Angus MacLeod:

Angus MacLeod is a Gaelic singer from Goose Cove, Victoria County, Cape Breton. The North Shore area has long been noted for its milling frolics and milling singers. Angus’s parents were Gaelic speakers, and Angus returned to the language as an adult. He learned his Gaelic from his mother, local elders, as well as through classes and workshops. For the past several years he has been teaching and performing at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s and at events around the island.

Anita MacDonald:

Anita MacDonald hails from Little Narrows, Cape Breton. She is an accomplished musician, dancer, and Gaelic singer. Anita began step-dancing at age 4. As a fiddler, her playing has a distinctive sound that comes from her own variations on tunes. She is the granddaughter of Little Narrows fiddler and guitarist Charlie Ellis and noted fiddle player and composer Raymond Ellis is her grand uncle. During her spare time Anita works with the cultural component of the Nova Scotia Highland Village Museum, Iona and Féis an Eilein, Christmas Island. Anita attends Cape Breton University and is taking a Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Celtic Studies.

Barry George:

Barry George is originally from Cape Cod, USA but his family roots are in Rear Christmas Island, Cape Breton. Barry has been learning Gaelic for several years and performs both solo and milling songs.

Barry Shears:

Barry Shears was born in Glace Bay, Cape Breton. He is acknowledged as an expert on the history of traditional piping in Nova Scotia and its connection to Gaelic language and music. Barry is an accomplished piper who has performed at concerts and festivals throughout North America and Europe. Barry is also a composer of pipe tunes. Barry was originally a competitive piper, but his passion for the last 25 years has been interviewing and recording the last of the traditional style pipers in Nova Scotia. In addition to performing and teaching, Barry has authored four books.

Beth MacNeil:

Beth MacNeil,originally of Sydney, but now resides in Beaver Cove, Cape Breton, began learning Gaelic at the Nova Scotia Highland Village Museum as part of site animation. She has gone on to become a noted solo Gaelic singer, as well as a valuable addition to any milling frolic. Beth is a longtime member of Féis an Eilein, Christmas Island and often instructs Gaelic language and song classes.

The Boisdale Trio & Father Francis Cameron:

The Boisdale Trio is composed of Janet Cameron, Paul Wukitsch, and Joe Peter MacLean. They have been performing together for over 20 years. Piano player Janet Cameron, originally of Mabou, moved to Boisdale and has been a community accompanist for many years now. Fiddle player Joe Peter MacLean is from the rear of Boisdale, McAdam’s Lake district. He is one of the few remaining Gaelic speaking fiddlers. Fiddler Paul Wukitsch from Shenacadie immigrated to Cape Breton from New York State in the late 1970s. Paul eventually met Joe Peter MacLean and Janet Cameron and together they form the popular group The Boisdale Trio. Often joining the group when they play is Janet’s brother, Father Francis Cameron who plays the fiddle.

Brenda Stubbert:

Brenda Stubbert is from Point Aconi, Cape Breton. She grew up surrounded by music, as her household was frequented by many musical visitors, such as Winston Fitzgerald and Johnny Wilmot, to name a few. By age 5, Brenda had started step-dancing and playing the piano. When she was 8, she began learning the fiddle. Her style is strongly influenced by her family’s music, but also has elements from many of the great players she has been associated with. Brenda has toured throughout Ireland, Scotland, Mexico, and many cities in Canada and the USA. She is a composer, and has released 2 books of tunes. Brenda is always in demand for dances in Cape Breton, which are lively and well-attended.

Doug MacPhee:

Doug MacPhee of New Waterford, Cape Breton is one of the island’s most celebrated piano accompanists and soloists. He comes from a family that is rich in the traditional music of Cape Breton. Doug has played with all of the great fiddlers over the years, including Buddy MacMaster. Doug can be heard on over 20 recordings, and has released 5 solo albums.

Dwayne Cote:

Dwayne Cote grew up in Grande Greve, Richmond County, Cape Breton. His parents were both musical; his mother Gladys Stone Cote was a well-known dancer, performer, and instructor and his father Gordon was a celebrated fiddler. Dwayne has been performing since he was 4, both guitar and violin. Dwayne includes Angus Chisholm and Winston Scotty Fitzgerald as his major influences. Dwayne has a distinct classical tone and is one of the region’s most unique fiddlers.

