October 9–17, 2026
Aaron MacDonald writes songs you can feel under your skin, stories pulled from long roads, hard lessons, and the bright chaos of family life. A Cape Breton singer-songwriter, his sound blends dusty rock, folky grit, and country soul into something unmistakably East Coast. A ...
Abigail MacDonald was raised in St. Andrews, Antigonish County, and grew up surrounded by Gaelic music and culture. She has been learning Gaelic since the age of five with much guidance from her father Brian, a respected fiddler from a long line of musicians ...
For the past two decades, Adam Young has been bringing his particular style of Cape Breton piano accompaniment to audiences around the world. Deeply-rooted within the fiddle and bagpipe music tradition of the Island’s Scottish settlers, the Cape Breton piano style has evolved over ...
Allan Dewar is part of a musical family from Ohio, Nova Scotia and began playing traditional music at an early age. While he has taken up multiple musical instruments, his preference is piano. Over the years traditional music has taken him throughout the world ...
Sydney Mines native Allie Bennett is in his 51st year in the Canadian music industry. He has toured Canada, the United States, Britain, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. As a studio musician, Allie has worked on over 150 albums, and his name appears ...
Andrea Beaton is an award-winning fiddler, composer, and recording artist who tours and teaches internationally, and is in great demand as a teacher at music camps and fiddling/dancing workshops. Coming from a long line of musicians, composers and dancers, the Mabou native is known ...
Glace Bay native Barry Shears has been playing the bagpipe for almost 60 years. He began collecting and composing music for the Highland bagpipe at an early age and is an acknowledged expert on the history of traditional piping in Nova Scotia and its ...
More than 20 years ago, six dynamic solo performers came together for a late-night session during Celtic Colours. That session was the spark that lit Beòlach. During the decades that followed, Beòlach continued to grow artistically through their innovative and exciting arrangements of traditional ...
Bethany June is a singing, songwriting, traveling minstrel from Ontario whose heartfelt delivery has a way of moving her listeners, whether it’s a beautiful ballad or upbeat pop song. Her repertoire covers a wide range of Irish music, country, folk, R&B, and more. Bethany ...
Bette MacDonald is a Gemini Award winning actor, a Nova Scotia Screen Award winner and a multiple Canadian Screen Award nominee. For eight seasons, she played school secretary Trudy Walsh on the hit CBC television series Mr. D. Her stage credits include national tours ...
Betty Lou Beaton began playing piano at the age of five. Although she had a couple of years of piano training, she learned Cape Breton-style playing by ear. At 14 years of age, Betty started playing dances with her brother Buddy MacMaster and has ...
Beverly MacLean comes from Southside Boularderie and is a Cape Breton fiddler and piano accompanist. Her love of music has been nurtured by her family and was influenced early on by Jennifer Roland, Allie Bennett, Stephanie Wills, as well as a variety of other ...
Billie Yvette Rogers is a songwriter, dancer, poet, and advocate for community development. Having traveled almost every corner of Cape Breton Island, her deep love for Unama’ki has been a guiding force, and she finds great inspiration in the landscapes and people who shape life here. Her songs ...
Boyd MacNeil always knew that music would be a big part of his life. The youngest sibling in a musical family, Boyd received his first violin lesson at the age of four, and a few years later made his performing debut at a local ...
Bradley Murphy is a Gaelic musician from East Bay, Unama'ki - Cape Breton Island. Rooted in his language and culture, he showcases the relevance and power of traditional songs. His most recent album, Beul, was nominated for traditional album of the year at both the ...
Breagh Kelly is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter. After graduating this May with degrees in Business Administration and Community Studies, she is launching her solo career while performing across Nova Scotia this summer with her band, Coastline. She recently released her debut single "Was It Something ...
Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich was born into a famous musical family and soaked up the music and song of West Kerry from an early age. Breanndán is a major figure in Irish traditional music and clearly states that “his music could not exist were it ...
Brenda Stubbert is an extraordinary fiddler, pianist, and composer whose name has become synonymous with Cape Breton fiddle music. Deeply rooted in the distinctive music of Industrial Cape Breton’s Northside, she grew up surrounded by wonderful musicians, including her father—a highly respected fiddler and ...
Brent Chaisson is a multi-instrumentalist who comes from a long line of Chaisson Family fiddlers of eastern Prince Edward Island. He has been immersed in music his whole life. Starting on the fiddle at age 5, he quickly grew to love traditional fiddle music ...
It is no surprise that Brian Doyle has become the compelling musician we now see on stage. Music was as important as first steps within the vibrant music scene he was born into on Cape Breton Island, and the rich musical soil of his ...
The British Columbia Fiddle Orchestra began with a small group of talented and enthusiastic young violinists from Daniel Lapp’s studio. The first performance, in 1994, was at the Opening Ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in front of 60,000 people. The BC Fiddle Orchestra has ...
Esteemed Cape Breton singer-songwriter Buddy MacDonald has been entertaining audiences for more than 45 years. The 2022 East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Stompin’ Tom Award-winner was exposed at an early age to the singing and storytelling of some of the great singers of his ...
