Celtic Colours 2018 will feature some familiar faces from over the years. Donald Shaw and Karen Matheson return for the first time since playing the Festival with Capercaillie in 1997. Phil Cunningham, Lori Watson, Jenn Butterworth and the selected Royal Conservatoire of Scotland students in Ùr: The Future of our Past will be back for their third year in a row and some of Scotland’s finest Gaelic singers—Cathy Ann MacPhee, Mairi MacInnes, Rona Lightfoot, Kathleen MacInnes and Margaret Bennett—will be performing throughout the Festival. Canadian artists returning this year include Dave MacIsaac (Nova Scotia), Dave Gunning (Nova Scotia) in a duo with J.P. Cormier, Véronique Plasse (Quebec) with Andrea Beaton, Calvin Vollrath (Alberta), and Ray Legere (New Brunswick).
A number of performers from around the world will be making their Celtic Colours debut this year including: Rura, one of Scotland’s most sought-after folk-based bands; the dynamic and energetic Irish trio Socks in the Frying Pan; exciting new Acadian quartet Cy from southwestern Nova Scotia; Métis fiddler Alex Kusturok from Manitoba; Rum Ragged, representing the finest in traditional Newfoundland music and song; The Young ‘Uns, an award-winning young trio from northeast England renowned for their pitch-perfect harmonies and rapid-fire humour; award-winning Finnish fiddle duo Teho; Gangspil from Denmark; the pipes and harp of David Power and Tríona Marshall; Irish Sean Nós dancer Edwina Guckian; and The Savoy Family Cajun Band from Louisiana.
And of course there will be plenty of artists on hand representing the Island’s cultures. J.P. Cormier, Dwayne Côté, Mary Jane Lamond, Wendy MacIsaac, Doug MacPhee, Brenda Stubbert, Howie MacDonald, Ronald Bourgeois, Sarah MacInnis, Joe MacMaster, Miller | MacDonald | Cormier, Maybelle Chisholm McQueen, Joanne MacIntyre, Beòlach, Richard Poulette, and the Denny Family Dancers are among hundreds of Cape Breton singers, players, dancers and culture-bearers, young and old, scheduled to perform. ?
As usual, the award-winning Festival has taken on some special projects for 2018, one of which is Voices of the Naomhóg, in which a traditional Irish rowboat will be made and rowed from Baddeck to Iona by the artists performing in concerts at each location. This year’s Artists in Residence—Scottish piper, Gaelic singer and scholar Allan MacDonald, and accomplished Cape Breton guitar-player, producer, and researcher Paul MacDonald—are behind two special concerts presenting the bardic and song traditions in the Gaelic language, to take place in Mabou and Boisdale. The Close to the Floor and Pipers’ Ceilidh concerts will pay tribute to influential figures in the dancing and piping traditions, Colaisde na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic College will celebrate a special anniversary, and the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association return to where it all began 45 years ago.
With more than 300 community cultural experiences happening in every corner of the Island, there’s plenty of opportunities to immerse yourself in the culture between concerts. Step your way into a square dance, join a milling frolic or play in a session. Take a workshop in dance or fiddle or enjoy a guided walk or a hike with a magnificent view. And there’s nothing like sharing a home-cooked meal. This year there are more than 70 community meals to choose from in your travels.
Celtic Colours International Festival takes place October 5-13, 2018. Tickets go on sale July 10 at 10AM (ADT). For the full schedule and lineup of artists, visit celtic-colours.com.
