Last News update on January 04, 2002
September 5, 2001 - Pit Pony Website
Natalie MacMaster will be appearing on the CBC-TV show Pit Pony on Thursday, September 6th at 7pm (check your local listings).February 11, 2001
Congratulations to Natalie on winning the 2001 ECMA for Instrumental Artist of the Year!January 3, 2001 - CBC News
HALIFAX, N.S. - The Grammy nominations were announced today in Beverly Hills and a couple of Nova Scotia natives are in the running.Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster got her first nomination in the Best Traditional Folk category for her album, My Roots Are Showing.
Sarah McLachlan was nominated in the same category for a duet with Cheryl Crow on the album, Live From Central Park.
Winners will be announced February 21 at the 43rd annual Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.
October 17, 2000 - Halifax Herald
By Brian Gorman / TVData Features Syndicate
Natalie MacMaster likes to play dirty.
That's how the 27-year-old Cape Breton fiddle sensation describes her music style during Live at the Rehearsal Hall Natalie MacMaster, airing Saturday at 9 p.m. on Bravo!
This information comes courtesy of a rare moment of lucidity among an otherwise pointless series of conversational interruptions in the hour-long concert special. The problem is that MacMaster isn't much of a talker, especially when it comes to fashioning interesting answers around dull questions. And the adoring audience and affable host, Lance Chilton, don't exactly give her much to work with.
So it's fitting that a high point of MacMaster's performance comes when she abandons speech to answer a question with her violin. The result is twin renditions of a fragment of a Celtic melody, one played "clean" and the other "dirty."
She explains that "clean" is how the tune would be played in Scotland stiff, formal and note-perfect. "Dirty" is the ragged-edged Cape Breton style, where exploring the emotion of the music is more important than technical refinement. With a few strokes of her bow, she demonstrates the theory, and it instantly explains the allure of East Coast music.
Live at the Rehearsal Hall is at its best when the cameras simply focus on the artist's work. The show has refined the well-chosen close-up to a science, and turned the editing of close-up and long shot into an art.
The result is up close and dirty with MacMaster, examining the musician's technical mastery while still appreciating her energy and emotion.
Live from Parliament Hill at noon ET (1 AT, 130 NT, 11 a.m. CT, 10 a.m. MT and 9 a.m. PT), Peter Mansbridge and Alison Smith host a News special featuring performances by Bruce Cockburn, Chantal Kreviazuk, Natalie MacMaster, Roch Voisine, soprano Lyne Fortin and Michael Burgess.
Live sports programming begins at 130 p.m. ET with NHL Cool Shots, a rink look at top NHL players. The World Cup Nokia Open Beach Volley Ball will be seen at 2 p.m. ET and from 4 to 6 p.m. ET it's the Women's World Softball Challenge Final from Brampton, Ontario. Saturday Report will be seen at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. AT and 730 NT).
Barrage, the hot young Celtic-fusion fiddle troupe from Alberta, is featured at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. AT, 830 NT) in Barrage A Musical Invasion of Europe, an hour-long special that highlights the group's amazing virtuosity and high-energy versatility.
Blue Rodeo, one of the most established and perennially popular bands in Canadian music, is featured in The Scenes In Between at 8 p.m. (9 AT and 930 NT). The one-hour special, the band's first, includes them in performance and behind the scenes as they work on their latest CD entitled Behind The Scenes.
The Canada Day evening gala on CBC Television, seen live at 9 p.m. (10 p.m. AT, 1030 p.m. NT) is a star-studded event featuring some of the country’s greatest talents from troubadour Stompin’ Tom Connors, to rock stars of the sixties, current chart toppers and the fresh face of new young talent.
Comic genius Cathy Jones of This Hour Has 22 Minutes joins Quebec singer and theatrical star Luck Mervil, who returns to co-host the show again this year.
Tal Bachman, recording star, two-time 2000 Juno Award winner, chart topper and heart throb, headlines the program. Country sensation Paul Brant, who also won a Juno Award this year, will be there to thrill the audience. Isabelle Boulay, the breath-taking best-selling recording artist in Quebec, and everybody’s favourite legendary Stompin’ Tom Connors will also be on The Hill to celebrate Canada Day.
At 10 (11 p.m. AT, 1130 NT), the moving and tragic story of a fictional Cape Breton family of miners is portrayed in the award-winning feature film Margaret's Museum. (Heather Rankin can be heard throughout the movie singing "Chi Mi Na Morbheanna"(Mist Covered Mountains))
As well, this Saturday, June 24th, The Hanging Garden will air on CBC-TV. Heather Rankin has a small role in the beginning of the film as does Ashley MacIsaac. Released in 1997 and starring Chris Leavins, Troy Veinotte, Kerry Fox, Sarah Polley. Multi-layered psychological drama about Sweet William, the product of a dysfunctional family, who returns home after a ten-year absence to attend his sister's wedding. The film moves in and out of reality, and between present and past; a telling exploration of the complexities and emotional truths of family relationships.