After years apart, Bumblebees are buzzing back to life for a special 2026 reunion. Featuring Laoise Kelly, Liz Doherty, Mary Shannon, and Colette O’Leary, this much-loved 1990s ensemble returns with the energy, interplay, and spark that made their albums Bumblebees (1997) and Buzzin’ (1999) ...
Cailean MacLean has been establishing himself as a genuine representative of the repertoire and rhythms of Scotch music. His powerful sense of rhythm and respect for the tempos and traditional settings of former generations has earned him the admiration of his contemporaries. Cailean’s musical ...
The Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association began in 1972 when Ron MacInnis’s CBC documentary, The Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler, suggested that the Island’s cherished fiddle tradition was fading away. Many Cape Bretoners knew better! Within months, musicians and community members rallied, reaching out to fiddlers ...
Born on the Gaelic-speaking island of Barra, Scotland, Cathy Ann MacPhee is regarded as one of the greatest of all living Scots Gaelic singers. Blessed with a beautiful, powerful voice and prodigious memory for lengthy traditional lyrics (which she learned from her mother and ...
A native of Chéticamp, Cape Breton Island’s largest francophone community, Chris Babineau has spent decades immersing himself in both Acadian and Scottish musical traditions. For ten years, beginning in 2010, Chris served as the primary guitarist for Ashley MacIsaac, touring occasionally and establishing himself ...
Christiane Theriault and Lorie-Lynn Comeau share a deep passion for dance, education, and community. Together, they bring decades of experience in performance, choreography, and instruction, inspiring dancers of all ages through their dedication to artistic excellence and personal growth. Christiane is a former performer ...
Ciarán MacGillivray is a multi-instrumentalist and performer who’s always been in the arts. His band The Cottars has won numerous awards and performed all over the world touring in Denmark, Australia, Japan, across Canada, and 35 of the United States. A personal highlight was ...
Còig is one of Atlantic Canada’s most exciting Celtic traditional groups. Made up of accomplished multi-instrumentalists, Còig easily shifts between century-old tunes of past generations to original and upbeat compositions, featuring the band's range of over a dozen instruments (vocals, fiddles, piano, guitars, banjo, ...
Balancing respect for traditional Cape Breton Scottish traditional tunes with a litany of contemporary band and sideman projects, Colin Grant has become a common denominator for East Coast Canadian roots music. While accompanying everyone from Canadiana folk heroes The Men of the Deeps to ...
Corrina Dawn (formerly Hewat) is a Scottish harper, singer, composer, and educator. She is Music Director of the Sangstream Scots Folk choir and works across the country leading harmony singing and connection workshops. She is also a trusted harp tutor, serving as Principal Scottish ...
Since 2008, Crowdis Bridge has been entertaining audiences in small towns and strange places across Atlantic Canada. Lovers and purveyors of roots and traditional music, they are steeped in bluegrass, old-time, folk, Celtic, and country-blues. This Cape Breton ensemble of multi-instrumentalists, vocalists, and songwriters ...
Originally from Ironville, Cape Breton, Dan MacDonald began playing the fiddle at a young age, under the instruction of his father, Lloyd MacDonald, himself a well-known and respected Cape Breton fiddler. His early immersion in the strong musical culture of Cape Breton Island informs ...
Daniel Lapp, a renowned musician and educator from Prince George, BC, grew up surrounded by music, learning fiddle from his grandfather and five uncles. He pursued his musical education at UVic, earning a BMus in trumpet and during a career spanning more than four ...
Dara Smith-MacDonald, born and raised in Antigonish, has been playing the fiddle for more than 30 years and now resides in Port Hawkesbury. With family roots in Inverness, she quickly developed a strong, lively, traditional style and has played at concerts, festivals, ceilidhs, and ...
With over two decades on the road, Nova Scotia's Dave Gunning has earned a reputation as one of Canada's most engaging and respected folk singer-songwriters. A multiple East Coast Music Award and Canadian Folk Music Award winner, he's known for his warm stage presence, ...
Dave Milligan is a pianist, composer, and arranger whose musical imagination flows freely between improvisation, jazz, and the traditional music of his native Scotland. Initially known for his work in the Scottish jazz scene, his interest in traditional and folk music inspired a unique ...
Dawn MacDonald-Gillis and Helen MacDonald began step dancing at the ages of five and eight under the tutelage of Kaye Hanrahan in New Waterford. With strong ties to the Iona area, they grew up surrounded by traditional Cape Breton music. By the time they ...
Dawn and Margie Beaton from Mabou, were dancing at age four and started playing the fiddle a year later. Over the years they have performed at concerts, ceilidhs and festivals all around Cape Breton Island, mainland Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Scotland, Ireland, France, ...
Delores Boudreau, known for the sweet delivery of her voice, makes yet another appearance at Celtic Colours International Festival. Delores Boudreau is sought-after, as a bilingual songstress, skillfully and proudly interpreting in her mother-tongue, the unique dialect of her Ile-Madame. Delores has represented Nova ...
