![]() ![]() We drove to the concert with snow falling so this concert had a real holiday feel to it. Their music always lifts us up and energizes the audience. Diane and I have seen Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy numerous times over the years. In addition to MacMaster and Leahy–two world-class fiddlers–there were bag-pipers and drummers and step-dancing! Something for everyone. And you have to be a little bit crazy, that helps.Fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy (her husband) arrived at SUNY AT BUFFALO’s Center for the Arts and delivered a rollicking Christmas concert. And then if you have already made the commitment, things will fall into place. Start planning early, think big but start small. You have to have a lot of passion and desire and determination for it and if you do, you have to start somewhere so just start. What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to start up a festival in their area? The biggest challenges are all the things we didn’t think of when we were just excited to put on a music festival. The biggest challenge is just the sheer amount of detail, there is so much involved in hosting a public event, from health and safety to electricity and internet, washroom facilities, ticketing, promotion etc. What have been the biggest challenges that have come up when planning the festival? ![]() You are going to be able to smell Cape Breton from where we are at. And its not just music, the cultures of Cape Breton and Ireland are going to well represented, not just in music but in garb, in setting, in workshops, with vendors. ![]() They have been hand-picked and we are excited for every act that is coming and can’t wait for the festival goers to see and hear them, these are all performers that we have spoken about, told our friends about and we can’t wait to present them. Is there a certain act that you’re most looking forward to checking out?Īll of them. Then the next step was to make contact to confirm availability and that cut the list further to who we have performing. #Natalie macmaster tour 2017 freeAnd then it depends on who is available, everyone we have was on our list, was available, that is the way it worked out.Because it is our first festival, we started with a big list of all the people we would like to have and when we researched who was free and who was already booked, that cut the list in half. We wanted the music to reflect both our culture and our tastes, that is where we started. How did you go about choosing the lineup for the festival? We have to get the ideas and music in place primarily, much of the logistics are handled by our team of dedicated professionals. We want to run it a certain way and we are very passionate about it. Selecting the site, designing the branding, all the marketing, all the planning, selecting the team. What are some of your responsibilities as festival organizers?Īll of them!! We program the festival, we are hands on in every respect. I (Donnell) have always had ideas about how I would do things as a promoter, what artists I would book. ![]() Seeing great things in festivals where we were performing made us think about great it would be to bring that culture home. We first had the idea for the festival about ten years ago. When did you decide to start Greenbridge Celtic Folk Festival? Why? Natalie – my first experience with the industry was around 1989 when I recorded my first cassette tape, Mom sold it out of the trunk of the car but eventually we got it into stores. I saw them entertaining people, bringing money home and spending it on groceries. When I was old enough to fall asleep under the piano I would go with them. What was your first experience in the music industry?ĭonnell – my parents had a van and played locally at round dances, square dances and weddings. The Greenbridge Celtic Folk Festival will take place in Keene, ON from August 25 to August 26 and you can find much more information on the festival HERE.įirst off, care to introduce yourselves to our readers? #Natalie macmaster tour 2017 seriesWe had the chance to ask Greenbridge Celtic Folk Festival organizers, Donnell Leahy and Natalie MacMaster a series of questions for our newest segment of Inside the Music. ![]()
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