BIOGRAPHY
Thistle Ridge is a group of musicians passionate about sharing traditional Celtic and American music. Since the group was formed in 2023, they’ve led audiences in song for two seasons of Celtic festivals, performing at the Decatur Texas Celtic Festival and the Bridgeport Texas St. Paddy’s Day Parade. They are eager to dive into the next season and share their music with more people.
The member’s interest was formed over a decade of singing and playing Celtic and American folk songs. This turned into playing together every Friday. With a powerful combination of both singing and instrumentation, the band’s music leads audiences to sing along, even if they don’t know the lyrics.
The skills God has given each member is both exceptional and rather strange. Sebastian Mings plays American and Celtic fiddle, 5-string banjo, a Irish/rhythm-hybrid style of tenor banjo, 5-string banjo, and a smattering of guitar and viola. Isabella Mings sings a lot and plays the cello, the guitar, and banjo (but not at the same time). Eli Mings is a master of scowling and picking up a storm on the mandolin. Ty Sattawhite is a legendary percussionist, able to pound rhythm into a broken metronome from thirty yards away. Alyssa Sattawhite has an excellent alto voice that can chip paint off a car from a mile away (in a tasteful way of course). She also does an outstanding job helping to lead worship at church.
Even though the band tries to be as traditional as possible, the backgrounds of each of the members, including various styles of rock, pop, bluegrass, Australian folk, and classical music, have influenced this band and led it to have its unique sound, making it a must-see for those who love traditional music, and love seeing it brought to life.
PHOTOS