Dennis and Lori Cox are a folk music duo who were active in the Cape Breton music scene in the 1970s after emigrating from the “Boston States.” Touring throughout Canada and the northern United States, they gained recognition in folk clubs, on CBC, and ...
Derrick and Melody Cameron live in West Mabou, Inverness County on a small dairy farm. They have performed music together for more than 20 years, playing dances, pubs and concerts throughout Cape Breton. They have performed alongside other Cape Breton musicians at the Stan ...
Donna DeWolfe, of River Tillard, Cape Breton has been playing Cape Breton fiddle music since she was 10 years old and comes from a line of musicians on both sides of her family. Her great-grandfather on her father’s side was a fiddler, while her ...
Donnie Campbell and Jinks (James) O'Neill started performing together in 2014. Both are from Sydney and grew up in musical households. They have travelled extensively with their music—Donnie with folk music and Jinks with rock and roll bands—giving them a vast repertoire of music ...
Fiddler and composer Dwayne Côté was raised in a family deeply-rooted in all aspects of Cape Breton, Irish and Scottish music traditions--his late mother Gladys was a renowned dancer, instructor, and performer and his father, the late Gordon Côté, was a celebrated fiddler and ...
Eliza Rhinelander is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Described by CBC's Tom Power as "one of the most exciting songwriters coming out of the East Coast right now", she comes from a family with deep Inverness County roots. In 2024 ...
Singer-songwriter Emma Stevens, from Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia, is an artist whose music and activism are intertwined with her Mi'kmaq heritage. Rooted deeply in her native language and cultural traditions, Emma's work celebrates the strength and resilience of her people by merging ...
Seen and heard on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Centre, and Tokyo's Sumida Triphony Hall, among many others, multi-instrumentalist Fiona MacGillivray began her professional music career at the age of seven, when she started performing around Cape Breton with ...
One of Cape Breton's most in-demand traditional fiddlers, Dr. Glenn Graham is also a prolific composer. Some of his many fiddle tunes, as well as his songwriting, have been featured on international hit TV shows, CD compilations, and in independent films. Glenn released a ...
Born of Cape Breton’s deep musical traditions and raised on the rhythm of the Island, Good Crowd brings a tidal wave of sound. This great new combo—Kyle MacDonald on fiddle, James MacLean on guitar, and Jason Roach on piano—delivers a wide range of sounds ...
Graham Marshall comes from Unamaki’k (Cape Breton Island). A founding member of the Sons of Membertou, he has been a pivotal force in the musical and cultural scene and an ambassador for his tribe, the Mi’kmaq, for several years, performing and showcasing his culture ...
Award-winning songwriters Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier are two of the most respected musicians on the Canadian folk music scene. And when they get together on stage, hang on to your seats because you’re in for a ride. Their stunning musicianship, heartfelt songwriting, and quick ...
Fiddler and step dancer Hailee LeFort has been energizing audiences around Cape Breton for over a decade. A native of Margaree, her lively style can be heard from concert halls to dance halls to major festivals. She now lives on Prince Edward Island where ...
Hannah Krebs was born and raised in rural Ontario and began learning Gaelic when she moved to Nova Scotia to attend St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. Since then, she has become involved in the province’s Gaelic community, gaining a deep appreciation for the ...
Heather Cameron was brought up surrounded by music in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. The fiddle, guitar, bagpipes, and piano became her constant companions, and early on she developed a beautiful, soulful voice. Heather knew well the power of music to reach people, which led ...
JUNO nominated piper and multi-instrumentalist Heather MacIsaac plays not only treasured traditional tunes and songs, but many of her own compositions. Born and raised in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, an area known for its strong Scottish Highland heritage, she was exposed to the pipes as ...
Heather Rankin is a singer, songwriter, actor, and member of six-time Juno Award-winning band The Rankin Family, who were inducted into the Cape Breton Music Hall of Fame in 2025. Heather herself is an Officer of the Order of Canada, recognized for her deep ...
Hilda Chiasson is one of the most sought-after piano players of this generation and has played on more than 50 recordings in Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark and the USA. A native of Chéticamp where she played for dances and recorded since she was a ...
Howie MacDonald is a well-respected fiddler from Westmount, Cape Breton County. He has been a performer as long as he can remember. Whether at a family gathering or an international concert hall, Howie's job was always to entertain. Coming from a musical family, he ...
Iain MacQuarrie is quickly making a name for himself as a piano player in the local area of Inverness County. He has a passion for the Scottish tunes and works tirelessly fine tuning his skills on piano. Iain is from a musical family and ...
In an award-winning career spanning four decades, Ian McKinnon has piped across the globe as an innovator in modern Celtic music, from solo to symphonic work, and as a co-founder of the Celtic rock band, Rawlins Cross. Also proficient on lowland pipes, tin whistle, ...
Canadian Folk Music Awards Young Performer of the Year for 2022 and winner of Music Nova Scotia's Folk/Roots Album of the Year, Isabella Samson has been making serious waves in the East Coast. A tasteful glimpse into the mind of a young woman navigating ...
Born into the well-known and respected Chaisson family, Prince Edward Island’s J.J. Chaisson is without a doubt a talented multi-instrumental musician. He has collaborated on award winning recordings, acted as front man for a Celtic rock band, and toured widely as a solo artist ...
