Well here’s a treat and a half for your post-Christmas blues! Mary Jane Lamond & Wendy MacIsaac perform a rare show together at The Carleton on Wednesday, January 11th. Show time will be 7:30 PM and tickets are $22.50 advanced, or $25 at the door.
On Cape Breton Island, the rich heritage of the region’s Highland settlers was kept alive through music, songs, and stories. It was in Nova Scotia, while visiting her grandparents throughout her youth, that Mary Jane fell in love with Scottish Gaelic traditions and song. While enrolled in Saint Francis Xavier University’s Celtic Studies program, Mary Jane released her first album, Bho Thir Nan Craobh, a collection of traditional material that introduced her unique singing voice and, then unknown fiddler, Ashley MacIsaac. She has continued to dedicate her musical career to the preservation of Scottish Gaelic songs and has garnered numerous JUNO and ECMA award nominations, critical acclaim, and a worldwide audience for her efforts. Mary Jane’s four recordings create a respectful and beautiful framework for ancient Gaelic songs and her spell binding performances make these selections truly come alive.
Wendy is an award-winning fiddler, piano player and step dancer from Creignish, Cape Breton. A born performer, she began appearing publicly at age 5 as a step dancer. At age 12, she began fiddle lessons with Stan Chapman. By age fifteen, Wendy was playing dances all over Cape Breton Island, forming the sound that makes her so recognizable today. With five records to her credit – the most recent “Variations” with her Cape Breton Celtic Supergroup, Beolach – she is a favourite with traditional audiences everywhere. Wendy has toured all over the world as a solo performer, and with The Rankins, Mary Jane Lamond, Ashley MacIsaac and Beolach.