Fans of live music and Irish culture came together in Kiroli Park Saturday for the 8th annual Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival.

Festival-goers were treated to varieties of live music ranging from traditional to modern Irish music, Delta blues and country.

Even the ULM Sound of Today marching band made a special appearance at the festival.

As always, the main attraction of the Celtic Festival was the live music.

“I really love the performing side of it, but I also like to see the dancers and the traditional Irish clog dancing and river dancing. I really like the Irish Rock type stuff, and I also really like the traditional instruments like the bagpipes,” said Amber Moore, a music education senior.

The festival began with some traditional Irish music on the main stage. Some of the performers included The Red River Pipes, The Three Tenners and Legacy, a traditional Irish band from Jackson, Miss.

After Legacy performed a variety of traditional Celtic songs, the NELA All-Star Blues Band, featuring Danny Lee and Dave and New Orleans Jazz Fest regulars Po’ Henry and Tookie, took the stage and treated the crowd with some old fashioned Delta Blues.

Following the blues jam, the crowd sang along with Kenny Bill Stinson, Dennis Goodwin and The Lonely Peppers.

The Lonely Peppers is a John Lennon/Beatles tribute band. The band covered many popular tunes such as “She Loves You,” “Back in the USSR” and “Imagine.”

After the set by Lonely Peppers, The Mickey Finns, an Irish band from New York City, took the stage.

The Mickey Finns, who were just voted “Best Irish Band” by the Irish Echo, the largest Irish-American newspaper in the country, played a number of their own songs, inspired by traditional Irish ballads.

Late in the afternoon, Legacy took the stage again, joined by Jim Flanagan and other special guest musicians.

To end the festival, Needfire, an Irish rock band from Dallas, played mixing modern rock music with traditional Celtic instruments.

Along with the live music, the Celtic Festival had many Celtic vendors from around the country. Festival goers could purchase Celtic crafts and wares such as jewelry, tapestries, sculptures, swords and clothing, or even look up their traditional Irish family crest.  Also with the crafts vendors were a large number of food vendors selling Celtic cuisines.

Organizers again chose an outdoor venue for the festival, this year opting for Kiroli Park in favor of Forsythe Park, which hosted the festival in 2010 and 2011.

Overall, the Celtic Fest was a “big success” according to Enoch Jeter, owner of Enoch’s Irish Pub and founder of the NELA Celtic Festival.

Jeter said the festival had a larger crowd than they were expecting, with some food vendors even selling out.

“The music can’t be beat,” said Jeter, “Kiroli Park is our favorite venue yet, and I hope we’ll be able to stay here.”