J.P. Cormier is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter who has released more than a dozen records including two career retrospectives, and a book of the tunes featured on his guitar album. J.P.’s impressive body of work has earned him a vast and loyal fan ...
Jackie Dunn MacIsaac grew up in Lower South River, Antigonish County. She has strong Cape Breton ancestral and musical roots. Since stepping on stage more than 50 years ago, Jackie has performed and instructed across North America and Scotland as a fiddler, pianist, and ...
Jake Lauzon began playing the guitar at the age of 7. Always drawn to folk, roots, and bluegrass music, Jake quickly gained a reputation as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Jake toured the American Bluegrass scene as a core member of the Virginia-based bluegrass ...
A native of East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, James MacLean is a guitarist rooted in the rich traditional music of Cape Breton Island. Immersed in music from a young age, he developed a style shaped by the island’s driving fiddle tradition and a deep ...
Jenny MacKenzie is an international touring dance artist, choreographer, and director based in Cape Breton. Her work is deeply rooted in Gaelic traditions. She is co-producer of East Coast Celtic and A Timeless Art, and the producer, writer, and director of the multi award-winning ...
Cape Breton singer-songwriter Jo-Anne Rolls began her career on the pub scene in the 1970’s and transitioned over the years to blues and jazz. She’s performed on stage nationally and internationally and in musical theatre. Jo-Anne has been featured on TV and radio, in ...
Joanne MacIntyre comes from Mabou Coal Mines, Inverness County where she was raised in a culture-rich environment of Gaelic music, dance, and language. She has sung on stages around Nova Scotia and further afield since her teen years, bringing the Island’s distinct style and ...
Joël Chiasson is a veteran piano player and step dancer from Chéticamp, Cape Breton. Citing Hilda Chiasson as his biggest influence, Joël has provided piano accompaniment on recordings by artists including Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Mary Jane Lamond, Buddy MacMaster, Andrea Beaton, and many ...
John Gracie is a multi-award-winning East Coast singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Glace Bay, his rich, unmistakable voice and deep connection to Cape Breton have carried him to audiences around the globe. With 15 albums to his credit—spanning folk, jazz, and his beloved holiday ...
John Pellerin was raised in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, with deep roots in both the Scottish Gaelic and Acadian traditions of northeastern Nova Scotia. His paternal lineage connects him to the Beaton families of Mabou in Inverness County, grounding him in the rich Gaelic musical ...
Jordan Musycsyn is a Cape Breton singer-songwriter known for his heartfelt blend of folk, rock, and Americana. A natural storyteller, his songs capture life’s humour, struggles, and beauty. With three acclaimed albums under his belt (including the ECMA-winning album Around the Fire), Jordan has ...
Kathleen MacInnes is a Scottish singer and actress who performs primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Hailing from South Uist in the Western Isles, she grew up immersed in Gaelic song, language, and culture. Twice winner of major honours at the Scots Trad Music Awards — ...
Keith MacDonald is a piper from East Bay, Cape Breton County. He grew up in Inverness with piping all around him and has been piping since a young age. Keith received lessons at Colaisde na Gàidhlig [the Gaelic College] over the years, which gave ...
Celtic music and dance have been a lifelong passion for Kendra MacGillivray and her family. She has played fiddle and taught workshops all over the world, at some of the most beautiful theatres and culturally-enriching Highland Games and Celtic/Folk Festivals. Along the way, she ...
Kenneth MacKenzie is a piper and fiddler, raised in a Gaelic-speaking and musical family in Mabou, Cape Breton. Kenneth’s music makes him an in-demand performer at dances, concerts, and festivals at home and further afield. He is an accomplished recording artist and, along with ...
Born in Inverness, Cape Breton, Kevin Dugas has been playing the great highland bagpipe for more than 30 years. Growing up he was surrounded by family and local tradition bearers who played the fiddle, piano, pipes, and step danced. Kevin was inspired musically by ...
Uniting two standout artists in contemporary folk music, the transatlantic fiddle/piano duo Kevin Henderson & Neil Pearlman have set stages alight from Scotland to California. Each known for his high-energy, joyful, and fresh approach to traditional music, their combined sound is fiery yet precise, ...
Born on Cape Breton Island and nurtured within its rich musical heritage, fiddler Kimberley Fraser has built a distinguished career, performing all over the world at venues from Afghanistan to Victoria. She holds degrees in Violin performance from Berklee College of Music—where she was ...
Kinnon Beaton has been playing the violin since 1968, a time when some worried that the music might be disappearing. Kinnon grew up in Mabou, Inverness County, listening to his parents (Donald Angus and Elizabeth) playing at home and for dances at the hall ...
Kolten MacDonell is a fiddler, step dancer, and piano player from Glencoe, Cape Breton. He began playing music at a young age, influenced by many local teachers including Stephanie Wills, Brenda Stubbert, Jerry Holland, and Mary Janet MacDonald. Kolten has played for ceilidhs and ...
