Carmel Mikol, Norma MacDonald, and Lisa Cameron, all Cape Breton born singer/songwriters, are teaming up for a hometown mini-tour from June 24-26. Sharing the stage in a song circle, the three bring their songs and stories to Wentworth Perk in Sydney on June 24th, the Inverness Arts Centre on June 25th, and The Barn in Margaree on June 26th.
The three folk-influenced musicians expressed a profound admiration and respect for each other’s work, each having established award winning discographies and clocked considerable amounts of touring mileage. “I’ve played with [Cameron and MacDonald] before and I totally love those girls,” Mikol expressed with affection.
Cameron is based in Judiqe, while Mikol and MacDonald have Halifax as their current home base. “For me, Cape Breton is the best creative place I have,” said Mikol, who has her share of touring Canada and the US in the past year. “Balancing need to be in the city and the desire to be home…I think it’s really important to support your hometown.” MacDonald agreed with the sentiment, having moved to Halifax for university after graduating from high school.
New Waterford born Norma MacDonald was excited to play in Cape Breton. At this point in her life, MacDonald described a growing re-connection with her hometown in her songwriting. Included among some newly written material is a song about miner William Davis, who was killed by the police during a strike at the no. 12 colliery in New Waterford. “Looking back as an adult, you get so angry hearing the story, so that’s where this all came from.” MacDonald’s previous recordings include Forest for the Trees (2008) and Nothing is Where it Was (2005).
Lisa Cameron was raised among a musical family in Margaree Forks, and in addition to her music, works as a teacher at Bayview Education Centre in Judique. Since the 2004 release of her album End Of Blue (produced by J.P. Cormier), Cameron has been no stranger to stages across Nova Scotia. She has also been featured in the 2005 compilation Lullabies of Our Cape Breton which won a 2006 ECMA for Best Children’s Recording.
Carmel Mikol is a North River native who has toured extensively across Canada and the US. The title track of her critically acclaimed new album In My Bones took First Place in the Folk Category of the Great American Song Contest. Mikol will be staying close to home to play several festivals in Nova Scotia before returning to the US for a fall tour.
Mikol says that audiences for the upcoming shows can expect a fun show, dynamic and with lots of laughter. “Lisa is hilarious, she always makes me laugh…we’ll all be on stage together, so it’ll be very dynamic with lots of interaction and we’ll jumping in to sing harmonies with each other’s songs,” she said, promising a good time. Old favourites will be played, and each performer will come armed with new material to show off.
Attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance of the Margaree and Inverness shows. To learn more about each of the singer/songwriters, visit normamacdonald.com, lisacameron.ca , and www.carmelmikol.com.
