The 23rd annual Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) will welcome two long-time, internationally renowned bands, Irish quintet Altan and Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs, as they join an array of Greater Boston-based acts when the festival takes place Jan. 15-18 at venues in Cambridge and Somerville. 

A program of Cambridge non-profit Passim, BCMFest is the annual showcase for the Boston area's rich offerings of music, song, and dance from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic communities. BCMFest features traditional acts and others that draw on contemporary sounds and ideas; full-time, professional touring acts; and local session musicians, highlighting performers from across the generations.

. Old Blind Dogs performs on Jan. 16 at the Arts at the Armory.

Old Blind Dogs will perform Jan. 16 in Somerville’s Arts at the Armory, while Altan will headline the BCMFest Nightcap finale concert on Jan. 17 in the Somerville Theater, an event that will include collaborations with local musicians and dancers; among them will be master accordionist Diarmuid Ó Meachair, who will serve as the event’s music director in addition to performing with pianist Matt Mulqueen. The Nightcap is sponsored this year by The Burren, Greater Boston’s storied hotbed for Irish music, as part of its 30th anniversary celebration; the concert will feature a tribute to the late Brian O’Donovan, a key figure in the flowering of the area’s Celtic music scene. 

Also at BCMFest is Celtic quintet Scottish Fish, the 2026 Brian O’Donovan Legacy Artist. The band will serve as the festival’s resident artists, appearing in a variety of settings, including the Nightcap concert and as the opener for Old Blind Dogs. The Legacy Artist program is supported by the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Fund, established by the O’Donovan family and operated by Passim.

BCMFest 2026’s line-up includes: Nathan Gourley and Laura Feddersen with Owen Marshall; Forsyth; Neil Pearlman and the Wallbreakers; Eric Boodman and Joel Wennerstrom; Flynn Cohen & Matt Heaton; the Rose Clancy Trio; Lissa Schneckenburger with Owen Marshall; the Adam Hendey Band; Accardi, Frankowicz & Straw; Eamon Sefton, featuring Giulia Haible and Patrick Bowling; the Clare Fraser Trio; Jenna Moynihan with Owen Marshall; Liz Hanley with David McKindley-Ward; Elias Cardoso; the Simon Lace Trio; the McCarthy-Kelly Ceili Band; Kate & Ciarán; Elizabeth and Ben Anderson; the Isabel Oliart Trio; Riko Matsuoka; Sarah Ann Hajjar and Giulia Haible; Dearest Dear; Collins & Vocke; Seneca, Caroline & Giulia; An Octave Below; and the Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra.

One of the festival’s most popular events, the Boston Urban Ceilidh, will feature “Jerry Holland’s Friends: A Tribute” – an ensemble of Rachel Reeds, Jacob Brillhart, Katie McNally, Neil Pearlman, Conor Hearn, and Abbie MacQuarrie honoring the legendary Cape Breton fiddler and Massachusetts native – as well as a participatory, no-experience-necessary Scottish ceilidh, with caller Summer McCall and a band including Elizabeth Anderson Howe, Eamon Sefton and Simon Lace, among others.

In addition to the Somerville Theater and Arts at the Armory, BCMFest events will take place in The Burren, The Rockwell and Crystal Ballroom in Somerville’s Davis Square, and at Club Passim in Harvard Square. Club Passim will host the First Round and Roots & Branches concerts on Jan. 15 and 16, respectively; the Boston Urban Ceilidh (Jan. 15) will return to the Crystal Ballroom; and Dayfest – a series of performances and participatory events – will unfold at The Burren, The Rockwell and Crystal Ballroom. 

Altan, which formed in the mid-1980s, has been widely hailed for the verve, virtuosity, and reverence with which it presents Irish music, particularly that of the distinctive Donegal tradition. With 14 albums to its credit, including 2024’s “Donegal,” the band is known for its dynamic instrumental sets as well as fresh arrangements of songs, in both English and Gaelic. Altan’s members are Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle, lead vocals), guitarists Dáithí Sproule and Mark Kelly, accordionist Martin Tourish, Ciarán Curran on bouzouki and mandolin, and its most recent arrival, fiddler-violist-vocalist Clare Friel.

Through more than three decades, Old Blind Dogs has displayed a boundless energy and a rootsy yet cosmopolitan sound that is definitively Scottish but at various times has mingled with Breton and hints of African, Caribbean, and American/old-timey. “OBD” has recorded 13 studio and one live album, “Knucklehead Circus” (2021) being its most recent release; a new album is in the works. Founding member Jonny Hardie (fiddle, vocals, guitar) is joined by Aaron Jones (cittern/guizouki, acoustic guitar, electric bass, vocals), Donald Hay (percussion, vocals), and Mike Katz (bagpipes, whistles).

“We are excited to have such legendary acts like Altan and Old Blind Dogs be a part of BCMFest this year," said BCMFest Director Summer McCall in the festival announcement. "With the continuous growth of the festival, we are also keeping true to our Boston Celtic music community and will have dozens of local acts join us for multiple nights of music and the fan-favorite Boston Urban Ceilidh dance. With four days of performances, BCMFest gives a platform to rising artists as well as those more established.”

McCall cited The Burren 30-year milestone as an important facet of this year’s festival. Burren co-founder and co-owner Tommy McCarthy approached BCMFest with the idea to bring the festival finale to the Somerville Theater and dedicate the night in memory of Brian O’Donovan, who among many other contributions to local Celtic music, hosted The Burren’s Backroom music series for 12 years; since his death in October of 2023, it has continued as the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series. McCarthy and his wife Louise Costello – the Burren’s other co-founder and co-owner – will perform as part of the Nightcap. 

Tickets and all festival details, including updates, are available at passim.org/bcmfest.

For features on BCMFest performers and events, see The BCMFest Blog at bcmfest.wordpress.com.