Pjila’si means “welcome” in Mi’kmaw and, like all First Nations communities within Unama’ki [Cape Breton Island], Wagmatcook is known for extending a warm welcome to visitors. Tonight, you are very welcome at the Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre, overlooking Nyanza Bay, for a monumental meeting of Mi’kmaw and Celtic music and traditions. One of Cape Breton’s most iconic fiddlers, Ashley MacIsaac performs with a bold, genre-defying style that has electrified audiences around the world. Ashley has been pushing boundaries while staying rooted in tradition for more than 30 years and there’s no sign of him stopping now. Since debuting at Celtic Colours in 2020, and sharing the stage with MacIsaac, Morgan Toney has been pushing boundaries of his own. An award-winning fiddler, singer, and songwriter from nearby We’koqma’q, Morgan brings together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton and the old songs of the Mi’kmaq in a style he calls “Mi’kmaltic” (Mi’kmaq + Celtic). Morgan is joined in his trio by Keith Mullins on guitar and percussion, and Ryan Roberts on mandolin. Shawnee Paul is a fiddler and singer-songwriter from Eskasoni. She and Merritt Award winning Eskasoni artist Sarah Prosper created the show Mimikej in 2024 as a way to highlight and discuss the oppression caused by the centralization of the Mi’kmaq people. Shawnee, Sarah, and Gaelic singer and multi-instrumentalist Bradley Murphy from East Bay worked together to adapt Mimikej into a shorter movement that expresses the power of storytelling lead by truth. This creative spinoff inspired by the theatrical production brings together music and contemporary dance.