A “Barra” of fun is the best remedy
We’re very fortunate to do what we do. Next year we’ll be celebrating forty years, and as we get older, we get better at working together
Stewart MacNeil
If the grey curtain of winter approaching brings with it a sense of melancholy, there’s a group rolling into Whitehorse offering an ancient but time-tested remedy.
“Things do get dark. We are losing the daylight and people are dealing with a lot,” says Stewart MacNeil. “This is a good show for people who want to lift their spirits.”
MacNeil is one of four siblings who make up the core of the noted Celtic band, the Barra MacNeils. The show he’s talking about is the first of the band’s annual Christmas tour; and he says performing it in mid-November does not diminish the audiences’ enthusiasm.
“I think it is probably because it is much more than a Christmas show. There are other pieces of Gaelic music, and there are favourites that people enjoy. And we do a lot of versions.”
He says bringing variety to the music and arrangements is the result of a family that prizes versatility.
“We are primarily an acoustic band. Everyone plays multiple instruments and we are all singers. We have a full spectrum of vocals, so we can put together a lot of different sounds just from that end. It keeps it fresh for us.”
Each of the siblings play at least four instruments. Bass player Jamie Gatti, the fifth member on this tour, is the exception but brings a musical palette rich in diverse styles gained through more than 30 years plucking the strings with many accomplished performers.
The array of talents and instruments (which include mandolin, violin, bodhran, Celtic harp, tin whistle and flute, to name a few) allows the musicians to bring a high level of creativity to their craft, but the sound remains true to their Celtic roots.
“The traditional music of Cape Breton goes back a few hundred years. There was a period when people said the music on the island was more authentic than what was being played in Scotland,” MacNeil said.
It is not only the music that draws on the family’s heritage; their performances blend in dancing, storytelling and Gaelic songs, to create an immersive cultural experience.
Although the family hails from Cape Breton Island, the band’s name also pays homage to their roots across the sea. Barra is an island in Scotland, the ancestral home of Clan MacNeil.
Growing up on the windswept north side of Sydney Harbour may have sheltered the family from the shifting currents of music in the Celtic homeland, yet seems an unlikely locale to produce an internationally-acclaimed musical ensemble.
Sydney Mines was once known for the copper it produced, but the last mine closed in 1975. It is now known primarily for its cold, windy, wet, snowy and very stormy winters. And the Barra MacNeils.
The group has won multiple awards and critical acclaim as a leading concert act. The Barra MacNeils have toured across North America, the Caribbean, Ireland, Scotland and elsewhere. They have released 17 recordings, produced television specials and are regular headliners at festivals.
“We’re very fortunate to do what we do. Next year we’ll be celebrating forty years, and as we get older, we get better at working together,” MacNeil says.
A good thing, because the group faces a rigorous schedule over the next six weeks. From the launch in Whitehorse, Nov. 12 and 13 at the Yukon Arts Centre, the cross-country tour rolls through more than 30 venues, finishing in Nova Scotia three days before Christmas.
“It’s our biggest tour this year, and everybody’s taking their vitamins now.”
Which are, of course, another ancient but time-tested way to ward off winter’s chill but not as much fun as going to the show.