Kyle MacNeil is a fiddler, guitarist, vocalist, and mandolin player who has been performing with his siblings in the Barra MacNeils since he was a teenager. Growing up, Kyle was surrounded by music—his uncle was the well-known fiddler Carl MacKenzie and his mother was ...
La Swing du Suête is a vibrant youth dance troupe based in Chéticamp, Cape Breton, that celebrates and showcases the rich cultural heritage of the region through traditional and contemporary step dancing. Founded in 1997 for the first annual Cape Breton Dance Festival, the ...
Westport, Co. Mayo native Laoise Kelly, now living on Achill Island, is regarded as the most significant harper of her generation. She has pioneered a new style of driving instrumental harping showcased in her three critically acclaimed solo albums, Just Harp, Ceis, and Fáilte ...
Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards is nothing if not a culmination: the gathering of a select group of acoustic roots musicians at the zenith of their careers. Together, these women create something wholly new—a fusion of the countless traditions and influences they each ...
Lisa Ornstein, Normand Miron, and André Marchand are legends of Quebec’s traditional music scene. Fiddler Lisa and guitarist/singer André first met as bandmates in La Bottine Souriante, the iconic trad super group that kickstarted Quebec’s folk music revival. Normand is a marvelous singer and ...
Leanne Aucoin is a multi-talented musician from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County who comes from a family steeped in Cape Breton music and tradition. She has performed in many parts of Canada, the U.S., and Ireland. Having a passion for teaching, Leanne has been ...
Lennie Gallant, an acclaimed East Coast songwriter with sixteen albums and numerous awards, released his first English album in seven years this past June, Shelter From the Storms. The album reflects on the turbulent times we live in while celebrating the human ability to ...
Founded in 2024, this Chéticamp-based troupe is dedicated to celebrating and sharing their heritage of traditional Acadian step dancing. Made up of dancers aged 18 to 40, all former members of La Swing du Suête, the group was created to give alumni a space ...
Lewis MacKinnon is a singer, musician, and poet born in Inverness, Cape Breton, and raised in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. A Gaelic speaker, Lewis has released two albums—one of Gaelic songs, A’ Seo / Here (2006) and one of English songs, Making More of ...
Lili Watson is from Little Judique and Queensville, Cape Breton. She has been involved in the Gaelic language and culture since she was a child and takes pride in her identity as a Cape Breton Gael. Lili is a St. Francis Xavier University graduate ...
Lisa Cameron was raised among a musical family in Margaree Forks. She has released three albums of original songs: End of Blue, Through the Winter, and her latest, Unspoken. For the past couple of years, Lisa has been playing local venues along with her ...
Lisa MacArthur is a Newfoundland-born fiddler and step dancer now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Raised in the Codroy Valley, she draws inspiration from Cape Breton, Scottish, and Irish traditions. A longtime performer on the East Coast music scene, Lisa is known for her ...
A native of Chicago’s South Side, internationally acclaimed fiddler and composer Liz Carroll is one of Irish music’s brightest stars. Her talent and dedication to her craft have earned her a National Heritage Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, and the Gradam Ceoil TG4 Composer of ...
Liz Doherty is a fiddle player and educator from Co. Donegal, Ireland. She is the founder and Director of I Teach Trad, providing training and professional certification for traditional musicians who teach (iteachtrad.com). With a PhD on the subject of Cape Breton fiddle music, ...
Lucy MacNeil recalls music as always being at the centre of her childhood home in Sydney Mines where family, neighbours, and visiting musicians would often gather. She comes from a long tradition of Cape Breton music and dance that has been the foundation of ...
The MacArthur Dancers are a professional dance troupe from the beautiful Island of Cape Breton. They were formed in 1996 under the direction of Champion Highland Dancer and seasoned step dancer, Kelly MacArthur. The dancers range in age from 14-22 years, and are from ...
Having grown up in the West Coast Coigach peninsula of the Scottish Highlands–an area steeped in culture and local traditions–Mairearad Green was introduced to folk music at an early age. Renowned for her deft and lyrical accordion style, as well as her dextrous piping, and ...
Màiri Britton is a Gaelic educator, musician, and community builder making her home between Scotland and Unama’ki [Cape Breton]. She has worked in numerous roles focused on uplifting and celebrating Gaelic language and culture including as instructor at St. Francis Xavier University and Colaisde ...
Born in Mabou, Mairi Rankin is a fiddler and step dancer who has been influenced by some of the best Cape Breton traditional musicians and instructors on the island. She has developed her own unique style by being immersed in this rich musical culture, ...
Malcolm MacNeil is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist from Cape Breton Island. Currently based in Halifax, MacNeil is quickly developing a reputation as one of the region's most versatile and reliable side musicians. He can regularly be seen performing with fiddlers, folk singer-songwriters, and jazz ...
Born and raised in Sydney, Margaret MacPherson has been performing on stage for over 20 years. While working full time as an oncology nurse at our cancer center, Margaret still finds time for the arts, singing and playing piano being her passion. She has ...
At a young age, Marilyn MacKinnon began singing and often would accompany her brother Howie MacDonald on the piano. Her singing career began with the Johnny Aucoin Trio and eventually she released her first recording in 1990, My Love, Cape Breton, and Me. Her ...
