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She has shared the live performance stage with acts ranging from Carlos Santana to the Chieftains, Paul Simon to Luciano Pavarotti, Alison Krauss to Mark O'Connor and dozens of world-class symphony orchestras. She's performed on ABC Television's New Year's Eve broadcast at the special request of one of her greatest fans, host Peter Jennings. She's created, financed and produced her very own nationally broadcast network TV special. Two of her CD's have charted on Billboard's Top 20 Selling World Music charts. Four of her previous five CD releases have been certified "gold" (50,000+) in Canada. Her exhaustive touring schedule has taken her from stages in Hawaii to Antarctica, Alaska to Japan, from Scotland to Italy, Germany to the Hollywood Bowl and beyond. She is often referred to as "the busiest woman in the Canadian music business." TV, radio and print advertising campaigns have featured and incorporated her music and image, including: "Tim Horton's Donuts", "Farmers Dairy - Milk", General Motors - Pontiac" as well as countless charities and fundraisers big and small alike. Her name is, Natalie MacMaster. She is not just a fiddle player. She's a world-class dancer, internationally renowned concert performer and one heck of a down-to-earth person. What music is to Natalie MacMaster is evident in the eyes and on the faces of her fans during any of her concerts; the sheer joy of performance; the absolute love of the music; an unspoken knowledge that something special is being shared. All that Natalie gives…she gets in return. Still, she'd insist that it is she who is on the winning end of the deal.
To speak of Natalie's profile as anything but international and her reputation as anything other than world class, would be doing her and her years of tireless work a great disservice. In what has already been an incredibly busy and successful year, Natalie has just released her first live recording, a two CD set simply titled Live. As with so many other aspects of her career, Natalie has recorded an album about her fans and for her fans, all of them. And it takes two discs to fully capture all of the talent Natalie has to share. Disc one is representative of her high-powered, full band, musically progressive show, which has a reputation of bringing down houses no matter the venue. This collection was culled from the live recording of a concert at The Living Arts Center, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; which also served as the foundation for her nationally broadcast TV special. Disc two features Natalie in her own "backyard" (so to speak) playing for a very traditional Cape Breton style square dance at the Glencoe Mills hall, on a long dirt road deep in the wooded foot hills of Cape Breton near her home of Troy. The CD is a window into the age-old traditions that were the foundation of everything Natalie has since become. All things considered, Natalie's new double live CD packs a very well rounded and diverse musical punch, featuring something for everyone; not only fans of great fiddle playing but any fan of fantastic music. Even as this recording is released Natalie is hard at work in the recording studio in Nashville, TN putting together her next studio release. Also in the works is a DVD release derived from much of the music and associated film and video footage featured on the double live CD. As always, Natalie will be busy touring and performing live, so she'll be seeing everyone soon!
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Hi Natalie,
Thanks for allowing us to do an interview with you for The Canadian Celtic Music Website Spotlight. Congratulations on your 2002 East Coast Music Award (ECMA) for Entertainer of the Year, the only award voted on by the fans. What does this award mean to you? That for me is my favourite award and I've never won it before. I think I've been nominated 7 or 8 times and this was my first fan-only Entertainer of the Year award and it was really, really nice. You never expect yourself to win and you don't want to expect to win. You learn over the years how to take these award shows and you can't put much pressure or expectation on them...it's like, great another award, and let time pass and then the night comes and if you win great and if not well that's fine too. So it was a real nice surprise.