June 8, 2000 - Ottawa Sun
By Ian Nathanson
OTTAWA -- Canada's first birthday of the 21th century would be reason enough to party hearty.
Add a potpourri of live entertainment to go with the thousands of flag-wavers and fireworks that will fill up the downtown core on July 1, and the party gets that much better.
Spread out over Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park and Jacques-Cartier Park in Hull, this year's Canada Day celebrations go bigger on the music front than in years past. And a wide array of talent from practically every province will be represented.
Beginning with the morning flag-raising ceremonies and the Changing of the Guard, the RCMP Musical Ride marks its return to Parliament Hill after a four-year absence.
At noon, the daytime show on the Hill, hosted by Gregory Charles, will feature Natalie MacMaster, Bruce Cockburn, Chantal Kreviazuk, Isabel Boulay, Roch Voisine, Michael Burgess and Lyne Fortin, followed by a Snowbirds flyby.
Boulay, Tal Bachman, jacksoul, Stompin' Tom Connors and Paul Brandt will join hosts Cathy Jones (of This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Quebec entertainer Luck Mervil for the evening festivities that includes a medley of Canadian old-time rock 'n' roll from the likes of Ian Thomas (Painted Ladies) and Crowbar's Kelly Jay (Oh What A Feeling).
Over at Major's Hill Park, musical guests range from Nova Scotia's Slainte Mhath, Tegan and Sara, Tara MacLean and 54-40. And Jacques-Cartier Park in Hull will be highlighted by La Bottaine Souriante and Scruj MacDuhk.
All this, of course, is rounded out with the traditional Canada Day fireworks, taking place at around 10:05 p.m. from Nepean Point, and visible from both sides of the Ottawa River.
For more information about Canada Day celebrations, phone 239-5000, visit the Capital Infocentre (90 Wellington St.) or the National Capital Commission's website at www.capcan.com.
MUCH MORE MUSIC: Cape Breton fiddler MacMaster kicks off the Governor General's Summer Concert Series at 7 p.m., June 30, on the grounds of Rideau Hall. Others in the six-concert series include 5 p.m. shows with Farmer's Daughter (July 16), world-beat group Repercussion (July 23), Quartetto Gelato (July 30) and wrapping up with a 4 p.m. show featuring Sharon, Bram and Company (Aug. 6) ... Wide Mouth Mason must love Ottawa. They've just been added to the Fresh Festival lineup ... And acclaimed singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin -- she of Sunny Came Home fame -- has been confirmed to open for Sting on July 5 at the Bluesfest.
MacMaster is visiting Rome with her brother Kevin and her piano player Mac Morin.
On Wednesday, the trio were guests of the Canadian Embassy in Rome.
Natalie is expected to bring her fiddle along to the Vatican.
MacMaster is also among "New divas crowding onto the scene" according to a feature in The Los Angeles Times.
Writer Don Heckman says although instrumentalists, fiddlers Natalie MacMaster, 27, and hardanger violinist Annbjorg Lien, 29 must be included.
MacMaster's album My Roots Are Showing (Rounder Records) will be released in the U.S. this week.
Heckman writes "it provides an exuberantly delightful sample of her talent for bringing jigs, reels and airs to vivid life. But her live performances, in which she adds simultaneous step dancing to her fiddle playing, are even better, the work of a world music star with real crossover potential."
MacMaster appears at the Hollywood Bowl on July 30.
March 16, 2000 - Nova Scotia Kitchen Party
Jimmy and Raylene Rankin will each give solo performances at the Nova Scotia Kitchen Party next month, organizers of the national CBC radio show have announced.The Rankin family has been in mourning and keeping a low profile since John Morris Rankin's tragic car accident two months ago. But Jimmy and sister Heather attended Sunday's Juno awards ceremony, giving a quick yet emotionally -charged acceptance speech for their best-country-group trophy, which they dedicated to their late brother.
When the family group disbanded last fall, Jimmy Rankin announced plans to pursue a solo career, and we'll finally get to hear his stuff at Pier 21 on April 15, when the star-studded lineup includes P.E.I. fiddler Richard Wood and Newfoundland trio The Ennis Sisters.
Raylene Rankin left the band in November 1998 to devote her attention to motherhood, but performed at a cross-country series of stellar symphony shows with her sisters this past Christmas. She'll take the Kitchen Party stage on April 22, with other guests the Irish Descendants, Cape Breton fiddler Howie MacDonald and pianist Tracey Dares.
Also just announced is the April 8 show John Allan Cameron, Buddy MacMaster and Natalie MacMaster, who just picked up a best instrumental Juno for her album In My Hands.
Tickets for all three concerts go on sale today at 11 a.m. at Sobeys ticket outlets and the Metro Centre box office at 451-1221. Admission is $15, and many previous shows sold out quickly, so get in there fast.
