Cape Breton trad supergroup Còig return to The Carleton for a Christmas-themed show on Wednesday, December 4th. Show time is a civilized 7:30 PM and tickets are $25 advanced or $30 at the door.

When the creative juices are flowing, there’s no holding back the talented quartet that makes up the Celtic supergroup Còig. Hot on the heels of the group’s award-winning 2017 album Rove comes the brand-new release, ASHLAR. Brimming with new ideas, and lots of energy built up from their hundreds of international performances, the band figured, “Why wait?” They packed themselves into producer Dave Gunning’s Wee House Of Music studio in Nova Scotia during a brief break in touring, and everything fell into place perfectly.

Ashlar flows from lively sets to tender traditional ballads to fabulous covers, everything Còig is known for, but there’s a difference this time too. The album features the most tune-writing, and more vocal tracks of any of their releases. That reflects all the ideas they keep storing up, and the growing confidence they feel in their own writing and singing.

Còig’s music is a unique combination of influences that could only come from these four players. It’s traditional for sure, but it’s performed in a lot of non-traditional ways. That leads to the other magic ingredient in Còig. It’s a band of fast friends, people that grew up together, played together, and knew each other way before they ever considered being in a band together.