On the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton County lies New Waterford, a town with a proud history of coal mining. Many of the town’s settlers came from Ireland and found work in the coal mines established around the turn of the twentieth century. The collapse of the mining industry in Inverness County in the 1950s prompted many of that county’s Scottish descendants to make their way across the island to New Waterford looking for work. With great pride in their Scottish and Irish roots, folks in this former coal-mining community love music and never miss an opportunity to gather for an afternoon of tunes. So, it’s only fitting that we should have a little céilidh this afternoon in New Waterford. There is a strong connection between coal mining and music here, and few understand that connection better than The Men of the Deeps. This choir of working and retired coal miners has been singing of the work and lifestyle of the Cape Breton coal miner to audiences throughout Canada, the United States, and internationally since 1967. Joining The Men this afternoon are Cape Breton fiddle and piano players Howie MacDonald and Beverly MacLean, and guitar and fiddle duo Owen Sinclair and Sally Simpson of Scottish band Westward the Light.