Ian Irmisch – percussion & MC
Emily Yarascavitch – fiddler & dancer
Phill Hood – guitar & vocals
Charlie McKittrick – drums & vocals
Chris Kerba – guitar, vocals & Bodhran
Joel Pearl – bass
Peter McArthur – Bagpipes, vocals & whistle
Kathleen Weber – backing vocals

All artists may not appear at all performances

TARTAN TERRORS are their own Celtic Invasion, mixing music energy with traditional folklore, dance, and humor. With an arsenal featuring classic bagpipes and fiddle, driving drum tones, and signature guitar styles, standing-room only audiences understand why Dig This Magazine declares “(The Terrors) one act to keep an eye on!” The Terrors use their sonic blitz to underscore award winning Step and Highland Dancers and internationally recognized comedic performers alike.

With a distinctive sound and a proud tradition of making Celtic music fun and accessible to any audience, the Terrors have played big stages across North America, including Market Square, St. John NB, sharing the stage with Scott Helman, and The Beaches, and the Celtic Music & Craft Beer Festival in Dunedin, Florida, with Eileen Ivers.

In 2019, the band lost Ellen Irmisch, co-founder of Tartan Terrors, to a courageous battle with cancer. She was a bright light for the band and the community, and her memory and legacy are held close in every performance.

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IAN IRMISCH (percussion & MC ) founded the Tartan Terrors with his late sister Ellen in 1996. He has an extensive career in the professional arts and sports worlds. At the age of five, he performed in the prestigious Great Hall of Hamilton Place and hasn’t looked back since! Ian holds credentials with ACTRA, CAEA, and the AFM and has appeared in the Spirit of a Nation Tour, Charlottetown Festival, Ross Petty Productions Robin Hood, 42nd Street, Hamilton Theatre Inc, Brigadoon, Drury Lane Productions and across the UK. He has appeared in numerous film and television productions including Death to Smoochy, Superstar, Road to Avonlea, and The Santa Claus. As a child, he trained at his mother's dance school, Sundance Studios, in Burlington. He went on to Ryerson University and Sheridan College and worked across New York City. In 1996, the Wilkes-Irmisch siblings formed Tartan Terrors and Celtic performances haven’t been the same since. Ian has been lucky enough to have performed his way through Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. He now resides in Muskoka, Ontario, where he's an avid collector of advertising signs and gas/car memorabilia. Follow him on Instagram @iantartanterrors.

EMILY YARASCAVITCH (fiddler & dancer) is a fiddling and stepdancing sensation. She draws audiences in and creates an authentic and memorable connection with her deft musicality, warm smile and infectious energy. She began stepdancing at five years and took up fiddle shortly after. She spent numerous years in the Canadian competition circuit, achieving prestigious awards in both fiddle and stepdance. She is trained in various fiddle styles as well as classical violin. She has been in high demand as a performer across North America and has toured with Shreem X Celtic Remixing, and The Scott Woods Band. Emily holds prestigious fiddle titles as a Canadian Grand Masters Finalist, Junior Canadian Champion, and two-time Canadian Open Duet Champion. As a classical musician, she has completed Advanced Theory and playing examinations. She played in instrumental chamber ensembles throughout her music minor and has experience playing in pit orchestras. Emily is an in-demand music teacher and runs a full private studio in Oshawa, Ontario, teaching violin, fiddle, music theory, and stepdance.

PHILL HOOD (guitar & vocals), Tartan Terrors’ resident Newfoundlander, has been an active member of the band since 2011. Raised off the rugged shores of the North Atlantic, Phill brings an east coast flare to the Terror’s Celtic sound. A seasoned songwriter and performer in his own right, Phill has found success as a composer, producer, and solo artist with his band ‘Phill Hood and The Exclamation.’ His debut album, Detour, took him across Canada in 2018, playing shows from British Columbia to Newfoundland to great acclaim and radio play! You can always count on Phill for a laugh, a song, and great dinner plans (which he regularly documents through his food blog and Instagram account)! Whether you've known him for a while or are watching him perform for the first time, you'll surely be singing along but the end of the first set.

CHARLIE MCKITTRICK (drums & vocals) joined forces with the Tartan Terrors in November 2016. He first hit the stage at a Christmas concert in Harrisburg, PA. Since then, he’s played dozens of festivals and theatres with the band all over North America. He brings with him his genuine passion for playing the drums, animated and energetic showmanship, an angelic tenor vocal, 14 years professional playing experience and a metric whack-ton of hair! He formerly belonged to the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Windsor, where he studied classical percussion and physical geography. He’s performed internationally including stops in Germany, Singapore, nine provinces in Canada and 33 states in the USA. He’s released a solo EP and two singles (Two Hearts; “Brand New Love” and “Christmas Countdown”) and continues to write and record. He has performed onstage with Sen Dog of Cypress Hill and the band Finger Eleven, and appears on the Scary Movie 5 soundtrack. Charlie is endorsed by Promark drumsticks, Evans drumheads and D'Addario guitar strings. With Ireland and Scotland in his bloodline, Charlie wears the kilt with pride and makes for an explosive addition to the Tartan Terrors arsenal.

CHRIS KERBA (guitar, vocals & Bodhran), a 20+ year musician, has been with the Terrors for over a decade now. He shares his time and talents with another band, Eclectic Revival (@e_rev), which has helped turn him into the performer he is today. He brings to the stage his guitar, bodhran, singing, and his tough outershell. Don't be fooled by the resting b---- face - he's actually a nice guy!

JOEL PEARL (bass) has been a session player for over a decade and has performed with musicians across multiple genres and styles. He has toured internationally and has worked with several established talents in the Canadian music scene. While his first love is bass guitar, Joel has also developed a passion for singing, both lead and background vocals. He studied Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, where he learned the value of a strong musical performance, along with content strategy, development and implementation. Joel is currently based in Toronto and loves exploring new cities when he’s on the road.

PETER MCARTHUR (Bagpipes, vocals & whistle) has been performing the traditional music of the Great Highland Bagpipe for over 25 years. He first performed with Tartan Terrors in Manheim, Pennsylvania, at Celtic Fling in 2015. Peter grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina playing with his local pipe band and spending influential time each summer at the North American Academy of Piping. He received the majority of his instruction from Bill Caudill at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, NC. While at St. Andrews, Peter became a Grade 1 piper and earned a BA with Honors in Philosophy. Peter's tenure with the SAU Pipe Band spans 20 years of winning performances in the southeastern United States and numerous championships in Grade 3. Peter currently teaches his hometown pipe band, the Cross Creek Pipes and Drums, whose hard work earned the EUSPBA Southeastern Branch Championship for Grade 5 in 2018. Peter performs at over 250 events throughout each year and spends his spring and fall giving regular weekend recitals at Pinehurst Resort. The sounds of his pipes have been heard with choirs, organs, trumpets, large orchestras, and even handbell choirs. Along the way, Peter has performed with the Chieftains, Seven Nations, and the Rend Collective.