A fiddler from Newfoundland, a piper from the Eastern Townships of Québec, and a strummer from Antigonish, Nova Scotia walk into a wooden hall. What happens next? Maximum Celtic Groove! Marrow Bones is an eclectic roots ensemble featuring best friends Mary Beth Carty (accordion, ...
Mary Beth Carty, winner of the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year, is an artist whose creations are rooted in the rich traditions of her Nova Scotian home. Born and raised in Antigonish County, she blends her ancestral Gaelic ...
Renowned Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond has dedicated her 30-year musical career to the preservation of Scottish Gaelic songs, garnering JUNO nominations and East Coast Music Awards, critical acclaim, and a worldwide audience for her music. Mary Jane’s five solo recordings create a respectful ...
When Matt Andersen steps on stage, he brings a lifetime of music to every note he plays. Andersen’s stage presence is informed by decades of cutting his teeth in dusty clubs, dim-lit bars, and grand theatres all over the world, delivering moving performances that ...
Born into a piping family in St. Peters, Cape Breton, Matt MacIsaac began playing whistle and pipes at age 10. Eight years later he won the Argyllshire Gathering Silver Medal at Oban, Scotland. In 2022, he became the first non-Scottish piper to win the ...
Max Francis is a 15-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist from Victoria, British Columbia. He is a 2026 Canadian Folk Music Award winner, the 2025 Canadian Grand Masters fiddling champion, U.S. National Junior fiddling champion, and a three-time BC fiddling champion. Max is also an accomplished ...
Max MacDonald is co-founder of the Celtic Colours International Festival, but his musical performance background goes back to 1972 when he told Leon Dubinsky he could sing and dance in order to get an acting job. Fortunately, Leon called his bluff and Max discovered ...
Maxim and Gervais Cormier are a father and son duo from Chéticamp, Nova Scotia. Gervais, a composer and multi-instrumentalist, and his son Maxim, a guitarist, composer, producer and educator, are a multifaceted pair with international experience. Gervais has toured internationally with John Allan Cameron ...
Maxim Cormier is an award-winning guitarist and composer from Chéticamp. Trained in classical, jazz and world music with a B.Mus from Dalhousie University in guitar performance, he has performed across Canada and toured in Scotland, England, Australia, and France. Maxim has been a regular ...
Maynard Morrison is co-founder of The Rise and Follies of Cape Breton Island and The Cape Breton Summertime Revue. He has toured the country as a member of The Revue and as a member of The Fabulous Doorknobs. For ten years, Maynard was a ...
Melody Cameron is an accomplished Cape Breton-style step dancer and fiddler with more than 40 years of dance experience. From a young age she performed and taught with her sister Kelly throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Western Newfoundland. Through the 1980's, they ...
Michael Campbell was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and grew up in the small community of Ohio, Antigonish County. He began piping at the age of 9 as a student of Pipe Major Ian McKinnon, now of Rawlin’s Cross fame. Over the years, he ...
Nicole and Michelle Deveau are two cousins who grew up in the Acadian village of Chéticamp. Their music is deeply inspired by their Acadian roots, and their strong family bond creates a captivating and harmonious sound between them. Now both music teachers, Nicole and ...
Former coal miner Nipper MacLeod hails from New Waterford and is a lead singer with the Men of the Deeps coal miners choir. He also plays guitar and is known for his many mining and Cape Breton songs, including his much-loved rendition of Rita ...
From Scotsville, Cape Breton, Patrick Gillis grew up with traditional music being played almost constantly in his home. His father, uncle, and two older brothers playing the fiddle gave Paddy a great appreciation and understanding of Cape Breton music. Along with his love for ...
Four of the finest players of New England's traditional music scene shine a renewed light on the tunes of the Northeast with excitement and respect. From festival stages and concert halls to raucous August nights at fiddle camp, the Flyers are here to make ...
Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen have spent more than a decade making records and touring the world as members of the award-winning group Còig. Listening to the pair, it’s obvious that they’ve been playing together for a while—not just as part of Còig, but ...
The Gaelic College Ensemble is a talented group of young musicians brought together by a shared love of Cape Breton's rich musical traditions and a common connection to Colaisde na Gàidhlig [the Gaelic College] in St. Ann's. Made up of current and former students, ...
As a tenor, voice teacher, director, coach, clinician, and academic, Mr. Cathcart is a multi-faceted, dynamic, and in-demand artist whose career spans the worlds of opera, musical theatre, jazz, pop, concert performance, commercial performance, and recording. With more than 245 productions, concerts, and recital ...
Rodney MacDonald is an accomplished recording artist, composer, and step dancer. MacDonald comes from a family of musicians who are known for their traditional "Mabou Coal Mines" fiddle style, drive, compositions, and timing. His first recording, Dancer’s Delight, was followed by Traditionally Rockin’, recorded ...
Originally from Chéticamp, Roger Boudreau and Marcel Le Fort began their musical journey with influential band The Phantoms. After many years pursuing musical and professional careers in Montreal and Cape Breton, the two reunited in 2019 and became involved with the Cercle musical francophone ...