And don't despair if you don't get there in person - the show is broadcast live each Saturday at 405 p.m. on CBC Radio One. (In person, you get an extra hour of entertainment, with the warmup bands starting at 3 p.m.)
In its fifth week with seven more to go, the series has been broadcast around the world, thanks to public radio in the U.S. and Scotland, Radio Canada International, satellite feeds in Europe, and RealAudio on the internet.
In the U.S., 32 public radio stations now carry the show and America Online wants to set up a link from its Atlantic AOL Canada site. The show's Web site - www.halifax.cbc.ca/kitchen party - has received 82,000 hits in the past month, and there's been a mountain of e-mail feedback from across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., and even Japan,Turkey, Germany, France, and Denmark.
"The response is amazing. It's humbling," says producer Mike LaLeune. This Saturday, listen for Acadian talents Grand Derangement and Ronald Bourgeois.
***Note*** Jimmy and Raylene will be performing in the "Minnie Session" portion of the show with Scott MacMillan. It's about 10 minutes long, starting about 15 minutes into the show.
March 13, 2000 - Juno Awards
Congratulations to Natalie on winning the "Instrumental Album of the Year" award for "In My Hands" at the 2000 Junos. Natalie's award was handed out during the ceremony on Saturday night in Toronto. Natalie wasn't in attendance as she was in Vancouver performing with the Vancouver Symphony but she found out and was introduced at the Saturday night concert as the "Instrumental Album of the Year" winner, much to the delight of the 2000+ people in attendance. Natalie presented an award during the CBC televised show on Sunday.
March 12, 2000 - Canadian Press
By ANDREW FLYNN -- Canadian Press
TORONTO -- The first night of Tal Bachman's first Junos
was a double whammy Saturday -- the rookie musician picked up a pair of awards.
Like most of the big winners, Vancouver's Bachman wasn't there to pick up his awards. But
the quadruple nominee will get a shot at another one tonight -- this year the Junos are
divided into two separate evenings.
Bachman, 30, who scored a hit last year with his first single, She's So High, took best
producer and best new solo artist.
"They keep telling me Tal was here, but I know he's not because I bump into him in
bathrooms all the time ...," quipped co-host Kim Stockwood, accepting the award for
best producer on his behalf.
Bachman lost in the best pop adult album category to Winnipeg singer Chantal Kreviazuk for
her album Colour, Moving and Still, but the son of rock legend Randy Bachman is still up
for best songwriter for his self-titled debut album.
In past years, the non-televised awards were crammed into two hours just before cameras
rolled on the main event. To give the 31 off-air nominees a chance to relax and enjoy
themselves, the academy presented their awards Saturday at a champagne dinner at the Metro
Convention Centre.
But nearly half of the winners didn't appear to accept their awards, among them
some big names: Cape Breton fiddler Natalie McMaster, the Tragically Hip, Alanis
Morissette, Shania Twain and Bruce Cockburn.
Daisy Falle, president of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, said she
hopes more winners show up at next year's planned double-Juno nights.
"I think it probably takes time when you do it for the first time they don't realize
what a great event it is," she said after the show.
"They probably thought it was more of the same thing when we used to have the hour in
front of the telecast -- get up and get your award, sit down sort of thing. I think there
were enough people here who thought it was a success."
Saturday's ceremony was hosted by Newfoundland singer Stockwood and Toronto TV personality
Carla Collins and featured performances by Quebec folk band La Bottine Souriante, country
singer Tara Lyn Hart, reggae artists Willi Williams and the Luge Sessions and young
R&B pop duo Sangia.
Morissette won as director for her own video So Pure, but also lost to Kreviazuk in the
pop adult album category. She's up for three awards tonight, best female artist,
songwriter and best album for her latest, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.
Best single went to Kingston, Ont., rock journeymen the Tragically Hip for Bobcaygeon.
Vancouver's Matthew Good Band won best rock album for Beautiful Midnight.
The year's best rap recording went to Choclair for Ice Cold. The Toronto rapper said
despite the low turnout of winners, he favours the two-night Junos, "as long as they
televise both nights."
"Every artist deserves to be on the televised awards," he said.
Best R&B/soul recording was Thinkin' About You, by 2Rude featuring Latoya and Miranda.
Reigning country queen Twain was named country female artist. The Rankins, who lost family
and band member John Morris Rankin in a car accident earlier this year, took best country
group.
"This one's for Johnny M," said Heather Rankin, accepting the award with brother
Jimmy for the now-disbanded group.
MacMaster won best instrumental album for In My Hands. Best alternative
album -- a hotly contested category that included much vaunted new bands Len, Danko Jones
and Tricky Woo -- went to Julie Doiron.
Cockburn's Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu won best solo roots and
traditional album while the group award in that category went to Kings of Love by Blackie
and the Rodeo Kings.
