UTICA — Arise & Go, an exciting Celtic music trio featuring Utica native Michael Roddy, will perform an evening of Irish, Scots and Canadian Maritime music from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 15 at the Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley, 623 Columbia St.

Seeing four bagpipers perform at a funeral made such a lasting impression on then-10-year-old Roddy he decided right away that was what he wanted to play. And he wanted to learn more about not only the pipes, but Irish traditions as well.

“It took awhile to convince my family I was serious,” the Notre Dame High School class of 2003 graduate recalled. But he persevered and soon was working with the local Mohawk Valley Frasiers Pipe Band.

Now a well-known piper extraordinaire, Roddy will be traveling from his Nova Scotia home to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in his hometown with bandmates Ellie Gould on fiddle and Tim Ball on guitar. They blend pipes, whistles, fiddle, and guitar to produce a sound both grounded in tradition while uniquely fresh and driving.

Roddy has spent more than 20 years developing his unique combination of Scottish and Irish piping styles. After years of competitive success with the Mohawk Valley Frasers, he has been featured as a piper with the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, The Syracuse Vocal Ensemble, the Mohawk Valley Choral Society and the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble. He is an active teacher and written several compositions and arrangements for pipes and orchestra.

Gould is from New Brunswick and grew up immersed in the Atlantic Canadian musical tradition. Her style combines Celtic and Acadian influences from Canada, Ireland and Scotland. Ball plays guitar, bouzouki and foot percussion and has been a mainstay of the contra dance and Irish music scenes in western New York for nearly a decade.

Arise & Go formed in 2016 after the trio met in Ithaca. They released their first album together in 2019.

The Irish Cultural Center performance will be a homecoming for Roddy in many ways, he said.

“Coming home is always a wonderful experience for me,” Roddy explained. “Utica will always be home.”

This concert is free but attendees are asked to consider a freewill donation to help offset musicians’ travel expenses. For more information, visit www.iccmv.org.