Ever seen a psaltery? Ever even heard of one? Check out local band Crofter's Heir and you'll not only see a psaltery, but you'll also see a bodhran, concertina and hammered dulcimer.

A psaltery, explains Randy Kochel, who plays one in the band, is a triangular string instrument, which is hand-held and played with a bow. Kochel also plays the hammered dulcimer, a 98-string instrument played with mallets. And he plays more mainstream instruments, too‹the piano and the accordion.

Filling out the band are Doug Hostetler on guitars and vocals, Heidi Csallner on fiddle, and John Dreibelbis who plays the bodhran, which Kochel describes as an "Irish goatskin drum played with a small stick." Dreibelbis also plays the concertina, a small, hexagonal instrument similar to an accordion, plus the flute, whistles and tenor banjo.

Crofter's Heir play traditional music from Ireland, the British Isles and America. "We play a mixture of energetic lively tunes and soulful traditional ballads," Kochel says. Their tunes range from old Celtic songs to early American music.

Formed in 1992, Crofter's Heir takes its name from Irish history. A crofter was a tenant farmer who had his own small plot or "croft" of land to farm. "The crofter didn't have a lot of money," says Kochel. "All they had to pass on to their heirs was their music...which was a major form of entertainment."

The music has a strong agricultural connection and Crofter's Heir does too. They are donating proceeds from their 1995 release Green and Pleasant Lands to farmland preservation in Lancaster.

For their St. Patrick's Day show at the Dispensing Company, Kochel says they plan on doing "Authentic Irish music...Most of the songs people think of as Irish, like 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,' were written by people in New York." Still, he concedes that the group may have to bend their standards a little. "We are not planning on doing 'Danny Boy,' but we're learning it just in case we get a request.