Tonight's show, hosted by teen group the Moffatts (triplets Bob, Clint, and Dave and
brother Scott), will still be the main attraction, with the big prizes such as album of
the year and star performances, including one from Grammy-winning jazz singer Diana Krall.
This time Krall is nominated in just one Juno category, the newly created best vocal jazz
album, for When I Look in Your Eyes.
Also performing on tonight's show are the Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, Our Lady Peace,
Amanda Marshall, Kreviazuk, Prozzak, Choclair, Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale.
Morissette is scheduled to present Sarah McLachlan with the international achievement
award, recognizing the huge international success of the Halifax-born singer and creator
of the all-female Lilith Fair tour.
This year's inductee into the Canadian music hall of fame is Bruce Fairbairn, the
Vancouver producer who worked with many of rock's legends, including KISS, Van Halen,
Chicago, Yes and Loverboy.
Fairbairn died last May. He was 49.
A special achievement award was given posthumously to early recording pioneer Emile
Berliner, marking the 100th anniversary of his registration of "His master's
voice" as a trademark.
Berliner, who lived and worked briefly in Montreal, was instrumental in the founding of
today's major record companies.
Backstage interviews from both nights will be featured on the Juno Web site at www.juno-awards.ca.
February 21, 2000 - Halifax Herald
By Stephen Pedersen / Arts Reporter
If she were British, she'd be the Queen of the Fiddle.
If she were American, she'd be the First Lady.
But this is Nova Scotia, and she's just Our Nat, and we're that proud of her we could burst.
That sums up the feeling of the sold-out crowd Saturday night as Natalie MacMaster brought her road show into the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium to kick off her Maritime tour. Even on a darkened stage, all misted up with smoke and blue lights, when she walked on, the sun came out and the people were moved by sunshiney delight to roar their welcome.
There is a great deal of sophisticated production going on here. The sound is state of the art, the lights and the smoke follow the moods of the tunes and often stripe the inside of the auditorium with ribbons of pulsating light in time to the music.
Stylistically, the band nudges itself as close as it dares to pop, rock and a taste of country swing without numbing the central nerve of Cape Breton fiddle tunes that keeps everything tingling and in touch with the Cape Breton kitchen and social hall.
Few artists could bring off this contradictory melange of urban sophistication and rural artlessness without falling into either slickness or insincerity.
But watching this tall, beautiful, golden-haired, nimble-footed sprite, and listening with tapping toes to the tremendous brilliance of her fiddle-playing, we are overcome with the conviction that we are in the safest of hands. All Natalie MacMaster wants is for us to have a good time, and she dedicates every muscle, every thrust of the bow, every flash of her eyes and every throb of her heart to that purpose.
And then she cracks us up with a corny joke, or develops an inspiring step-dance duet with Mac Morin into a jitterbug, which suddenly turns into a satiric tango.
Such variety and generosity in a performer so astonishingly talented as she, a gift of self and person from a great artist, is irresistible. And seldom do you hear so spontaneous an outpouring of love in return from such a mixed audience of just plain folks - middle-aged, senior citizens and young people.
So it doesn't matter a great deal that the band sometimes sounds muddy with its electronic nimbus of reverberation and often cluttered orchestration. That's just for the high points, anyway. Besides, the sound crew has wired MacMaster's fiddle so hot every little nuance of her playing is heard no matter what the level of the band.
Her virtuosity is impressive. Where most Cape Breton fiddlers play nearly always in first position (the lowest position of the fingers on the fingerboard, right next to the scroll box), she plays all over it at will, just like any good violinist.
But it is her bow that is most virtuosic of all. Her speed, her control, her rich tone and her ability to play short and long, to dig in to the string and snap off percussive attacks so sharp they make your ears snap, is of the highest order.
She makes that fiddle bark, whine and sit up and beg for biscuits.
The tunes on the show came about half from her latest album, In My Hands, and half from her vast repertoire. I don't know if anyone is taking account of this, but surely MacMaster's traditional tune list is so full and so varied it is unique.
Apart from that, when she snaps off those strathspey rhythms so smartly you could cut butter with them, and when she starts driving the tempo ever faster in a fiddle set, the excitement is almost not able to be born by a body in a sitting position. She learned to play by watching dancers, focusing on their feet, and everything she plays makes you want to get up and dance.
The band is great. Brad Davidge on guitar is something of a virtuoso in his own right, full of rhythmic drive and jazz attitude. Bassist John Dymond was having almost as much fun slapping his bass as we were listening to it. Steve O'Connor got in some tasteful licks on piano, organ and accordion, but was underused. Tom Roach on drums is the easiest player in the business to put the beat into your fingers and feet.
Mac Morin, piano player and step dancer extraordinaire, makes an excellent foil for MacMaster. Part straight man, part dancing partner, he is all musician. His solo turn on a fast reel in the second half of the concert was a show turn for the right hand alone.