Graham Mulholland:

Graham Mulholland is a native of Dunkeld, Scotland. He began playing the Highland Pipes when he was 7 years old. He has won many first-place awards in major piping competitions in Scotland and in the USA. When Graham was 17, he joined the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band which won Scottish, British, and World Championships. He moved to the US in 2001, and then back to Scotland in 2008. He is a regular instructor at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts & Crafts in St. Ann’s, Cape Breton. Graham presently competes, teaches both children and adults, and performs regularly.

Howie MacDonald:

Howie MacDonald is from Westmount, Cape Breton. He is a talented fiddler and piano accompanist. Howie has played with Natalie MacMaster on three of her recordings, and recorded and toured with the Rankin Family during their career. Howie has released 10 solo recordings, besides being featured on many others. He has also become known as an entertainer, as a comedic actor/musician in the Cape Breton Summertime Revue 1997, and Howie’s Celtic Brew in 2000 and 2001.

Jeff MacDonald:

Jeff MacDonald hails from Kingsville, Inverness County, Cape Breton. He is a Gaelic speaker with a talent for singing and songwriting. Jeff has graduated from Saint Francis Xavier University and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland. He is currently completing his Masters in Folklore at Memorial University. Jeff is a strong supporter of Gaelic language and culture and has worked with various groups teaching Gaelic language and song, such as Féis an Eilein, Christmas Island, St. Ann’s Gaelic College, and the Nova Scotia Highland Village Museum, Iona.

Jennifer Roland:

Jennifer Roland is from the small fishing community of Alder Point, Cape Breton. She has been surrounded by music her whole life, and began playing piano by ear by the time she was 3. When she was 6 she began taking dance lessons and studying classical piano. At age 9 Jennifer started fiddle lessons with Kyle MacNeil of the Barra MacNeil’s. When Jennifer was 18 she released her debut album “Dedication” and began touring extensively. She has toured throughout Canada, the US, and Europe and has developed an avid following. In 2007, Jennifer was nominated for an East Coast Music Award for instrumental recording of the year. Jennifer also owns and operates her own music school, the Jennifer Roland School of Music and Dance.

Jody MacKenzie:

Jody MacKenzie comes from Rear Christmas Island, Cape Breton. She is a step-dancer and singer of Gaelic songs. Jody has been singing with Anita MacDonald for the past several years and the two have performed at many events around Cape Breton. During the last 4 summers, Jody has been employed by Féis an Eilein in Christmas Island, teaching dance and music lessons, as well as performing at concerts and céilidhs. Jody is currently a student at Saint Francis Xavier University, studying nursing.

Lauren MacDonald:

Lauren MacDonald is from Little Narrows, Cape Breton. She has taken guitar lessons from Laurie Simms. Together with her older sister Anita MacDonald, Lauren has been learning and singing Gaelic songs and the two have performed at several venues, including Cruinneachadh nan Gèidheal in Antigonish. Lauren is also becoming a very accomplished step-dancer as she has been taking lessons and performing for several years now. She currently takes piano and fiddle lessons. Lauren is now in grade 9 at Rankin School of the Narrows in Iona.

Lewis MacKinnon:

Lewis MacKinnon is an English, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish singer. He was born in Cape Breton and grew up in Antigonish County. He has been performing at concerts, pubs, theatres, and other locations since 1994. Lewis has played in all the Atlantic provinces, as well as Ontario, and Scotland and Ireland. He has earned an East Coast Music Award nomination for his all Gaelic CD entitled ‘A’ Seo’. In 2008, Lewis released his first Gaelic poetry book, which includes 89 poems with English translations.

Mary Jane Lamond:

Mary Jane Lamond first fell in love with Scottish Gaelic traditions and song while visiting her grandparents throughout her youth. While enrolled in Saint Francis Xavier University’s Celtic Studies program, Mary Jane released her first album, ‘Bho Thir Nan Craobh’. This sharing of song garnered her numerous Juno and East Coast Music Award nominations, critical acclaim, and a worldwide audience. Mary Jane is an interpreter, a singer, and a musician. She is widely involved with community events and programs that help conserve the Gaelic language, traditions, and culture for younger generations.

