Today saw the first UK event of Cape Breton Sound, a celebration of the music of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Three shows are scheduled from today until Wed 3rd Feb in Manchester, Cardiff and London, and they’re absolutely FREE! Acts featured include The Tom Fun Orchestra, The Beaton Sisters, Colin Grant Band and Gillian Boucher.
The Tom Fun Orchestra
The Tom Fun Orchestra are an eight-piece cluster-rock ensemble that has been impressing music fans and critics alike with their raucous stage presence and high-energy show. With their unconventional lineup of violin, banjo, accordion, and trumpet hitched to a driving rock trio, The Tom Fun Orchestra are redefining what people think of as Canada’s East Coast music.
Gillian Boucher
Having been born in to a family steeped in Cape Breton traditional music and language (Her grandfather was one of the founders of the esteemed Broad Cove Scottish concert, and was a renowned Gaelic singer and storyteller) Gillian Boucher first held the violin at the age of five while attending the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts in St. Anne?s, Cape Breton. Since then her music has taken her around the world, with tours including Scotland, Ireland, Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia. Gillian now resides in her home province of Nova Scotia. With a broad range of musical influences, her progressive yet easy-listening debut album, Elemental, seamlessly blends Celtic and contemporary sounds with hints of Eastern European styles and a touch of jazz.
The Beaton Sisters
Traditional music has been a huge component of Dawn and Margie Beaton’s lives from day one. Coming from a musical heritage of fiddlers, dancers, and singers, it was a natural progression to learn traditional stepdancing and the violin at an early age (4 and 6 to be exact). The Beaton Sisters provide a ?Blasad Ghaidhlig? (Taste of Gaelic) with their roots firmly planted in Mabou, Cape Breton. The Beaton Sisters? Band builds on the traditions and culture of the region with lively tunes and arrangements that will get your toes tapping and your legs dancing.
Colin Grant
Lingering somewhere amidst the rich, soulful roots of traditional Cape Breton music and the grooves of a thousand branches of rock and funk, Colin Grant embarks on his latest project a dynamic and thoughtful fusion of beats and melodies. Far from the awkward malaise of mohawked bag-pipers and kilted punks, the Colin Grant Band has created a kind of Celtic fusion that is as much Steely Dan and Yes as it is Ashley MacIsaac. While the lively sound never strays too distantly from its Celtic roots, the CGB has found an open ear in everyone from indie scenesters to blue-haired bingo stampers.
See flyer below for dates and venues.