MacMaster's show is a dazzler - not by any means exhausting in its intensity, but certainly exhilarating. Whether she is making your mouth hang open with her fireworks variations on Tullochgorum, clowning around with Morin in a step dance number, dazing you with her own exuberant step dancing style, or simply standing up at the mike and saying, "Holy smokes, it's great to be here!", she is irresistible.
MacMaster's In My Hands tour plays the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown tonight, The Playhouse in Fredericton on Tuesday, the Imperial Theatre in Saint John on Thursday, the Capitol Theatre in Moncton on Friday, the CEC Auditorium in Truro on Saturday, the SAERC Auditorium in Port Hawkesbury on Sunday, and the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay on Feb. 29.
February 17, 2000 - Halifax Daily News
Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster's career is hotter than ever. She's back home for a tour before continuing her hectic schedule on the world stage.
By Andrea Nemetz / Entertainment Reporter
AREN'T PENGUINS adorable as they waddle across the ice?
Not exactly, says famed fiddler Natalie MacMaster, who got up close and personal with the
squawking birds during an Antarctic cruise to celebrate the millennium.
"We got within 10 feet of chinstrap penguins," she recalls. "They're not
very tall, up to your knees and they make a lot of noise and they're very stinky. There
were hundreds of them on this mound and they were making funny noises, which sometimes
meant they were mating, or they were angry."
Still seeing the penguins and the towering icebergs was very, very interesting, a truly
unique experience says MacMaster, who played, a one-hour New Year's gig on the luxury
liner with her old friends The Chieftains and Diana Krall.
"Antarctica is beautiful," she recalls. Because it was summer there it was a
balmy seven degrees as she became one of just 200,000 people ever to set foot on the
continent.
The new year seems to be shaping up to be every bit as busy as 1999 for the globetrotting
fiddler who is known for her exhausting touring schedule.
Last year, MacMaster played more than 200 concerts in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, as well
as recording her fifth CD In My Hands, which is outselling all her other albums.
After picking up the 1999 East Coast Music Awards Female Artist of the Year she picked up
her first Juno in March for best instrumental album for My Roots are Showing. She is
nominated this year in two Juno categories - instrumental artist and roots/traditional
recording.
Her electrifying duet on the 1999 show with flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook later received a
Gemini for best performance in a variety program.
Though her mom taped it, MacMaster confesses she hasn't had time to watch the special,
which isn't surprising.
In 1999, she also guest-starred on the CBC TV series Pit Pony, received the Successful
Canadian Woman's Award from Adsum House for whom she helped raise funds, performed at the
Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and was guest instructor in Nashville at the Mark
O'Connor Fiddle Camp among many other endeavours.
"Last year was draining, it got really hectic but we got everything done and I had a
wonderful break," admits the 28-year-old, noting she was rejuvenated by her Christmas
at home in Troy with her parents, two older brothers and new nephew.
"Time off does wonders. I always look forward to going home," she says, sounding
impossibly upbeat despite the fact it is her 19th interview of the day.
"You appreciate it more every time. When you get away from it so much, when you
travel so much, you appreciate it so much more."
After a stop in Scotland for the Celtic Connections Festival in January she was back home
in Cape Breton the first week in February to co-host of the 12th annual ECMAs in Sydney
with Newfoundland comedian Shaun Majumder.
"I co-hosted three years ago in Moncton with Roland Gauvin," she says. "It
makes it busier, but in a way it makes it more exciting. I still get the butterflies every
time I have to host something. I could have said no, but I didn't want to turn it down.
It's all part of the ECMA experience for me."
Leading the pack of ECMA 2000 nominees with seven awards, her most ever, she picked up two
- female artist of the year and roots/traditional solo artist.
MacMaster also startled audiences with the rubber boots under her elegant gown, and closed
off the gala awards ceremony with a rousing display of fiddling and step-dancing.
She brings her high-energy performance to the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium for two shows: a
sold-out Saturday date and a Sunday show.
Shows are also scheduled for CEC in Truro, Saturday, Feb. 26, SAERC in Port Hawkesbury on
Sunday, Feb. 27 and Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 29. All shows are 8 p.m.
"A lot of the music, at least 50 per cent will be from the new album. I've never done
that high a percentage of music from an album. But it just works. A lot of tunes on In My
Hands work really well live.
"My attitude to a live show is different than my attitude to recording. The flow of a
show is different than the flow of a CD. Unlike other bands, who tour albums specifically,
sing songs exactly as they are on album, we do a lot of medleys of other tunes."
Since September MacMaster has also been performing the title track In My Hands, her sultry
songspeak ode to her fiddle, with a Gordie Sampson arrangement of the traditional tune The
Drunken Landlady and lyrics by MacMaster and Amy Sky.
