Meet "The Cottars" - Ciaran & Fiona MacGillivray (13 & 12 years old) and Roseanne & Jimmy MacKenzie (14 & 11 years old) - two sets of siblings from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The siblings only met a couple of years ago at a festival in Cape Breton where they were each performing as duets.  They hit it off perfectly when introduced and they each bring their own talents to the group and complement and enhance each other's singing and playing.

The band gets their name from a school project that Fiona MacGillivray was working on.  During the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Scottish settlers were kicked out from their homes and sent overseas to Canada, in particular Nova Scotia & Cape Breton Island.  The people of Nova Scotia called the new arrivals "cots", possibly because either of the small cottages they lived in or the small beds they slept in.

Most kids this age these days are thinking about how they'll be spending their summer vacations.  The Cottars, however, already know what they'll be doing - touring and performing their style of Celtic music around the country, with dates already booked in Nova Scotia and the New England states, as well as appearing in their first CBC-TV Special "Meet the Cottars."  It's going to be a busy summer for these performers, but that's what these youth want to do.  And audiences are loving every minute of their performance!

And to top it off, they've got Celtic singer John McDermott as one of their biggest fans.  They've already performed in the New England area with McDermott and appeared on his PBS Special "A Time to Remember."  As well, he appears on and is the Executive Producer for the Cottars debut recording "Made In Cape Breton."

This collection of 13 traditional and original songs and tunes captures the talent, youthfulness, spunk and energy of these performers.

The CD opens with Fiona's angelic voice on 'Suilean Dubh", a song that her mother, Beverly MacGillivray, sang with Raylene Rankin in the 1970's & 1980's Cape Breton show "The Rise and Follies of Cape Breton."  For being only 11, Fiona has a very mature way about her.  It's like she's been performing all her life, which is almost true.  Her father, Allister MacGillivray, is one of Cape Breton's finest songwriters and singers.  While growing up, musicians were always stopping by the MacGillivray house and the children were encouraged to participate in these gatherings.

Fiona's brother Ciaran shines on lead vocals on the "Two Brother's Medley" and his fine piano playing is showcased during "Ciaran's Piano Medley."

Roseanne & Jimmy MacKenzie are the other pair of siblings that make up The Cottars.  Roseanne, age 11, has been called one of Cape Breton's talented young fiddlers.  Her energetic style of playing shines through on "The Captain Campbell Medley" and "The Pleasures of Home Medley."  Jimmy plays guitar and bodhran during these numbers.  You'll recognize a lot of the tunes being played, this time by the next generation of musicians from Cape Breton.

Fiona is the lead vocalist and she sends shivers down your spine on such songs as "Ballinderry" and "The Briar and the Rose."  The latter tune has almost become a signature song for the band.  Although Fiona is quite capable of standing out on her, her voice also compliments that of John McDermott on such songs as "Scarlet Ribbons" and "Here's To Song," the latter tune written by Ciaran & Fiona's father, Allister MacGillivray.  The CD concludes with "Kitchen Racket" featuring some fine fiddling and stepdancing.

Following in the footsteps of such legendary Cape Breton groups The Rankins and The Barra MacNeils, The Cottars prove that the music is alive and strong in today's youth.  As Charlie Cahill from New Scotland Pictures says, "They are real kids who do amazing stuff" and The Inverness Oran has said they are "A stunning revelation of gifted youth."  

1. Suileah Dubh

2. The Captain Campbell Medley

3. I Know Who Is Sick

4. The Boy's Lament Medley

5. Ballinderry

6. The Two Brothers Medley

7. Scarlet Ribbons

8. Ciaran's Piano Medley

9. The Coulin / Hornpipes Medley

10. The Briar & The Rose

11. The Pleasures of Home Medley

12. Here's To Song

13. Kitchen Racket