SYDNEY, N.S. — When the legendary Ashley MacIsaac says he’s found a future fiddling star in the making, music fans would be wise to take notice.
MacIsaac, who was announced Monday as one of the performers at the upcoming Celtic Colours International Festival, said he’s particularly looking forward to sharing the stage with Morgan Toney, a 21-year-old Mi’kmaq fiddler originally from We’koma’q First Nation.
“He has all the attributes of a star. He’s a go-getter — that’s the first attribute. He has put himself out there forward with his skills that he’s quickly developing. One thing that has to be noted about him is he’s been very, very good about promoting not just Cape Breton fiddling, which he’s doing, but his own culture. And when I first saw a video of him performing the Mi’kmaq ‘Honour Song’ while playing the fiddle, well I was sold,” said MacIsaac, who compared Toney to the late Lee Cremo, an Eskasoni fiddler who was the first North American fiddle champion from Canada.
“I think people are going to hear about Morgan not just in the world of fiddle music, they’re going to hear about him across the country, they’re going to see him develop in the next year or two or three years — there’s something exciting to see somebody feel so energetic and so outgoing and so self-promoting, which is what you need.”
MacIsaac will get his first chance to see Toney perform live when they kick off the festival Oct. 9 along with Hilda Chiasson, Steve MacIntyre, Trevor Kellock, Boyd MacNeil, Ryan J. MacNeil, Stoney Bear Singers, and Mary Beth Carty.
Celtic Colours executive director Mike MacSween said this year’s festival will take on a much different look due to the current restrictions on travel and large gatherings. Instead of hosting the usual 50-plus concerts all over Cape Breton, they will hold a nightly series of concerts streamed live from the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre until Oct. 17.
Produced in partnership with NovaStream and Soundpark Studios, the concerts will feature a mix of live and pre-recorded performances by artists from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Quebec, Ontario, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Each show will start at 7:30 p.m., following a 30-minute pre-show highlighting the festival’s community partners. People can watch through the Celtic Colours website, celtic-colours.com, and on YouTube.
“There’s nothing we like more than organizing a live music festival so for us this year is obviously a bit different but we’ve all accepted that and put a lot of energy and time developing the plans for this year’s festival,” MacSween said.
“We’re certainly pleased with what we’ve been able to put together.”
For the Creignish-born MacIsaac, the festival is not just a chance to come home, it’s a rare opportunity to perform.
This is the first time in 35 years that he hasn’t been able to tour, and he estimates he’s lost 95 per cent if his income. If things don’t improve by March, he said he’ll likely have to get another job, possibly becoming a fisherman or putting out his own line of marijuana.
“What I’ll do next, I don’t know. Be a lobster fisherman? I’m not against it. If I have to do something different, fine. I’ve considered doing different things in my life, obviously. At points I considered politics, I’ve considered writing books. There’s things that interest me that I’d consider, but none of those things you basically would do, I would hope, for the sole purpose of making money. So I have to find a way to financially stabilize myself and then go from there. And of course, there’s the thing that everybody in the Cape Breton Post has read about, which is selling dope. If it comes to it, it just might be time to put out the Ashely MacIsaac dope. We’ll see what happens,” he said, adding that he’s “really looking forward to Cape Breton.”
“I’m not looking forward to the two weeks isolation — other than the fact I’ll be playing cribbage every day, 10 hours a day with my family. I’m coming down there because I want to be at home, I want to be in Cape Breton and I’ll suffer through the isolation period and when it comes time to rip the fiddle apart on the Celtic Colours opening, I’ll drive ‘er.”
CELTIC COLOURS
Here is the lineup for the upcoming Celtic Colours International Festival. Due to COVID-19, the festival will feature a nightly series of concerts streamed live from the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre from Oct. 9-17.
Oct 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Ashley MacIsaac, Hilda Chiasson, Steve MacIntyre, Trevor Kellock, Boyd MacNeil, Ryan J. MacNeil, Stoney Bear Singers, Morgan Toney, Mary Beth Carty
Oct 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: J.P. Cormier, Dave Gunning, Nuala Kennedy (artist in residence), Tara Breen, Tony Byrne, Troy MacGillivray (artist in residence), Kendra MacGillivray, Sabra MacGillivray
Oct 10 (10 p.m.)
Performers: Buddy MacDonald, Brenda Stubbert, Kolten MacDonell, Scott Macmillan, Brian Doyle, Kevin Dugas, James MacLean, Nuala Kennedy, Troy MacGillivray, Tony Byrne, Shawnee Paul, Mary Beth Carty, Dara Smith-MacDonald, Adam Young, Mike Hall, Beverly MacLean
Oct 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Dwayne Côté, Doug MacPhee, Roger Stone, Kaia Kater, Elizabeth MacInnis, Tracey Dares MacNeil
Oct 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Corrina Hewat, David Milligan, Shelly Campbell, Allan Dewar, Chris Babineau, Pepeto Pinto, Jason Roach
Oct 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Mary Jane Lamond, Cathy Ann MacPhee, Nuala Kennedy, Tara Breen, Tony Byrne, Siobhán Butler, Nicole LeBlanc, Emma Stevens, Rachel Davis, Darren McMullen, Jenny MacKenzie, The Fare Thee Well
Oct 14 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Glenn Graham, Rodney MacDonald, Mac Morin, James MacLean, Lisa Cameron & Vern MacDougall, É.T.É.
Oct 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Gordie Sampson, Old Man Luedecke, Troy MacGillivray, Andrea Beaton, Tracey Dares MacNeil
Oct 16 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: Beòlach, James Keelaghan, Mec Lir
Oct 17 (7:30 p.m.)
Performers: The Barra MacNeils, Howie MacDonald, Mac Morin, Mary Beth Carty, Vishtèn
Oct 17 (10 p.m.)
Performers: Buddy MacDonald, Joe MacMaster, Mac Morin, Nipper MacLeod, Nuala Kennedy, Troy MacGillivray, Douglas Cameron, Lawrence Cameron, Leanne Aucoin, Stephanie MacDonald, Susan MacLean, Beòlach