"I hope I'll have the guts to do it in my own area," she laughs. "I still
get nervous, but I really enjoy doing it live. Whatever I do, if it's in my home town I'm
always more self-conscious. I get a little more nervous when I play at home, everyone
knows the music so well you can't get away with anything."
In between the ECMAs and the Maritime tour, MacMaster visited El Salvador with the
Canadian Catholic organizationDevelopment and Peace, dedicated to promoting farm co-ops,
literacy and skills training.
"I'm a spokesperson and they want me to see first-hand the communities and how the
money goes to help the communities help themselves," she explains.
She'll heat up the Atlantic Airwaves Kitchen Party series on April 8 at Pier 21, before
going on a real vacation in Rome.
Then she'll hit the road with an extensive American tour that includes a big show at the
Hollywood Bowl in July.
She'll probably miss Tim Horton's coffee south of the border.
MacMaster appeared in a memorable commercial for the coffee chain and confirms the band
stops at Tim's for breakfast every day, just like on TV.
"I get a toasted everything bagel and OJ," she confesses. "I'm not a big
morning coffee drinker, I usually have coffee in the afternoon, but Tim Horton's is my
brand."
February 7, 2000
The 2000 ECMA's were held last night in Sydney, NS. Natalie co-hosted the awards show as well as performing "The Olympic Reel" with her band to close the show. The big news is that Natalie won 2 awards - Female Artist of the Year and Roots/Traditional Solo Artist of the Year. Congratulations Natalie!
Here's a list of the winners from the 2000 ECMA's:
Male Artist of the Year
Richard Wood, Dave Carmichael, John Gracie, Dave MacIsaac, Ian Janes
Pop/ Rock Artist/Group of the Year
Kim Stockwood, Greyloch, Anne Murray, Artists in Residence, Nicholson
Gospel Artist of the Year
Jericho Road, Cape Breton Trio, The LaPointes, The NS Mass Choir, Jamie MacKay & the Great Beyond
Female Artist of the Year
Mary Jane Lamond, Kim Stockwood, Rita MacNeil, Julie Doiron, Anne Murray, Natalie MacMaster
Alternative Artist/Group of the Year
An Acoustic Sin, Fur Packed Action, Nathan’s Flat, Chris Colepaugh & The Cosmic Crew, Smere
Instrumental Artist/Group of the Year
Richard Wood, Scott Macmillan, JP Cormier, Ken Enman, Danette Eddy
Group of the Year
Great Big Sea, Kilt, The Fables, Barachois, Sons of Maxwell, Glamour Puss
Jazz Artist/Group of the Year
Jive Kings, Jerry Granelli, Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Jeff Johnston,
Urban Recording of the Year
The Time (Jamie Sparks), Pierced Matron (Nancy White), Magic (Dion), Touch of Class EP (Classified)
Country Artist/Group of The Year
John Curtis Sampson, John Gracie, Kim Albert, Kim Gould, Sons of Maxwell
Blues Artist/Group of the Year
Denis Parker, Glamour Puss, Andy Cottle & Double Cross, Ian Janes, Barry Mack
Classical Recording of the Year
A Deux (Duo Concertante), S.L. Weiss: Volume 7 (Michel Cardin), Canadian Music for Clarinet (James & Penelope Mark), Valentina (Valentina Kotka), Reaching From the Rock (NF Symphony Youth Choir)
New Artist/Group of the Year
Dave Carmichael, Ian Janes, John Curtis Sampson, Fur Packed Action, Cory Tetford
Aboriginal Artist/Group of the Year
Eagle Feather, Morning Star, The Relatives,
Roots/Traditional Group of the Year
Great Big Sea, Kilt, Tickle Harbour, Christina Smith & Jean Hewson, Barachois
Children’s Artist/Group of the Year
Rik Barron, Duncan Wells, Kidd Brothers, Sunshine Sue
Francophone Recording of the Year
Encore! (Barachois), Acadilac (Acadilac), Roule, roule (Cayouche), L’Amour Comme Passager (Gerry Boudreau), Par Icite, pi par la (Harmonie)
Roots/Traditional Solo Artist of the Year
Natalie MacMaster, Mary Jane Lamond, Dave MacIsaac, Howie MacDonald, Brent Mason
Album of the Year
In My Hands -- Natalie MacMaster, Turn -- Great Big Sea, 12 Years Old -- Kim Stockwood, Lan Duil -- Mary Jane Lamond, Tear Down The House -- The Fables
Entertainer of the Year
Great Big Sea, Natalie MacMaster, Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra, Kim Stockwood, Mary Jane Lamond
Single of The Year
Sorry -- Gordie Sampson, 12 Years Old -- Kim Stockwood, Consequence Free -- Great Big Sea, In My Hands -- Natalie MacMaster, Trip -- Gordie Sampson
SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
Gordie Sampson -- Gordie Sampson -- Sorry, Gordie Sampson -- Gordie Sampson -- Trip, Great Big Sea -- Doyle/ McCann -- Consequence Free, Kim Stockwood -- Stockwood/12 Years Old -- Veltese/Frempong, Natalie MacMaster -- Sampson/MacMaster/ -- In My Hands Sky
Video of the Year
Sorry -- Gordie Sampson, Bells -- The Rankins, In My Hands -- Natalie MacMaster, A Time -- An Acoustic Sin, Desperately -- Shirley Eikhard
February 6, 2000 - MerleFest
MerleFest is a huge music festival that takes place in Wilkesboro, NC every year. This year the dates are April 27-30, 2000. Natalie MacMaster will be appearing this year on the 29th and 30th (Saturday/Sunday). And for the first time, this year's festival will be broadcast on the Internet. Visit the Official MerleFest Website.
