Festival Club scores hole-in-one at the Back Nine

Feb 20, 2008

By Frank Macdonald - The Inverness Oran The point of taking the Celtic Colours Festival Club to Fredericton, host Kelly Peck explained to an audience jamming its way into the Back Nine club on Saturday afternoon, “is that we are trying to replicate one of nine nights that takes place in Cape Breton every October.” The difference between the fact and the re-enactment, he added, is that the Festival Club held every night at the Gaelic College in St. Anne’s begins at 11:30 at night and goes on `til dawn, “an all- night jam that just throws whoever’s there up on stage.” It’s a mix and match of Celtic music very unlike what fans might hear at the dozens of Celtic Colours concerts. Taking a midnight idea to a Saturday afternoon event in a different province may initially have seemed risky to organizers, but those concerns were set aside with the first set when the music from Chrissy Crowley’s fiddle and Jason Roach’s piano literally danced two mike stands right off the stage, toppling over like a couple of exhausted square-setters. The Margaree Forks-Cheticamp connection of Crowley and Roach was succeeded by Lennie Gallant, accompanied by Sean Kemp and his skeleton fiddle. Gallant songs are rich with humour (47 Acres on Her Front Lawn), Acadian cultural pride offered in Laisse aller, co-written with Cheticamp’s Ronald Bourgeois, the tenderness of Pieces of You from his latest album, When We Get There. Gallant’s welcome set drew to a poignant conclusion with Peter’s Dream, the tragic anthem for the east coast ground fishery. And in what was one of those Festival Club moments, Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond joined Gallant on stage for Peter’s Dream, one of the rare moments when Lamond’s voice has been heard in English. A Celtic dream team took the stage next, with Wendy MacIsaac’s fiddle the core sound surrounded by a Celtic accompaniment comprised of Troy MacGillivray on piano, Fred Lavery on guitar and Allie Bennett on bass. After a few brilliant presentations, Wendy traded places with Andrea Beaton, and percussionist Cheryl Smith joined the stage band. Then Wendy was back for a double fiddle set, her well-shod feet keeping time to Andrea’s bare feet and red toenails. Mary Jane Lamond’s appearance was wholly in Gaelic except for her stories, usually filled with a humour lacking in her choice of Gaelic songs (“This song is a man singing to his wife but because it is a Gaelic song, she’s dead.”). Lamond’s too brief appearance was a song and a set of puirt a beul, or mouth music, with Wendy MacIsaac’s fiddle joining in, then she was off, like so many of the other performers, to perform on another stage somewhere else in this New Brunswick city composed, on this East Coast Music Awards weekend, totally of soundtrack. Beginning with Wendy MacIsaac’s first set, which drew Whycocomagh square-dance addict Burton MacIntyre from his seat, then West Mabou dancer Melody Cameron onto the floor, the step-dancing became a flood when Troy MacGillivray moved from the piano to the fiddle, luring other MacGillivrays to the stage, sisters Sabra and Kendra, and a steady stream of step-dancers followed, PEI dancer Mylene Oulette, Andrea Beaton, Dale Gillis, Wendy MacIsaac, Kimberley Weatherspoon, Celtic Colours co-founder Joella Foulds, along with others known and unknown, culminating with the newly discovered and definitely Broad Cove Concert-bound dancing duo of Kelly Peck and Shane MacDougall. In fact, following their performance, no one else ventured forth onto the floor, leaving the fiddler, Troy MacGillivray, to stand and dance to his own music. The pace changed them to the inspirational music and lyrics of Newfoundlander Terry Kelly, whose appearance, along with that of Prince Edward Islander Lennie Gallant, made this Festival Club music bash an Atlantic islands one. Then a major difference between the actual Festival Club and the weekend’s facsimile became apparent. After three hours, it was over, something that would never be allowed to happen in St. Anne’s, but the Back Nine stage was made available to the Celtic Colours organizers through the cooperation of Music Nova Scotia which was staging and showcasing talent from across the province all weekend, and was preparing to present more Bluenose acts. The crowd, and it was a crowd, was sent back to their accommodations to a last blast of fiddle tunes from Wendy MacIsaac, Andrea Beaton, River Bourgeois fiddler Krista Touesnard, with Fred Lavery on guitar, Kevin Chiasson on piano and Allie Bennett on bass. The ECMA’s version of the Festival Club was a superb glimpse of what nine days and nights in October on Cape Breton Island hold in store of visitors and residents alike. Copyright © 2008 The Inverness Oran. All rights reserved.

