A performance by the award-winning, highly acclaimed Quebecois band Le Vent du Nord highlights the 21st annual Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest), which takes place January 11 to14 with events at Harvard Square’s Club Passim as well as the Crystal Ballroom, The Burren, and The Rockwell in the Davis Square area of Somerville.

The festival celebrates the rich array of music, song, and dance Greater Boston offers through its Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic-related communities. BCMFest features a multi-generational roster of performers – from full-time, professional touring acts to local session musicians – with sounds and styles that run the gamut from pure-drop traditional to more contemporary approaches.

Le Vent du Nord, performing at the BCMFest Nightcap finale concert on Jan. 13 at the Crystal Ballroom, boasts a vast repertoire drawing from both traditional sources and original compositions. At the same time, their highly rhythmic and soulful music, rooted in the Celtic diaspora, is enhanced with a broad range of global influences.  

Also appearing at BCMFest 2024 are: Joey Abarta, Jenna Moynihan, Neil Pearlman & the Wallbreakers, Mariel Vandersteel, Casey Murray & Molly Tucker, Triga, Highland Dance Boston, Ramblxr, Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, Scottish Fish, Pine Tree Flyers, Firefly Landing, Eight Feet Tall, Isabel Oliart and Friends, The Carroll Sisters with Sammy Wetstein, Elias Cardoso, Medford All-Star Ceili Band, Jinty Mcgrath, Calico, Erin Hogan & Jimmy Kelly, No Seconds, Emma Azelborn, Elizabeth & Ben Anderson, Sarah Ann Hajjar, Sarah Collins & Jonathan Vocke, and Mrs. Wilberforce.

In addition to the BCMFest Nightcap, festival events include the First Round opening night concert (Jan. 11), the Roots and Branches concert (Jan. 12), Dayfest, which offers more than six hours of entertainment from mid-morning until 5 p.m. on Jan. 13, and the BCMFest Brunch on Jan. 14. The Boston Urban Ceilidh (Jan. 12) features participatory and social dances from the Cape Breton and Scottish traditions, all with live music, and a special tribute to groundbreaking Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster. 

The Burren will host sessions for part of Dayfest that will be open to festival attendees. BCMFest performers also will lead workshops on Jan. 14, at the Passim School of Music at 26 Church Street in Harvard Square.

Ticket and schedule information are available at the festival website, passim.org/bcmfest; the festival blog, bcmfest.wordpress.com, offers features and interviews on BCMFest 2024 performers and events.