Pictured are members of Celt Division, Toni Rukkila on guitar, Suvi Partanen on tin whistle, Timo Tikkamaki on drums, Gary Timm on vocals, Pekka Hietalahti on double bass, Airi Salmela on violin, Kimmo Kaunisto on mandolin and harmonica. Celt Division will be touring in the local area. Submitted photo

Celt Division — a band based out of Kokkola, Finland — will be touring in the Jamestown area in the upcoming week.

The band’s lead singer, Gary Timm, grew up in the Jamestown area, attending St. Peter and Paul, and Jamestown High School before moving away at the age of 18. He still has family in the area.

Timm helped form the band in 2019 and also is the owner of a bar in Kokkola, a town in Finland. The band is made up of Timm, Toni Rukkila, Suvi Partanen, Timo Tikkamaki, Pekka Hietalahti, Airi Salmela, and Kimmo Kaunisto. Musically, the band has a lead singer, back up singers, a mandolin player, a guitar player, a violin player, a tin-whistle player, a double bass player, and a drum player.

Timm knew Kaunisto from before the band began, and they began the band after Kaunisto saw a song Timm posted on Facebook.

“We got together to do Irish music,” Timm said. “We’ve recruited since then and now have seven members. We’ve been active in Finland but are ready to move out of the country. Jamestown will be our first spot. It’s a little odd to have a band from Finland come to Jamestown, but why not?”

The idea of performing in Jamestown came because of Timm’s background, but originally started as a joke for a few years. Timm said they were at a festival and Kaunisto said that they could do a tour. They began looking at plane tickets and the idea went from there.

Celt Division’s first gig will be on Saturday, June 10, at the Vikings Lodge by Chautauqua Lake, starting at 7 p.m. They will be performing at The Fish — 61 Lakeside Dr., Bemus Point — on Thursday, June 15, at 4 p.m., with plans to be there until 8 p.m.; and on Saturday, June 17, at the Beer Snob — 318 Washington St. in Jamestown — starting at 9 p.m. It will be a mini tour and some private gigs.

Music-wise, Timm said the band has their own style.

“We do traditional folk music, Irish pop, and Irish punk,” Timm said. “We give everything our own style. We will probably do some Finnish songs as well. We do a version of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.”

The tour will also be the first time coming to America for five of the band members.

Timm said at the shows people should expect high energy, a lot of fun, “really bad” jokes, good songs, a lot of harmonies, unconventional melodies and a combination of different artists.

The band plans for their next tour to be in Ireland, but are excited to start in Jamestown, as their neighboring city — Jakobstad — is the sister city to Jamestown.

“There’s even a plaque in Jakobstad that says sister city of Jamestown, New York, and there’s another one in Jamestown,” Timm said. “I know there is a history of cooperation between the two cities. In the 50’s and 60’s the mayors came to visit each other’s city. I’d like to see more cooperation between the cities in the future.”

Overall, the band is very excited for the upcoming tour.

“We’re excited to come,” Timm said. “We’ve never played for an American audience before.”