At Home and Abroad

The 26th Celtic Colours International Festival, presented by TD Bank, kicks off at Sydney’s Centre 200 on Friday, October 7 where The Men of the Deeps, The Barra MacNeils, Dàimh, and Kris Dever will get together for The Grand Opening. Nine days later, the Festival wraps up in Port Hawkesbury with J.P. Cormier, Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich & Tim Edey, Mairi Rankin & Eric Wright, and Staran at The Grand Finale. Along the way, Celtic Colours will present 48 concerts and more than 200 cultural events in communities all over the Island. After the past two years, it is so wonderful to be able to welcome artists back to Cape Breton Island for Celtic Colours. Among those who will be traveling internationally for the Festival are Adam Sutherland & John Somerville (Scotland), Mec Lir (Isle of Man/Scotland), and Bríd Harper & Dermot Byrne (Ireland). Some familiar names returning from closer to home include David Francey (ON), The Fretless (BC), Jake Lauzon (ON), Alex Kusturok (MB), and Cathy Ann MacPhee who lives in Nova Scotia now. There will be a number of artists making their Celtic Colours debut this year including Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys (PEI), Les Fireflies (NB), Sian (Scotland), Fortunate Ones (NL), Pine Tree Flyers (USA), and Nadine Landry & Sammy Lind (QC), along with Cape Bretoners Jenn Sheppard, Hauler, and Sons of Membertou. Last year during Celtic Colours at Home, Inn Echo, Lonesome Ace Stringband, and The Gilberts were featured in the Festival for the first time. We are so excited for them to have the full Celtic Colours experience this year, traveling around the Island for concerts, visiting host communities, and, perhaps most importantly, getting to go to Festival Club. Plenty of Cape Breton performers and culture bearers will be on hand to celebrate the Island’s roots including Heather Rankin, Dwayne Côté, Wendy MacIsaac, Doug MacPhee, Mary Jane Lamond, Howie MacDonald, Brenda Stubbert, and Morgan Toney. Ashley MacIsaac will share the stage with a number of Cape Breton’s finest traditional piano players through the week and, of course, we’ll also shine the spotlight on Cape Breton’s dance and piping traditions.