Let the folks SHINE Solas glows in heat of Bangor

Members of the Irish music group Solas claimed to be a bit under the weather after a flight from Scotland to Newark and a 10-hour van drive to Maine.

But the five-piece group served up the full range of their sound during a late-afternoon set Saturday, from traditional jigs and reels and tear-inspiring ballads, to a cover of a Bob Dylan tune and a rocking instrumental. Though the band bent the genre to great effect, the music never broke entirely out of the Celtic tradition, and that choice seemed to be right on the money.

The audience at the Penobscot Stage embraced the joy and energy of the music and musicianship – even those folks standing, 15-people deep, in 95-degree heat outside the tent.

The volume was a tad too high – some people were seen stuffing paper in their ears – but the mix captured the fine playing, which though first-rate, always served the song first.

Band leader Seamus Egan juggled nylon-stringed guitar, electric guitar, electric mandolin, wooden flute and banjo; fiddler Winifred Horan attacked her instrument, locking into the rhythm provided by steel-stringed guitarist Eamon McElholm. Mick McAuley provided color on concertina, and singer Deirdre Scanlan’s fine voice rang true, particularly on the ballad “I Wandep[red by a Brook Side,” which probably moistened an eye or two.

After recounting the challenges of plane and van travel, and diet – “We’ve gone from haggis to lobster rolls,” Scanlan deadpanned: “So we feel absolutely fantastic.”

Highlights of the set included a revelatory version of Dylan’s overlooked gem, “Dignity,” a spirited instrumental waltz written by Horan, and the horn pipe, jigs and reels during which the band was joined by two pairs of Irish step dancers. The dancers, in spite of the heat, brought some of the audience out of their seats with their frenetic feet and beaming faces.

– Tom Groening