For over a decade, Roo Geddes and Neil Sutcliffe have combined their shared experience across classical and traditional Scottish music to create new original music for violin and accordion. Their compositions are inspired by landscape and people, and by how music can evoke a ...
A seasoned performer with over 35 years on the road, Rory Makem has toured extensively with The Makem Brothers, the Makem and Spain Brothers, and for 17 years played guitar with his father, Tommy Makem. He has played sold-out venues, festivals, and theaters throughout ...
RoSa is an acoustic duo featuring sisters Em and Jenifer Dingwall, recognized for their seamless sibling harmonies and expressive, finely-tuned performances. Rooted in the musical traditions of the East Coast, their sound blends contemporary folk with subtle Celtic influences, weaving together thoughtfully arranged covers ...
Embodying the roar of the sea with a pure and delicate voice, Rose Morrison is a versatile musician from Baddeck, Victoria County. She has toured and recorded with Oscar and Grammy Award winner Glen Hansard, Irish folk legend Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich, and celebrated Scottish-Canadian ...
Rosemary MacNeil began playing snare drum at the age of seven with the Highland Village pipe band. Later on, bagpipe and guitar became favoured instruments. Rosemary entertained and competed with several pipe bands over the years as both a piper and a drummer, and ...
Ryan MacNeil grew up in a musical environment in Sydney Mines. After spending a number of years recording and touring with Slàinte Mhath—a popular Cape Breton-based Celtic fusion band—Ryan and his brother Boyd joined their siblings in The Barra MacNeils. Although best-known for his ...
Sabra MacGillivray was born in Antigonish and now resides in Creignish, Inverness County, where she runs her own dance school, the Celtic Touch Dancers. Sabra is a champion Highland dancer, step dancer, award-winning choreographer, and teacher. She has performed and taught in Canada, USA, ...
Maritime singer-songwriter Sam Moon first came out of Cape Breton Island alongside Matt Minglewood in the band Moon Minglewood & the Universal Power. After touring across North America in the 1970’s, Sam recorded his long-awaited debut album, New Moon, in 1982, followed in 2011 ...
West Mabou native Sarah MacInnis was surrounded by traditional Cape Breton music since her earliest days growing up in Inverness County. She comes from a musical family—mom Mary Elizabeth plays fiddle, piano and dances, and grandfather Buddy MacMaster was a world-renowned fiddler with humble ...
Sarah Prosper is a Mi’kmaq multi-disciplinary artist, dancer, choreographer, BSc Recreation Therapy, storyteller, activist, and adventurer. As a young artist in the community, Sarah links many individuals and groups to deeper connections within movement and healing. Born and raised in Eskasoni First Nation, Sarah is ...
Described as "both very traditional and highly flexible" by Folkworld Magazine's Alex Monaghan, and as "one of the most energetic and creative acts to take root in the local Celtic music scene this century" in Boston Irish Reporter by Sean Smith, Scottish Fish present ...
For a quarter of a century, the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music has been a cornerstone of Scotland's cultural landscape. Based in the picturesque Highland village of Plockton, this unique institution has nurtured some of the country's most talented young musicians, preserving ...
Shawn MacDonald has been playing the fiddle for more than 50 years. Born into a musical family, he picked it up at the age of four and never put it down. Shawn was a long-time member of the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association, taking lessons ...
Shawnee Kish is a three-time JUNO-nominated, Mohawk, Two-Spirit Indigenous alternative country artist whose soaring vocals and fearless songwriting have earned her national recognition as one of Canada’s most compelling voices. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, her music blends alternative country with soul, rock, and folk ...
Shawnee Paul began her journey with music at the age of six as a new pianist. From early childhood, Shawnee became interested in playing the fiddle as she watched her grandfather practice and perform with the fiddle often. By the time she turned seven, ...
Shelley Allen is a familiar face in the Cape Breton music scene. Combining vocals with guitar and percussion, she plays a mix of styles including rhythmic roots music, jazz, bluesy soul, classic country, and Celtic. She is an accredited music therapist who designs and implements ...
Born and raised on West Bay Road, Inverness County, Shelly Campbell has been playing traditional Cape Breton music for 35 years. Her playing is powerful, lively and graceful, deeply-rooted in the traditions she grew up listening to. She was influenced by local fiddlers Stephanie ...
Sheumas MacNeil, the eldest of six siblings who make up the Barra MacNeils, began playing piano at a very young age. He soon teamed up with his younger, fiddle-playing brother Kyle and the duo performed regularly at local square dances. Together they set the ...
The Sons of Membertou were formed in 1992, when a group of elders presented a drum to Darrell and Sharon Bernard and asked them to work to re-introduce traditional music back to our community. The group started small with just four people, but interest ...
Raised in Whycocomagh, Inverness County, Stephanie MacDonald has been playing the fiddle and step dancing since the age of five. She attended classes at Colaisde na Gàidhlig [the Gaelic College] and learned from many accomplished Cape Breton fiddlers. Her musical roots are strengthened by ...
