a good reputation around town and they’re a popular act. The last time they played at the BAC’s Celtic Series, the show was upgraded to a larger venue due to the popularity. This outdoor show will give a chance for many more people to see them. David Brewer said he remembers how lively everyone was at the large turnout last time. “We’re so excited to be heading back,” he said. “We’ve made some lifelong friends out there.” The Fire is known for their Scottish music and their energetic dancing. They bring plenty of movement and action as they all work together creating their art. The band out of Santa Cruz, Calif., said their name represents the passion and the feelings behind the music. “It fuels our passion of enjoying life and presenting this to the people,” Brewer said. “We have a very fun, lively personality that we put into the music. We call it our ‘California flare.’” Brewer said The Fire’s music hounds a lot of mystery and mystique from the ancient Scottish. The music is not very common, and with that it has its own stereotypes. He said fans often tell him their minds are blown by the way the bagpipes sound and how much sound the trio creates. He said fans have likened them to famous rock bands like Rush. “We are just a sneak attack,” he said. “But we have a lot of diverse sound going on and a lot of layers.” NEW ALBUM The Fire have new music to share on Saturday. The band released “Marigold” in January. They recorded most of it in September 2019 with their intention to release it in 2020. But with the lockdown they had to adjust everything. Brewer was in California, Hendey in Boston and Lomnicky was doing research in Scotland where she got stuck for almost an entire year, but that didn’t prevent them from finishing the album. “We were separated by coasts and continents,” Brewer said. “We managed to put this great album together, and we’re all very proud of it.” This summer has been their first opportunity to play the music live, and it’s been well-received, he said. There will be physical CDs for sale at the concert on Saturday. THE BAND In the world of fiddle playing, Lomnicky is quite famous, Brewer said. There’s an invitational competition in Scotland called the Glenfiddich International Scottish Fiddle Championship. She won in 2009 and was the youngest person to win that competition. “She has a very authentic style of Scottish fiddle playing,” Brewer said. Hendey plays guitar and he writes music. A good chunk of “Marigold” are his original tunes. “He’s an excellent composer of music,” Brewer said. Brewer is known for his bagpipe playing and he has traveled to Scotland often to study with some of his heroes of the bagpipes. He was able to hang with that crowd and learn from them, which is special about Scottish music he said, it’s inclusive. Brewer was able to create his own style and his own stamp on the bagpipe, he said. He said people within the style consider him the Jimi Hendrix of bagpipes. Brewer said the comment he gets most often after shows is that people didn’t know the bagpipes sound the way he plays them. “It really means a lot to me, so I try to make them enjoyable for people,” he said. APPRECIATON TO LEVITT This is the first time The Fire is performing with the Levitt AMP series, and Brewer said he appreciates their mission. He said it’s important for the arts because events like this aren’t easily found in the community. Their material they get to play is often heard at niche Scottish festivals and high tier concerts. “For the Levitt Foundation to make it free for people to have access to this kind of stuff that we’ve spent our lives honing this craft — it’s really what our mission is all about.”
IF YOU GO WHAT: The Fire at Brewery Art Center’s Levitt AMP Concert Series WHERE: The Change Companies Stage, 449 W. King St. at the Brewery Arts Center WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 MORE INFO: breweryarts.org www.thefirescottishband.com
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