Natalie's scheduled performances at the festival are:
Saturday April 29th:
12:00pm - 12:45pm - Pit Stage
2:30pm - 3:30pm - Dance Stage
7:00pm - 7:55pm - Watson Stage
Sunday April 30th:
11:00am - 12:00pm - Hillside Stage
1:00pm - 1:45pm - Creekside Stage
4:10pm - 4:30pm - Cabin Stage
This lineup is subject to change.
February 3, 2000 - Kitchen Party
The Barra MacNeils, Natalie MacMaster, and Mary Jane Lamond are among the performers slated for the Nova Scotia Kitchen Party, an 11-week music series at Pier 21 on the waterfront (in Halifax).
Performances take place on Saturday afternoons at 3 pm from February 19 to April 29th. and at 4:05 pm will be broadcast on CBC Radio.
Also on the roster are Newfoundland's Ennis Sisters, Richard Wood, Gordie Sampson, The Fables, and from Scotland, the Battlefield Band and Archie Fisher. Max MacDonald, the popular Cape Breton musician and comedian will host the series.
Each show will also feature guitarist Scott MacMillan with special guests including Buddy MacMaster, Felix & Formanger, Dave MacIsaac, Jon Goodman, JP Cormier, Jerry Holland and Lennie Gallant.
This music series will air on CBC Radio One and will be the first weekly live music/variety series broadcast in Canada since Don Messer and The Islanders 50 years ago.
The broadcasts will also be carried by public radio in the United States, BBC Scotland, Radio Canada International, satellite in Europe, and over the Internet in Real Audio (click on Halifax Live)
Tickets for the Nova Scotia Kitchen Party are available through the Metro Centre Box Office 451-1221 and all regular Sobey's ticket outlets. Tickets are $15.00 (+ applicable service charges). Seating is limited.
The first show will be February 19th, with the Barra MacNeils and Archie Fisher from Scotland as the features. During Scott MacMillans "Minnie Sessions", we will see and hear Dave MacIsaac.
The following week, February 26, will have Mary Jane Lamond and Gordie Sampson. Newfoundlands Bernard Felix will be the guest on the "Minnie Sessions" portion of the show.
March 4th has The Fables, Bruce Guthro and Jon Goodman and on March 11, Great Big Sea, Mark Haines and Tom Leighton and Rita MacNeil.
Natalie MacMaster appears on the show Saturday April 8.
February 3, 2000 - Juno Awards
Congratulations to Natalie who has been nominated for 2 Junos at the 2000 Awards. Natalie is up for Best Instrumental Album "In My Hands" and Best Roots/Traditional Album "In My Hands." The awards will be handed out on Sunday March 12th on CBC-TV.
January 14, 2000 - Halifax Herald
MacMaster, Majumder to co-host 12th gala; Hank Snow tribute planned
By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter
Organizers behind the gala East Coast Music Awards Show in Sydney are promising a hot time in the steel town the night of Feb. 6, 9 p.m., at Centre 200.
Promising to showcase the widest array of music yet seen in an ECMA broadcast, the show's producers, the East Coast Music Association and CBC-TV, unveiled a "star-studded line-up" at a lively news conference on Thursday morning at CBC's Bell Road studio.
Bookended by live tunes by traditional Newfoundland group The Fables, producers Geoff D'Eon, Michael Lewis and Jac Gautreau reeled off an impressive list of performers that included the Barra MacNeils, Kim Stockwood, Mary Jane Lamond, Gordie Sampson and Bruce Guthro.
The show will also give national television exposure to a number of rising independent performers like Annapolis Valley singer/songwriter Ian Janes, raucous Newfoundland trio Fur Packed Action, and progressive New Brunswick acts An Acoustic Sin and Julie Doiron.
Globetrotting Troy fiddler Natalie MacMaster will also perform, in addition to her duties as co-host of the show, with Newfoundland comedian Shaun Majumder, who joined the announcement by satellite from Toronto.
"I'm completely thrilled to be in Cape Breton for the ECMAs," said MacMaster. "It's good to get a gig at home."
