The Missing Goats to entertain at Oak Ridge's Altrusa meeting March 13; RSVP now

Kay Brookshire
·2 min read

The Missing Goats, a band that entertains with Irish, Scottish and Appalachian music throughout East Tennessee at festivals and pubs, will be guests at the March 13 meeting of Altrusa International of Oak Ridge at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The Missing Goats, on guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle and bass, come together from a variety of musical styles and bands, including Irish, folk and Americana. Several of the band members have performed in pubs in the west of Ireland, where the inspiration came for the band’s name.

The Missing Goats play Irish music at Crafters Brew. From left, they are Chip Bailey, Tom Beehan, Steve Reddick, Gary Coleman, Mary and Fionán Casey.
The Missing Goats play Irish music at Crafters Brew. From left, they are Chip Bailey, Tom Beehan, Steve Reddick, Gary Coleman, Mary and Fionán Casey.

Band members will play Irish tunes and talk about Irish music traditions in honor of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Five band members will present the Altrusa program.

They are Mary Casey, a retired Clinton High School counselor who now lives in Ireland, on mandolin and vocals; her husband, Fionán Casey, a pub music session leader and retired teacher from Gorey, Ireland, on guitar and vocals; Tom Beehan, former mayor of Oak Ridge, on banjo and vocals; and Bill Walker, a nuclear facility safety engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a trumpet player who took up accordion during the pandemic, on accordion and vocals. JT Coleman will fill in for his father, Gary Coleman, on bass.

Mary and Fionán Casey return to Tennessee from Ireland for The Missing Goats’ spring gigs.
Mary and Fionán Casey return to Tennessee from Ireland for The Missing Goats’ spring gigs.

Goats missing that day will be Gary Coleman, who trained with Edgar Meyer Sr. and has played rock, jazz and blues with many area bands; Steve Reddick, retired Jefferson Middle School teacher, who adds guitar and vocals to the band; and Chip Bailey, retired college professor and administrator, who adds fiddle and bodhran.

The Missing Goats have performed at Crafters Brew, 201 Café and Wine Bar, Razzleberry’s Beer Garden, the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, and The Lavender Festival in Oak Ridge, Historic Ramsey House in Knoxville, the Norris Little Theater and Clinch River Brewery in Norris, and at St. Patrick’s Day pubs and events in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, as well as the Celtic Music Festival in Berea, Kentucky.

The in-person Altrusa meeting will begin 11:30 a.m. with a time to socialize. The buffet opens at 11:45 a.m. A short business meeting will begin at noon and the program will follow. Reservations should be made by sending an email to altrusareservations@gmail.com by noon Monday, March 11. The public is invited, but reservations must be made.

Altrusa International is a service organization comprised of community members focusing on leadership, partnership and service with an emphasis on literacy and education.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: The Missing Goats to entertain at Oak Ridge's Altrusa meeting March 13