KitchenFest featured great music
‘Mamma Mia’ at the Savoy Theatre was quite a production
There’s soooo much happening around here that I have to go to work to get a rest.
Much of the last few weeks has been taken up by KitchenFest, not a bad way to get an evening’s entertainment.
I stayed around Sydney but between Governor’s and the Old Triangle, I ate great food and heard wonderful music from Brenda Stubbert, Joe MacMaster, Mac Morin, Paul MacDonald, Evans & Doherty, Jim Payne & Fergus O’Byrne, Còig, Richard Wood, Brent Chaisson, Joel Chiasson and Aaron MacDonald.
Every show had its own highlights as everyone is a top-notch musician. It was great to enjoy Richard Wood again as he doesn’t get here all that often. It was far longer since I heard O’Byrne and Payne and caught up on their songs, their tunes and their news. And Còig, whenever they play, are great.
Having said all that, there were two things that really caught my ear.
Port Hawkesbury’s Joe MacMaster is a wicked young fiddler and piper with a style all his own. He’s not yet 20 years old but he plays like someone who’s been at it for 50 years.
The other thing was a 125-year-old mystery that Paul MacDonald shared with me. It was a scratchy cylinder recording from about 1890 in California that Paul feels was done by a Cape Breton fiddler. I agree but proving it will be the hard part.
I was lucky enough to make it out to the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay to catch the stage production of “Mamma Mia.” Really, all I can say is wow! The show featured Halifax’s Neptune Theatre with the principal role played by Cape Breton’s own Julie Martell, who cut her performing teeth on the Savoy stage.
The show was controlled energy — dancers caught your eye as they whipped across the stage, sets flowed in and out, the live orchestra was top-notch, the songs were woven seamlessly into the plot, and the acting and singing were superb.
It was an excellent job from beginning to end and I look forward to the next Neptune-Savoy collaboration.
The Making Waves Music Festival is well underway at the bandshell in Sydney’s Wentworth Park.
I managed to catch most of the opening show that featured Ria Mae and Carmel Mikol with a guest appearance by Cam Hollohan.
I wasn’t in time to catch Hollohan but got most of Mikol and Mae. I’ve known Mikol and her music for ages but have only seen Mae live a few times and not in the last few years.
These are two powerful singers and great writers to boot. Backed by good bands, they both put on a heck of a performance. The weather was co-operative and the recreation department estimates that there were more than 800 people on hand. What a great start to a wonderful concert series.
Next week it’s Pretty Archie and Jordan Musycsyn, followed by Hillsburn and Diyet + Love Soldiers. Things finish off Aug. 2 with The Beaches and Greg MacPherson.
I also got a chance to enjoy Under The Breton Sky, the show sponsored by Breton Brewing and Sociable Entertainment. Jordan Musycsyn, Carmen Townsend, Slowcoaster and Dave Sampson all gave great full-band performances and had the audience all warmed up by the time Matt Andersen & The Bona Fide hit the stage.
I thought it was a great event with plenty of everything available and parking just a few minutes walk away. I hope to see it back again next year.
It’s Rotary’s Sydney RibFest this weekend, so you know that both the food and the entertainment will be great.
The musical lineup includes Curtis Matheson, The Privateers,
High Society, Crowdis Bridge and more. Get out and enjoy.
There is also a family square dance today at the Brookshaven Hall starting at 5 p.m.
And next weekend things are happening in Big Pond.
There’s songs and fiddle tunes Saturday night with Donnie Campbell, Jinx O’Neil, Brenda Stubbert, Kolton MacDonell and Mac Morin and a concert Sunday afternoon with Kinnon and Betty Beaton, Marilyn MacDonald-MacKinnon, Colin Grant, Jason Roach, Keith MacDonald, Doug MacPhee, Kimberley Fraser, Aaron Lewis, and more.
The Louisbourg Playhouse is well underway for another season. It’s well worth the trip to see a good show in a great setting.
And the Baddeck Gathering Ceilidhs are happening every evening all summer at St. Michael’s Hall. Tonight, it’s Buddy MacDonald & Rachel Davis.
Ashley MacIsaac is back in town on July 25 for a show at the Old Triangle in downtown Sydney and he’s one of the headliners at this year’s Stan Rogers Festival in Canso on July 27-29.
The Cape Breton Summertime Revue hits the Savoy stage starting July 31 and the Barra MacNeils do a hometown show in Sydney Mines on Aug. 1.
And the Acoustic Roots Festival is scheduled for Aug. 31Sept. 2 at the Two Rivers Park in Huntington. There’s an impressive lineup, including Meaghan Blanchard, Robert Bouchard, Harold MacIntyre, Ryan Roberts, Jason Price, Naming the Twins and a lot more.
Celtic Colours tickets went on sale on Tuesday with people waiting in line and at their computers for hours.
There were a dozen shows sold-out the first day and almost as many listed as limited. That’s remarkable and indicates just how much of an impact this festival has on the world stage.
Remember, there are still lots of tickets left but don’t wait until the last minute to get yours.
Dan MacDonald has been involved with the Cape Breton and East Coast music scene for almost 50 years. MacDonald can be reached at creignish_hills@hotmail.com.