The original concept of the band was Celtic-rock fusion. For inspiration, we started investigating Celtic lore and mythology including Irish, Scottish, Welsh, etc. Ancient Celts believed that dragons were from a parallel world, and their presence affected the ley of the land (ley referring to ley lines, now commonly referred to as the “lay” of the land) – how energy and cosmic forces flow through our world and affect it. The Welsh still display the image of a dragon on their flag to this day, and stories such as that of King Arthur are filled with appearances by dragons. Furthermore, the word “dragon” is used in modern language as a pejorative term for a fierce or intimidating person, particularly a woman. Being a predominantly female band, we wanted to claim this title and re-purpose the dragon into a symbol of strength and Celtic heritage. We spent a long time discussing what other words would work with “Dragons”. The first idea was inspiration from Eldridge’s awesome gallah (parrot), Sydney. Sydney loves to play and dangling upside down, wings outstretched – looking quite dragon-like (even if he’s only 8 inches tall). The original concept name in Sydney’s honor was Dangling Dragons. But… Dangling…. Well… After considering this name, we wanted something stronger that gave more of an insight into our origins, our music, and our goals as musicians. We looked back to Celtic mythology for clues. While the exact etymology of the word “eldritch” is unclear by some etymologists it is attributed to Scottish Gaelic origins with the meaning of “other-worldly” or “of another realm”. This was the meaning that best represented what we wanted to portray with our name. After voting, we all agreed that Eldritch Dragons blended all Celtic cultures through ancient roots and represented the idea of forming our own realm of Celtic rock fusion, and the otherworldly sound of our diverse range of instruments coming together. Plus, it just sounded hella cool.

Eldridge introduced the first two members of the band (Cat and Liz) to Tucson Celtic Festival. We realized a clan needs a tartan… possibly a flag also, so the band will have an appropriate answer when Eddie Izzard asks Do you have a flag? Cat wanted red, Eldridge purple. One all night design session later the tartan was created. You can’t stop at one, so we created two! The traditional tartan featuring the red, and the hunting tartan featuring the purple.