One of Cape Breton’s most important exports and a superstar in the Celtic music world (though she’s far too humble to admit it), fiddler and step-dancer Natalie MacMaster has built a sterling, multi-decade career on electrifying playing and must-see live performances.
MacMaster released her first album, Solo: Four on the Floor, in 1989, and followed it up with 10 more. In addition, she’s collaborated on other albums, most notably with Yo-Yo Ma, Johnny Reid, and Donnell Leahy, her husband.

But that’s not where her incredible artistic record stops. MacMaster has had seven JUNO nominations and won 19 East Coast Music Awards, 5 Canadian Country Music Association Awards (as Fiddler of the Year from 1997 to 2001), and many, many more, including becoming a Member of the Order of Canada in 2006.
When MacMaster and Leahy married in 2002, the proverbial mantelpiece was, of course, instantly crammed with the couple’s awards from their respective careers.
“The fiddle was definitely common ground for us when we first got together,” MacMaster said in a statement. And then, with time, MacMaster and Leahy grew their family…and their act. Their children today are the centrepiece of the MacMaster/Leahy live set, though not because the couple necessarily envision showbiz careers for Mary Frances, Michael, Clare, Julia, Alec, and Sadie.
Rather, the pair realized early on that being on the road without their kids was infinitely harder than touring with them. That the children were already being home schooled made the decision easier (MacMaster has a teaching degree).
Which brings us to their show, A Celtic Family Christmas. It’ll be an evening of family favourites and Celtic tunes, performed by the whole family. You can catch the MacMaster-Leahy family in Kitchener on Wednesday, December 19th at 8PM. Order your tickets now!