• Beltain Biography
  • Beltain History
  • Discography
  • Technical Info
Mikkel & Morgan McDowBeltain are Mikkel & Morgan McDow and David Cowan.

Beltain performs original and traditional ballads and dances. Our traditional repertoire includes 14th Century chansons and English and Celtic songs and dances set to a rollicking beat. Our original songs, from songwriters Mikkel McDow & David Cowan, are both contemporary and classic sounding.

Performances at Cal Expo in Sacramento, the Mammoth Lakes Celtic Festival, the Covenant of the Goddess Merry Meet in Los Angeles and at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival are a few highlights of Beltain's eighteen year career.


Mik and Morgan play all sorts of things including guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass and drums. Morgan plays button accordion and the recorder family. Mik is also known to play the piano, accordion and slide trombone.

Dave CowanDave joined the band in 1999 bringing his array of ethnic instruments including the Irish flute, panpipes, cana, charrango, accordion, hammered dulcimer and jaw's harp. He also slings a mighty guitar.

Prior to joining Beltain Morgan played in Berkeley's Cyderman's Fancy, a group that included Jon Berger, later of Tempest. Dave led his own bands including Willowgreen and Tar'd and Feathered. Mik was a member of the Alliance featuring guitarist / inventor John Nady. Before that he had some success with his eighties new wave band, The Jars.

The Girt Dog Of LangportBeltain latest release "The Girt Dog Of Langport" collects the EPs Morricide, 4 x 3 and Somerset Wassail onto one CD, and a couple of tunes found nowhere else: Lovely Joan and Un Deux Trois.

Coming soon in 2012: Beltain's all original album Patchwork Quilt.

Beltain Stage Plot