Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games
Celtic Music 2007

The Town Pants

The Pacific Northwest may not be the first place you would expect to hear rollicking Celtic, Folk or World music, but The Town Pants are determined to change that. The Vancouver, Canada based band combines aspects of Irish traditional, acoustic pop, roots Americana, even Australian and Mexican influences, to create their own unique brand of “West Coast Celtic.” Armed with a pawnshop’s worth of musical instruments, The Town Pants play songs that appeal to young and old alike. The music of The Town Pants remains in the heart and head long after the music stops. The Keogh brothers, Dave and Duane, lead the band in vocals and instrumentation with banjo and acoustic guitar, teamed with Aaron Chapman on tin whistle, harmonica and vocals, and fiddle maven Virginia Schwartz, who weaves a fiery thread through the songs. Together they generate a rare blend of passion, energy, animation and spirit. With the added musical touch of a hand percussionist and bass player, The Town Pants are unsurpassed with their fast-paced West Coast Celtic style.

Feverish and stampeding, The Town Pants’ lively renditions of traditional and contemporary Celtic-influenced tunes, combined with the group’s original compositions, create a distinctive sound that has attracted fans from around the world. At home, Vancouver fans selected The Town Pants as one of their favourite National Celtic/Traditional Acts in Vancouver’s Georgia Straight entertainment weekly annual “Best of Vancouver” readers’ poll, where they were shortlisted with such groups as Great Big Sea and Natalie MacMaster.

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David Leask

 Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, David is a powerful performing songwriter, who has built an artistic bridge between the influences of his birthplace and the fresh possibilities of his newfound Canadian home to produce three critically-acclaimed CD's, one Juno nomination and a bag full of songwriting awards. His music explores the diverse landscapes of human emotion while combining the story-telling tradition of his homeland in his own fusion of Celtic soul and country-pop-rock.

David has received the honour of winning the Mississauga Established Performing Artist of the Year, an award won previously by Oscar Peterson and Rik Emmett. Also, in the last few years, the strength of his songwriting has been recognized by winning 1st place in the International Songwriting Competition, 1st & 2nd place in the Unisong International Songwriting Competition, 2nd place in both the John Lennon Competition and U.S.A. Song Contest - all with different songs.

David’s live show is always musically rich, high energy and heart-felt, whether he’s playing solo, in a trio or backed by his 5-piece band.  The secret lies in his ability to read both his audience and the event and tailor the musical sensibilities of his show accordingly.

Whether playing traditional Celtic material at a Highland Games or Celtic and country-pop at a Civic Canada Day Celebration, his show delivers great music and consummate professionalism. He has shared the stage with such artists as the Waterboys, the Irish Descendants, Barra MacNeil's, Natalie MacMaster, and Bruce Guthro at venues across the country where he continues to captivate audiences with the intensity of his performance and his Scots charm.

Poor Angus

Poor Angus is a Hamilton, Ontario based Celtic ensemble, which mixes the music of past and present in an exciting and fun presentation of traditional and original Scottish, Irish and East Coast pieces. Featuring the masterful highland and uilleann piping and tin whistles of Ross Griffiths and incredible fiddling of virtuoso Andrew Bryan, this talented group is complemented by the voice and fingerstyle guitar playing of noted folk music veteran Scott Cameron Smith and bodhran and guitar of Brian LeBlanc. Rounding out the Poor Angus sound is bass player Tyson Kipfer. Noted also for lovely vocal harmony, this celtic quintet gets toes tapping and hands clapping for audiences of all ages.

WhirylyGig

Passionate about traditional music, WhirlyGig is a traditional celtic ensemble band from the Elora/Fergus/Guelph area that plays music for ceilis, weddings and folk festivals. With Robin Aggus (borderpipes; Scottish smallpipes; highland pipes; whistle), Carolyn Buck (fiddle), Eva McCauley (fiddle; mandolin; concertina), Irene Shelton (keyboard),  Jakob McCauley (bodhran) and Siobhan Harrop (dance caller), WhirlyGig will entertain you with blasts of jigs, reels and hornpipes from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Galicia, as well as haunting airs and songs.

