From the opening show, entitled Home is Where the Heart Is, to the closing concert, entitled Songs From Home, Celtic Colours 2010 will have will have a special focus on the idea of home.
“Everyone has a feeling of what home means to them,” said Joella Foulds, co-founder and artistic director of the festival, noting those feelings will be explored by the many local, national and international artists headed this way this fall.
“We’re bringing home some artists from here who we don’t always get to see, but also bringing back artists who have a feeling that this is like a second home to them, in some cases, or they have a strong connection here.”
Some of the island’s most famous musical faces will be back for the 2010 festival, including Natalie MacMaster, Rita MacNeil, Bruce Guthro and Mary Jane Lamond.
Ireland and Scotland will be well represented at Celtic Colours again this year with renowned international artists like Liz Doherty, Alisdair Fraser, Tony McManus, Maire O’Keeffe, Nuala Kennedy, Chris Stout and Catriona McKay set to return to the festival.
As always, the festival will also welcome first-time performances with Madison Violet — featuring Creignish native Lisa MacIsaac and Brenley MacEachern, a Toronto resident with family ties to Cape Breton — and Nova Scotia’s Old Man Luedecke and Newfoundland’s The Once, among those making their Celtic Colours debut in 2010.
“We’re bringing home some artists from here who we don’t always get to see, but also bringing back artists who have a feeling that this is like a second home to them, in some cases, or they have a strong connection here.” - Joella Foulds, co-founder and artistic director of Celtic Colours
Other Cape Breton artists set to grace a Celtic Colours stage during the nine-day, 45-show festival include Howie MacDonald, Brenda Stubbert, Andrea Beaton, Dwayne Cote, Carmel Mikol, Rosie MacKenzie, Mac Morin, Rodney MacDonald, Glenn Graham, Tracey Dares MacNeil, Doug MacPhee, and Kinnon and Betty Lou Beaton.
“We really think that this festival is going to be a bit of a tug-at-your-heart-strings kind of festival,” said Foulds.
Celtic Colours will once again feature some special initiatives with the goal of creating brand new material and songs. There will be a Gaelic songwriting project, a tune writing project, and another project which will bring together young songwriters and tune players to write songs around traditional tunes.
“Culture is a living thing and it’s very important that we provide opportunities, not only to do the work but to present the work,” said Foulds, noting the new music created as a result of these projects will be featured in Celtic Colours shows.
Tickets for all Celtic Colours shows will go on sale July 5.
For a complete list of artists, shows, and for more information go to www.celtic-colours.com.
