Some people are just destined to make music together. Think Peter, Paul and Mary, or Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain. Back in the mid-1980s, a young Irish expat named James Keigher found himself living in LA and looking for something to do. He wandered into a pub one day, and there he met a fellow exile, a Scot named Donnie Macdonald. They got to talking over a pint (and no doubt another, and another…) and discovered a mutual fondness for playing and singing traditional music.

Over the next couple of years, James and Donnie became fast friends, sometimes working at odd jobs together and often playing at the same festivals and sessions. In 1968, they decided to pool their talents, and they became the duo that is still known today as Men of Worth, a name taken from a song written by Archie Fisher.

That decision was the beginning of what would become a long and productive partnership, and this year finds Men of Worth celebrating their twentieth anniversary making music together. In that time, they’ve record- ed nine albums, performed in countless concerts and at Scottish and Irish festivals all over the US, and expanded their repertoire to include conduct- ing music-oriented vacation tours of Ireland and Scotland.

Some things have changed… their hair is not as dark, and there were those few years a while back when they were affectionately known as “Men of Girth.” Their music has evolved and matured, but it remains as it began: simple, traditional, and honest. Play all nine of their albums in chronological order, and you’ll hear them progress from straightforward arrangements of traditional Irish and Scottish songs, through their first original offerings, yet each writes as if he were hearing the voice of the other in his mind. James’s songs are often per- sonal, reflecting his life and childhood in a small Irish village. He has a gift for turning a chance happening into an entertaining lyric, as he’s done with the song Sorry State, a tongue-in-cheek description of two ladies he overheard gossiping about him in a grocery store. While he has written some memorable songs in English, Donnie is most at home with the cadences of his native Gaelic language. As it happens, his mother left a legacy of poems written in Gaelic, and he has put many of these to music.

The real essence of Men of Worth is found in their live performances. It’s clear that after twenty years these two are still enjoying what they do. They’re funny guys, and they can’t get up on a stage without sharing a good laugh or two with each other and the audience. And there’s passion in their performance. When they play, you can sense the delight they find in the music and the range of emotions they touch in their lyrics.

So what’s next for Men of Worth? For now, the music and the craic will continue. These days, James and Donnie divide their time and effort between their music and the travel tours that they conduct in Ireland and Scotland. Whichever they’re doing at a given moment, their purpose is the same—have a great time, invite a bunch of people along, give them some- thing to think about, something to laugh about, and something to remember. Men of Worth will be performing at the Seaside Scottish Highland Games in Ventura on October 14th and 15th, including a concert on the evening of the 14th. Visit their web site at www.menofworth.com for information on other performances or to buy CDs and on to the occasional addition of backing musicians like Scottish fiddler John Taylor. Today, their repertoire still includes traditional songs and tunes, but it’s expanded to include the work of some of the best songwriters in Scotland and Ireland as well as a steadily growing body of original work. As songwriters, Donnie and James each have their own distinctive style,

Linda Dewar is a singer and a player of various instruments with strings and keys. She can be heard playing mostly Celtic music at small gatherings and large festivals here and there in California. You can find her first solo CD Where the Heart Is at www.cdbaby.com/lindadewar