Stewart MacNeil has been pleasing audiences with his unique brand of music since the age of six when he mastered his first instrument – the harmonica. Since that time, he has grown into a multi-instrumentalist who has toured the world. Perhaps best known for ...
Susan MacLean, a native of Washabuck now based in the Sydney area of Cape Breton, is a pianist, fiddler, composer, and dedicated educator rooted in the island’s rich musical tradition. She has taught Cape Breton–style piano accompaniment since the mid-1990s at Colaisde na Gàidhlig ...
Running from 1977-1979, the Tarbot Music Festival was the first of its kind on Cape Breton Island. Community concerts, like the Broad Cove Scottish Concert and the Big Pond Concert, were well-established by this time, but they concentrated on preserving and celebrating traditional Scottish ...
Hailing from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island, the Barra MacNeils are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. Since their self-titled debut in 1986, the MacNeil siblings—Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle, and Sheumas—have woven together a 40-year legacy ...
With roots that go back six generations, the Chaisson family from eastern Prince Edward Island shares a legacy of traditional music and dance. Ever since Joe Pete Chaisson formed the PEI Fiddlers Association and established the Rollo Bay Fiddle festival, the family has worked ...
The Fitzgeralds are a sibling band comprised of three-time Canadian Grand Master Fiddle and Step Dance champions Tom, Kerry, and Julie Fitzgerald, plus multi-instrumentalist and Canadian Folk Music Award-winner Alanna Jenish. With roots in Canada’s renowned Ottawa Valley, their art form stems from the ...
For more than 60 years, the Forrester Dancers have been ambassadors of Cape Breton’s rich Scottish dance traditions. Founded in 1965 by the late Dr. Eileen Pottie Forrester, the group features accomplished, award-winning junior and senior dancers from the Forrester School of Dance and ...
The Forrester Sisters—Shannon, Shara, and Shendle —have shared a lifelong journey in dance, one that began as young children under the guidance of their mother, the late Dr. Eileen Pottie Forrester, founder of the Forrester School of Dance in Cape Breton. Raised in a ...
From the rugged shores of Newfoundland, the Far East of the Western World, originates one of Canada’s most celebrated folk groups, The Irish Descendants. For over 35 years, this multi-award-winning ensemble has captivated audiences across North America and beyond, performing more than 8,000 live ...
For sixty years, Cape Breton's Men of the Deeps have travelled the world, sharing the songs and stories of Canada's coal-mining communities. Formed to preserve an important part of our island's history and culture, the choir continues to celebrate the people, traditions, and experiences ...
Bill and John Pellerin are brothers who were born and raised in Antigonish, The Highland Heart of Nova Scotia, where they developed a lifelong connection to the traditional culture of northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Deeply rooted in both the Gaelic and Acadian ...
The Unusual Suspects of Celtic Colours is a big band based on a concept commissioned for Glasgow, Scotland-based festival Celtic Connections back in 2003. The original idea for the Unusual Suspects, conceived by Musical Directors Corrina Dawn (Hewat) and Dave Milligan, was to put ...
The combination of Don Stiffe, Ger O’Donnell, and Trevor Sexton is one of the most exciting things happening in Irish music in recent times. Ger O’Donnell has exploded onto the scene and cemented his place in the genre with six chart topping hits in ...
Melody and Kelly Warner grew up in a musical household and began step dancing at a very early age. By the time they were entering their teenage years, they were performing synchronized step dance routines, as The Warner Sisters, throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward ...
Tia Greenwood is a spirited cellist with infectious energy and passion for traditional music. Known for her fluid and relaxed style and innovative approach to trad cello, Tia has positioned the instrument as a versatile and valuable contributor in any fiddle music setting by ...
Conjuring a unique but universal language from that most ubiquitous of instruments, the acoustic guitar, Tony McManus has both extended and transcended the parameters of contemporary Celtic music. Ranked by peers and predecessors alike alongside the guitar world’s all-time greats, his fiendishly dexterous, dazzlingly ...
Tove de Fries is a fiddler and music educator with deep roots in the Danish folk music tradition. Growing up in a family shaped by generations of traditional folk music and dance, music has always been a natural part of her life. Her father ...
Tracey Bailey grew up with deep roots on Cape Breton Island. She comes from a family of well-known musicians including her mother, Brenda Stubbert, and grandfather, Robert Stubbert, and many aunts and uncles who played fiddle and danced as well. She started step dancing ...
Troy MacGillivray is from Lanark, a small community on the north-eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Troy’s commitment to music has spanned 30 years and includes both practical and academic accomplishments–most recently an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Limerick in Ireland. From as ...
Wendy MacIsaac is a renowned fiddle player and culture bearer from Creignish, Cape Breton who has been playing music for more than 40 years now. She is recognized as one of the old-school style of players who has kept the traditional sound going, and ...
Zak Cormier is a talented guitarist, fiddler and multi-instrumentalist from St. Raphael, in Prince Edward Island's Evangeline region. While deeply rooted in the Acadian traditions of his own community, his style draws upon wider influences from Cape Breton, Ireland, Quebec, and beyond. In demand ...
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