I actually picked up a banjo 15 years ago and just picked at it for a couple of months and then put it in the closet for 15 years. I just took it out again a few months ago and somebody from the ECMA show heard that I was picking at it a bit and said would you play and I said sure why not but I don't play banjo and I haven't played it since the ECMA's. I know about 5 tunes and that's about it. Enough to play it for the show. Your CBC-TV special received great accolades and was enjoyed by many people across Canada. Your show is as much instrumental as it is visual, and this special captured that aspect. Did you get to watch the show at home when it aired? I didn't watch it. I was home and I wouldn't watch it because it really is hard to watch yourself...I find it really hard to do that. I saw the whole program but it was through the editing stages. I was nervous and excited and didn't want to be watching my self anymore on TV because I'd seen it enough. It's a weird thing to have your own special like that and to actually sit down and watch it, it's going to take me a long time to learn how to do that. A new addition to your band, since the TV special was filmed, is piper Matt MacIsaac. What was the reason for adding a piper to the show? What has he brought to your live show? Just nothing but great. He's brought so much life and energy and just a new colour in the music. The pipes are very complementary with the fiddle and go really well together. It's something I've always wanted to have in the band. He's a great guy and he adds a lot both onstage and off. A bonus for your fans is that this new Live CD is a double-CD, featuring a concert from Mississauga, Ontario and a performance at the Glencoe Mills Dance in Cape Breton (which was shown briefly in the TV special). However, the dance that is on the CD isn't the one that was featured on the TV special. When was the dance on the CD recorded and what was the reason for using a different dance on the recording? The Glencoe Dance from the one on the TV special, probably the quality on it may be better but what was lacking was the sound of the crowd and the room sound. This square dance from 1997 was taped for "My Roots Are Showing" but there was only one cut used from it which was the track with my uncle Buddy so we had another 2 1/2 hours of music. So we said we better listen to that and it was just in the spirit department so much greater, more energy totally. Maybe my fiddle wasn't as clear as the other or the sounds weren't as studio like but they were more real and you just felt like you were at Glencoe when you listened to it. I had all the polish and pizazz from the live show with the other disc and I thought this one doesn't have to be polished and I wanted it to be what it is and that's Glencoe. Besides releasing the Live CD this year, I hear you are also working on a brand new CD. Will this CD be in the same direction as "In My Hands", experimenting with new sounds along with the traditional music? It won't be in the same direction of "In My Hands" at all. It will be traditional music experimenting with new sounds but the sounds are different. There is generally more acoustic and more air in the music, like there's no drums or stuff like that. There's more space but nothing like "My Roots are Showing." I don't know anything like it so have nothing to compare it to. You'll just have to wait and hear it! Will we hear any of your own tunes on the next CD? Yes actually. 5 of my own compositions are on the new CD. You have just recently completed a busy western US tour (April). Having toured in the US quite extensively in the past several years, are you recognized down there more now at performances, media appearances, etc.? We've been playing in the States now for many, many years and it never explodes but it always grows. I am constantly touring and being down there, playing the festival circuit and the theatres and it's always getting better. I do notice a difference every time I go down...the halls are a little bit bigger, a few more people, sell a few more CD's, I get recognized maybe a little more than I used to. And if we are close to Canada, there's always a bunch that come down.
Well first of all, I really, really like that and when I go home to Cape Breton it's the same thing. When you go to play at the square dances, there's all ages there and it's a real uniting of ages. What do I attribute it to? Well, I guess the music must be traditional enough for the older folks to enjoy it or maybe relaxed enough...I don't know what it is the older people would find in the music but whatever it is, it must be there. And the young people like fun, hip music and so it must be enough of that for them. I guess it just must be enough of everything...a little big of everything. It's not too far leaning in any one direction...it's not too far trad, it's not too far non-trad. Will there be a theatre tour in Canada this year or are you focussing on festival appearances right now? This year probably not. We were thinking about touring Canada in December but that might get bumped to February / March now. Probably we'll just stick to the festival circuit this year and then start up in the late winter / early spring. For children and adults alike, who might see you perform and would like to learn to play the fiddle, do you have any words of advice for them? Yes I do. If you