Industry awards honour Cape Bretoners

Feb 11, 2008

By Laura Jean Grant - The Cape Breton Post FREDERICTON - The diversity of Cape Breton's musical community was showcased Sunday night as a radio station, venue, event and industry professional took home East Coast Music Awards industry honours. Michael 'Sheppy' Shepherd, the Celtic Colours International Festival, Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre and Port Hawkesbury's 101.5 The Hawk were all winners at the 2008 ECMA Industry Awards Show, held Sunday night at Fredericton's Aitken Centre just prior to the music awards. Shepherd won Technician/Engineer of the Year and in accepting the award thanked Lakewind Sound Studios owners Fred Lavery and Gordie Sampson, the bands and artists he works with including Slowcoaster, who were on stage as the house band for the awards ceremony, and his family. The Celtic Colours International Festival won Event of the Year with festival directors Max MacDonald and Joella Foulds on hand to accept the award. In his remarks, MacDonald credited the East Coast Music Association for leading the way in proving the industry can host large scale, high profile events. "I'd like to thank the ECMA. Celtic Colours is your child," he said. Foulds thanked the volunteers and sponsors who make the nine-day event, held each October in communities across Cape Breton, for making Celtic Colours possible each year. The other island winners, Port Hawkesbury's 101.5 The Hawk which was named Radio Station of the Year-Small Market, and the Savoy Theatre which won Venue of the Year, did not have representatives at the ceremony and the awards were accepted on their behalf by presenters. Another award with an island connection was Broadcast of the Year which went to the East Coast Countdown, hosted and produced by Cape Breton's Jimmie Inch, who accepted the award and paid tribute to the late Jack Bonaparte, who he co-founded the show with in 2004. "This is for Jack, as always," said Inch, while holding up the distinctive treble clef trophy. It was a big year for Cape Breton on the industry awards side of things with 15 island venues, events or professionals picking up nominations. The industry awards, hosted by well-known Cape Breton comedian Bette MacDonald, also honoured five Stompin' Tom Connors Awards recipients including the late Aldun MacVicar, of Cape Breton. MacVicar was born in Broughton, Cape Breton, in 1927. He moved from Broughton to Glace Bay while in his teens and it was there he met and married Lorna Whitney, sister of Gib Whitney, a very popular bandleader at that time. Through his wife's talented family, Aldun began to hone his musical talents. Always a fan of Don Messer, he formed a group called The Pioneers in the late 40s and early 50s and nailed down a featured spot every Sunday evening on Robbie Robertson's radio program. After the Pioneers, MacVicar formed the Royal Scotians, which eventually became The Acadians, a hugely popular band. MacVicar died in 1986. Copyright © 2008 The Cape Breton Post. All rights reserved.

Cape Breton named an island paradise

Feb 6, 2008

Cape Breton named an 'island paradise' by online travel publisher 02 February 2008 By Nancy King - The Cape Breton Post SYDNEY - In an online feature, one of the world's leading publishers of English language travel and tourism information has identified Cape Breton as one of seven international island paradises. The feature by Fodor's notes they are, “instinctively drawn to these places because they provide the perfect antidote to the hectic pace of modern life.” The section on Cape Breton notes the island’s reputation “rests on simple pleasures and genuine old-school hospitality,” and also makes note of its spectacular scenery, pointing to the Cabot Trail in particular. It also makes reference to Canada’s only single-malt whiskey distillery, the Glenora Distillery, the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, and the Keltic Lodge in Ingonish. Other islands listed include Quilalea Island, Mozambique; Bequia, Grenadines; Cham Island, Vietnam; Fernando de Noronha, Brazil; Isla Vieques, Puerto Rico; and Panama's Pacific Islands. “It keeps Cape Breton Island top of mind for international travellers,” said Mark Sajatovich, marketing manager with the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. It's particularly timely, with the large number of attractions planned in Cape Breton this year, such as the H.O.G. rally, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft and the encampment planned at the fortress, he noted. “The travel media market is one we are actively courting,” Sajatovich said. “The designation that it's one of the paradise locations on earth shouldn’t really surprise Cape Bretoners, but we’re a little bit spoiled.” Destination Cape Breton, Parks Canada, the Department of Tourism and the island's tourism operators in general have worked hard to court this sort of attention, Sajatovich noted, and “we’ve slowly seen an ascension in international rankings.” “I don’t think there is any destination in Canada that has the (same) track record in notoriety in these types of rankings,” he said. The feature can be found at Fodors.com Copyright © 2008 The Cape Breton Post. All rights reserved.