Serendipitous meeting with Scythian while hiking Wissahickon Gorge

During a recent hike on the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail, I stopped by an old road house called Valley Green Inn at about the halfway point to enjoy a cup of coffee and some lunch on the front porch. Just my luck, there was a group of guys inside playing live Irish folk music.

D.C.-based Irish folk sensations, Scythian

The group, it would turn out, was Scythian, a D.C.-based Irish folk band. They were there celebrating a birthday or something (from what I overheard), and they were playing to a small and intimate crowd of family and friends. At the same time the band was playing, a bald eagle flew along Wissahickon Creek and perched in a tree opposite the inn. What a nice bit of serendipity! Word spread quickly, and within minutes all the inn's patrons, including members of the band, were on the porch staring up into the trees waiting to see the eagle fly.

I'd never heard of Scynthian, but loved the music I heard. I did some research online and found they have a new album called "It's Not Too Late" (2012), and I also found an interview of them on YouTube (see above). To my pleasant surprise, I was happy to learn Scythian would be playing a show here in Philadelphia May 17 at the St. Francis Xavier School Auditorium, in Grey's Ferry. Presented by the Grey's Ferry Boxing Club and the Secular Oratory of Philadelphia as part of The Village Square series, find details about the show and get tickets here.

On a side note, I just saw that band members Andrew Toy and Josef Crosby refused to play a a gig for the anti-equality National Organization for Marriage along with their band mates in order to take a stand for marriage equality. Thanks for your support, guys!