STERLING - The Celtic French Christmas melody of centuries past began with a drawn-out fiddle chord. A vibrato-weighted flute took over the tune and was soon joined by an acoustic guitar for a three-part harmony of strings and wind.

Then, from somewhere off stage, came a thumping bass beat.

Traditional Celtic and its offspring Celtic rock have come together at the Sterling Celtic Rock Festival, held at the Renaissance festival grounds, for a weekend of amped-up bagpipes, electrified fiddles and rocked-out kilts.

Not far from where Alize - the Ithaca-based fiddle, flute and guitar trio with a French Celtic modus operandi - performed on a bare-bones stage of folding chairs and a few microphones, Rathkeltair, a Celtic rock group from Jacksonville Beach Fla., was doing what they do best.

Amidst the chaos of wires, chords and amplifiers, they were rocking out. Rathkeltair takes their centuries-old bagpipe runs with a taste of electric guitar.

“We like the Celtic stuff,” said the band's guitarist Trevor Tanner. “But we like to rock.”

Celtic is in his blood, Tanner said. With a Scots-Irish mother and father from Cornwall, he grew up listening to traditional Celtic, which is why he does not play it.

“You want to make it your own,” said Tanner, who was once asked by a fan to write down a song name that she later had tattooed on her ankle - a true sign of rock stardom.

Traditional Celtic is known for its agile melodies made for dancing. But composed in minor key signatures, the celebratory tunes are cognizant of hardships of the old-country farmers for whom they were written, said Alize guitarist Julia Lapp.

“People would literally dance all day long,” said flutist and vocalist Gordon Bonnet.

The Harrington School of Irish Dance, Scottish Pipe & Dance and the Kinlough Academy demonstrated the toe-tapping, leg-kicking gigs iconic of Celtic music on a state dedicated to dance.

The dance stage was one of five stages at the music festival, each with a rotating set of performers, which ranged from the earthy and acoustic melodies Alize churned to the wild and outlandish rocked-out fiddle work of the Glengarry Bhoys.

“We wanted to hit every end of the spectrum - and some things in between,” said Doug Waterbury, owner of Empire Attractions, which purchased the fairgrounds last year. The two-day festival, which continues Sunday, was the first to be held at the Renaissance Fairgrounds, but Waterbury said he intends to make it an annual event.

“We're adding some new twists and turns,” Waterbury said.

A new twist is what the Glengarry Bhoys, of Ontario, give the plaid, pleated garb known as the kilt, which they donned with mirrored sunglasses and spiked hair.

Darcy Furness leaned into the bow of his fiddle, then let electric rhythm take control of his body as he launched into a solo - a Free Bird-ing Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist in a kilt.

The Glengarry Bhoys were among the big-name rock groups recruited for the festival, which also featured German folk-inspired Cara, trio of sisters Searson and headliner Enter The Haggis.

Michelle Winand drove five and a half hours from York, Pa., to see the band. Winand, a fan of Celtic rock in general, was particularly excited to see Enter The Haggis because “they just make it their own,” she said.

The band formed in the early 2000s and has put out seven albums, each a variation of the group's matrix of pop, rock and traditional Celtic sounds and instruments.

A swarm of fans flocked to the stage as Toronto-based Celtic rockers belted out a cappella: “I've had a life that's full; everyone's been good to me,” the opening of their song “One Last Drink.”

Winand rocked on her heels and pumped her fist in the air; Haggis continued in harmony, “So fire up that fiddle, boys,” then crashed into all-out rock.

Staff writer Sarah Gantz can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or sarah.gantz@lee.net