Cassie and Maggie bring rousing East Coast rhythms to the West, January 15 to 17

At the Kay Meek Arts Centre, Nova Scotian siblings blend old Celtic sounds with new influences

Cassie and Maggie are at the Kay Meek Arts Centre from January 15 to 17

NOVA SCOTIAN CELTIC-FOLK DUO Cassie and Maggie MacDonald reflect the two sides of their music on their most recent album, Gold and Coal: “Coal” speaks to the traditional music they grew up with, while “Gold” is all about how they’ve moved forward with contemporary influences. Listen to the lyrics, and you’ll see it also grapples with the duality of darkness and light.

Now the two siblings are bringing that old-new sound to the Kay Meek Arts Centre for three nights, blending Maggie’s lead vocals, piano, and guitar with Cassie’s fiddle and harmonies.

Their story goes back to Antigonish, where they grew up playing music, both starting on the fiddle at just three years of age. Their first album, Fresh Heirs, came out in 2011. Since then, they’ve built a strong reputation, as much for their energized stage presence as for their crystalline harmonies and rousing, fiddle-driven rhythms.

In their sound today, you can still hear the roots of the family music that thrives in the Maritimes, including step percussion and a few songs in Gaelic (check out Gold and Coal’s “I Long to Return (Bu Deònach Leam Tilleadh)”, but there are also the influences of Nashville and rock. In all, that blend has garnered the pair more than 17 awards and nominations across Canadian Folk Music, East Coast Music, and Music Nova Scotia prizes over the years.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is a Webster Award–winning arts journalist who has spent more than three decades immersed in Vancouver’s performing arts, film, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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