James McKie

James McKie was born and raised in Toronto. At the age of eight years, James started attending St. Michael’s Choir School where he would stay the entire 11 years to graduate. He received daily vocal training, as well as weekly piano lessons. At ten, James began playing violin. He recalls not enjoying it too much until he heard a tape of The Chieftains when he was 12, which changed his musical life. He immediately began picking out tunes and learning them by ear. This is when James’ personal musical interests really began blooming. A couple of summers spent at the Gaelic College in Nova Scotia earned James a thorough understanding of, and deep respect for, Cape Breton fiddle music. At 15, James was featured in the Mirvish production of Needfire. At this age, he started teaching himself guitar through tabs he found on the internet. He then played in a band with Duncan Cameron, playing regularly at pubs in and around Toronto, as well as performing at venues such as the Lunenburg Folk Festival. James was a cast member in the second production of Needfire at the age of 16. At 18, James began playing with Michael O’Grady and his band. In 2002, James and Michael had the honour of playing at the Fleadh Cheoil in Listowell, Ireland. Following this festival, James began studying music at York University, where he had the honour of studying with many incredible teachers. He took Jazz guitar lessons with Lorne Lofsky and Roy Patterson, private Flamenco lessons with Roger Scannurra, and private Improvisational lessons with Matt Brubeck, son of Dave Brubeck. He also took Casey Sokol’s Contemporary Improvisation and Musicianship class, as well as being a member of Rick Lazar’s Escola de Samba, Brian Katz’s Klezmer Ensemble, and Dr. Lisette Canton’s Concert Choir.

His self-titled independent debut album, James McKie, was released on June 23rd, 2005, at Hugh’s Room. James’ new recording project aims to combine many diverse styles and sounds that do not traditionally go together, including Folk, Cajun, Bluegrass, Old Country, Hip Hop, Mento, West African, Brazilian, Québecois, Improvisation, Jazz, Blues, and anything in between. James hopes to achieve with this album what he can only describe as Modern Canadian Music, in which diverse cultural elements combine to create something uniquely Canadian.

The Mudmen

Celtic overtones in a fusion of rock and punk? It’s not for the timid. The MUDMEN are beyond unique in their hard driving sound onslaught. Centered around ripping bagpipes, the MUDMEN have created one of the most mesmerizing rock performances anywhere. The band’s powerfully intense live show has leveled audiences throughout North America over the past four years with its fusion of melody and relentless rock/punk power.

Bagpipe brothers Rob and Sandy Campbell grew up in a small town outside of Sarnia, Ontario with a very Scottish mother who wanted her boys to train on a traditional instrument. Every weekend in the summer they performed at the Highland Games and traveled to Scotland five times to compete in the World Bagpipe Championships. By the late nineties the brothers married their love of the bagpipes with their love of rock, and along with frontman Zoy Nicoles, formed the MUDMEN in 2000.

Recently the MUDMEN have gone through a complete overhaul. “We all feel really good about the changes and believe that we have a strong team behind us that can capitalize on our past success and take us to the next level,” says Sandy Campbell. Along with the Campbell brothers and Zoy, the current line up consists of Matt Coburn on guitar, Rob Rausch on bass, and Ricky Barbosa on the drums.

“We love to tour, tour, tour. Connecting with fans is very important to us and performing is the best way for us to do that”, says Zoy Nicoles. Their larger-than-life live show is a visceral experience that simply must be seen to be believed!

Tom Leadbeater

Out of the musically rich Nova Scotian island called Cape Breton comes tenor, Tom Leadbeater.   His captivating voice, with it's crystal clear tones, rich in harmonics and secure in it's upper range has earned him a reputation of being one of Nova Scotia's finest vocalists.  Born in 1955 in New Waterford, Tom was surrounded from a young age by traditional Nova Scotian music, courtesy of his twelve aunts and uncles.  They often gathered in the kitchen to sing and play various instruments.  By the age of twelve he was playing the guitar.  Tom's mother, who was a professional pianist and fiddler, engaged him to sing during her local musical jobs.  He was 14 years old and knew three songs that he repeated during each set.  Then his early teenage years became filled with musical theatre, which included the lead roles in "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Godspell".

As a young adult, Tom's days took him underground to the Cape Breton coal mines where for sixteen years he earned his living --- yet his evenings were still filled with music as he was a member of several local bands:   Brandy, Three Piece Suit and the Brothers and One.  The task of balancing a day job with musical projects eventually led him to pursue his passion for music on a full time basis.  The year was 1994.  He moved to Halifax where his love of Cape Breton drew him to the folk and traditional music of the province.

He has since left the Pops music scene and has devoted the vast majority of his time to traditional music of the British Isles and to Nova Scotian composers.  The noted Cape Breton writer, Allister MacGillivray forms the backbone of Tom' musical repertoire..

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Nonie Crete and Eugene Rea

The Oakville Celtic Fiddle Club

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