want to learn to play any instrument what had worked for me when I was learning was that, before I even started to play, I had so much of the music in my head and that was from just listening, listening, listening all the time, not intentionally even. Mom would just have music on in the house all the time so you grow up with that and it does go in. So if you want to be a good musician, listening is just as important as learning and I would strongly recommend that they go collect a good CD collection of the style of music they like and just listen to it often. What CD's can currently be found in Natalie MacMaster's stereo? That's always hard. I'm home so very rarely and I spend so much time like right now I've been recording so the last 6 months of my life has been spent going through old tapes and finding tunes and material and all that stuff so...but let's see...I really like The Dixie Chicks, their last album "Fly" is an awesome album. I like James Taylor...Dave Matthews...I don't have any of his stuff but my band loves his stuff so I'm getting familiar with it. I like Prince...what else...lots of Celtic music like Solas, Sharon Shannon...just about everything! And finally, congratulations on your recent engagement to Donnell Leahy. Thank you! Thanks very much! Best of luck with your career in the months and years to come! Natalie MacMaster |
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"Saturday evening's big thrill came all the way
from Cape Breton, Canada. The fiery Natalie MacMaster and her boys put
together an electrifying performance on the Watson Stage around dusk. This
blonde, fiddle-wielding bolt of lightning led a traditional music tour de
force, complete with step dancing, that brought the fans in the meadow to
their feet. "Exquisite fiddle playing, executed
with attitude... redefines the term 'Celtic Music' and cuts it deeper
into the heart than youthful love carves undying devotion into the trunk of
a walnut tree... "
"Star quality performance with
major potential to cross over into the larger pop music market" - Entertainment Weekly Magazine "One of the brightest young stars
in Cape Breton's vibrant music scene" "MacMaster's a ball of
fire, performing jigs and reels with unstoppable, foot-tapping energy and
ballads with irresitible, keening passion" "Natalie MacMaster fiddled with
more enthusiasm than a whole band" - Chatelaine Magazine "Her playing of strathspeys was
exemplary, each note executed cleanly and evenly, while her reels
flowed forth with exhaustless energy and punch."  "Superb fiddle virtuosity. No other Cape Breton
fiddler is capable of this sort of brilliance. Effortless playing, perfect
pitch, danceable tunes and 'timing' that goes right to your toes"- Chronicle Herald, Halifax "Not only is she one of the crown
jewels of the traditional Cape Breton fiddle scene, but she step dances
while fiddling, without dropping a single beat." "Natalie MacMaster is
Canada's finest fiddler" "After generations of splendid
isolation, Cape Breton music with MacMaster is going out to meet the world.
And the world likes it." - John O'Reagan, Limerick Eire "Her set
received a thunderous ovation for her dynamic combination of feverish fiddle
playing and high kicking step-dancing - at the same time" - Chronicle -Herald, Halifax |
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For the latest tour dates, please visit Natalie MacMaster's website - http://www.nataliemacmaster.com |
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For more info on Natalie MacMaster, check out her website - http://www.nataliemacmaster.com Fan Mail:
Management:
Bookings:
To order Natalie MacMaster's CD's, visit her website, HMV or Amazon. If you're interested in more Canadian Celtic Music, visit the Canadian Celtic Music Website. |
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Congratulations to Sean Winfield from Dayton, Ohio, the winner of Natalie MacMaster's "Live" CD! Thanks to all that entered. |
Eleven
East Coast Music Awards, including 2002 Entertainer of the Year. She's
been named Fiddle Player of the Year the past five consecutive years by
the Canadian Country Music Awards. She's won two Juno Awards (Canada's
Grammy), and speaking of Grammy awards, has been nominated for one as
well. It doesn't stop there; that's only a start, just the beginning.
As a nine year old growing up in the musically and
culturally rich community of Troy, Inverness County, Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia, Canada; (as Natalie often explains in her live shows) she was
perfectly placed to get her start. It was at nine that she first picked up
the fiddle and our exciting journey began. It continues still.
One surprise on the ECMA show was seeing you in
the opening number playing the banjo (I am sure others were like myself
and thinking...that looks like Natalie, is that Natalie?). Where did you
learn to play the banjo?
At your shows, you get a real mix of
attendees...from adults, to seniors, to students and children...many
families come out to your shows...what do you attribute to this great
cross-section popularity?
"The vigorous young fiddler from Cape Breton
Island stole the show in a solo display combined with dazzling
step-dancing"
Heather
Frantsi, ABC Entertainment Inc., 13 Lupin
Lane, Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia, B3V 1K6, Canada, Phone 902-868-1425, Fax
902-484-7935, 