Pat Gillis:

Pat Gillis is a guitar player from Scotsville, Cape Breton. He grew up around traditional music, with his father, uncle, and two older brothers playing the fiddle. His style of accompaniment and solos have a great amount of energy that can be heard when he is playing. Pat is left handed, and had only right handed guitars around, so he learned to play upside-down and backwards. Pat has toured the United States with Cullin, played in Howie’s Celtic Brew, and with Natalie MacMaster, Glenn Graham, and Ashley MacIsaac, and more recently in the band Beòlach.

Paul K. MacNeil:

Paul K. MacNeil is a piper originally from Barra Glen, Cape Breton. His first teacher was Sandy Boyd. Paul has been playing the bagpipes for over 25 years. He played with the Halifax Police Pipe Band, serving as Pipe Sergeant when the band reached the Grade 1 level and was also Pipe Major for the Halifax Police Grade 4 Pipe Band at this time. After 8 years, Paul left the band and moved home to Cape Breton to concentrate on the more traditional style of Cape Breton piping, that is influence by step-dancing. He is married to pianist Tracey Dares-MacNeil and they live in Castle Bay, Cape Breton.

Robbie Fraser:

Robbie Fraser is a fiddler and pianist from Strathlorne, Inverness County, Cape Breton. He has been performing on stage since he was 5 years old. He is a regular at concerts, ceilidhs, and dances in the Inverness County area. Robbie learns most of his music by ear and is noted for his solid timing and his playing of the traditional old (Gaelic) style, which is uncommon at his age. Robbie has always maintained that Buddy MacMaster and Willie Kennedy are the two biggest influences on his style of music. Robbie has released three recordings along with his brother, Isaac Fraser.

Ryan J. MacNeil:

Ryan J. MacNeil is originally from Big Pond, Cape Breton but now resides in Port Hood. He is an accomplished musician and has mastered his instruments; the highland bagpipe, border pipes, and whistles. Ryan’s upbeat playing is strongly rooted in Cape Breton's dance oriented tradition. In the past several years Ryan has become increasingly renowned as a talented composer. His tunes have been performed and recorded by many musicians, both locally and abroad. Ryan also manufactures a line of his own whistles. Ryan used his playing experience and practical skills to develop a whistle which rivals any other on the market.

Sandy MacIntyre:

Sandy MacIntyre was born in Inverness Town, in Inverness County, Cape Breton. He hails from a musical family, with both his parents being fiddlers. He began playing the pump organ at around age 8 or 9, accompanying visiting fiddlers. At age 16, Sandy took up fiddle playing and began learning by ear. Over the years Sandy has become one of Cape Breton’s finest fiddlers and has composed over 100 tunes. Sandy performs and teaches at workshops throughout Canada, the US, and abroad. During the past 20 years he has been a fiddle instructor at St. Ann’s Gaelic College in Cape Breton and a performer at the International Celtic Colours Festival.

Tracey Dares-MacNeil:

Tracey Dares-MacNeil is from the Marion Bridge, Cape Breton area. She has been playing the piano for over 20 years now, originally trained in contemporary styles, later studying some classical, and spent much of her musical career enveloped in the traditional music of Cape Breton Island. She is one of the island’s finest pianists today. She has toured extensively with Natalie MacMaster, and others. She is married to piper Paul K. MacNeil and they reside in Castle Bay, Cape Breton with their family.

Wally Ellison:

Wally Ellison is originally from Margaree, Nova Scotia but currently resides on the West Bay Road. Wally has played the pipes for all of his life. He is a retired geology and geography teacher. He is also an avid photographer; which you can see in his recently released book titled ‘This Is My Cape Breton’. Wally still occasionally teaches courses in bagpiping, photography, sciences, and Gaelic. He performs regularly for many concerts and special events throughout Cape Breton.

Wendy MacIsaac:

Wendy MacIsaac is a fiddler, piano player, and step-dancer from Creignish, Cape Breton. Wendy has been touring all over the world for the last ten years with Mary Jane Lamond, Ashley MacIsaac, Beòlach, and as a solo performer. Wendy began performing at age 5 as a step-dancer and at 12 years old she began fiddle lessons with Stan Chapman. By the time she was 15, Wendy was playing dances all over Cape Breton Island. In 1995 she began touring with the Cape Breton Summertime Revue and has made the road her second home ever since. Wendy has performed with the Chieftains, Capercaillie, and Buddy MacMaster, to name a few. Her skills as a teacher are also in high demand at festivals worldwide, whether for fiddle, piano, or stepdancing.