Majumder joked about being from a long line of Newfoundland entertainers that includes Harry Hibbs, Dick Nolan and Playboy playmate Shannon Tweed.
"Not many people know the Backstreet Boys are really from Torbay," he added with a grin. "They were originally just called Da Boys."
Janes, recently named an artist to watch in 2000 by Maclean's magazine, attended the announcement and is psyched to appear on national TV with a full band including horns.
"I'm happy to promote East Coast soul and RB," said Janes, "and it's nice to have so many indie acts on the show this year."
One name conspicuous by its absence on the list of performers is that of Creignish fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, currently under the media microscope for his ribald shenanigans at a New Year's Eve rave.
"You can't start planning a show like this without having Ashley on the drawing board," said Gautreau, "but the situation is, he isn't nominated for an award this year. He's still part of our discussions, but so far he's not on board."
Gautreau added it would be a challenge to keep the show to two hours with the number of artists planned, and that a few awards would be moved to the pre-show segment that is seen only by the audience in the arena.
Other features of the gala include a classical music segment with ECMA-nominated pianist Valentina Kotko and acclaimed soprano Measha Bruggerman Gosman and a tribute to Nova Scotia country music legend Hank Snow, who passed away just before Christmas.
ECMA nominee John Gracie will be part of the Hank Snow Tribute, said his wife Andree.
About 10 more acts are being considered for the show.
An industrial-looking model of the set, designed by Tom Anthes, was also on display, described by Gautreau as "part steel mill/part coal mine/part Blade Runner," covered by steel railings and painted with the look of worn metal.
Plans were also unveiled by CBC's John Dalton for ECMA radio broadcasts, with CBC Radio One featuring live music on Mainstreet on Friday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. and on Atlantic Airwaves on Saturday, Feb.5 at 5 p.m.
CBC Radio Two's Radiosonic will be broadcast live from the Sydney Delta Hotel on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. and broadcast the awards show live in stereo on Sunday, Feb. 6.
Tickets for the gala show are going fast - less than 400 remain - and can be bought at Cape Breton Select-A-Seat outlets or by calling (902) 564-6668.
January 13, 2000 - Halifax Herald
Acclaimed Troy fiddler Natalie MacMaster's worldwide touring schedule finally brings her back home for a series of February concerts.MacMaster has been in high demand since the release of her latest album In My Hands, even playing on a cruise in Anarctica with The Chieftains and Diana Krall.
Her Maritime tour starts on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Halifax's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, and continues through P.E.I. and New Brunswick before returning to Nova Scotia for dates at the CEC Auditorium in Truro (tickets on sale at MacQuarries Pharmacy) on Saturday, Feb. 26, the SAERC Auditorium in Port Hawkesbury on Sunday, Feb. 27 and Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 29.
The Tattler has learned that the show from the Rebecca Cohn will be taped for a television special.
January 13, 2000
Halifax – Cape Breton fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster and Shaun Majumder – the hottest new comedic talent from Newfoundland – will co-host this year’s star-studded East Coast Music Awards Show, February 6, 2000 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This year’s gala at Centre 200 features many of Atlantic Canada’s top performers from a broad spectrum of musical styles.
Featured in the show line-up are popular ECMA-nominated artists Kim Stockwood, Mary Jane Lamond, Gordie Sampson, The Fables, Ian Janes, Julie Doiron, An Acoustic Sin, and the riveting Fur Packed Action. Also, there is a classical performance by the acclaimed soprano Measha Bruggerman Gosman, and ECMA nominated pianist Valentina Kotko.
Other musical treats include the show opening, (which promises to surprise), and a tribute to the late, great country legend Hank Snow.
"With this many stars on our bill, Canadians can anticipate bright skies on the evening of February sixth," says Marcel McKeough, Chair of the East Coast Music Association. "The East Coast Music Association is thrilled to offer a show featuring some amazing talent and we are equally excited for all the nominees and wish them the very best."
CBC Award Show producers Geoff D’Eon and Michael Lewis, along with ECMA producer Jac Gautreau, are happy that the line up of talent represents the diversity of Atlantic Canada’s music scene, from pop to rock, to alternative to classical and celtic.
Broadcast live on CBC Television and CBC Radio Two, eight award categories will be presented during the show, including Entertainer of the Year. Viewers can now vote for their favourite East Coast Entertainer of the Year by calling 1-900-870-ECMA (3262) by February 1 (5 pm AST). Nominated for this year’s award are Great Big Sea, Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra, Kim Stockwood, Mary Jane Lamond and Natalie MacMaster. Each call will cost 99 cents and a touch tone phone is required to vote. The Entertainer of the Year Award, sponsored by The Cape Breton Post, is the only award decided upon by the public.
Fewer than 400 tickets remain for the Gala Awards show which caps off the East Coast Music Awards and Conference in Sydney, February 3 to 6. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at all Cape Breton Select-A-Seat outlets or by calling (902) 564-6668.
ECMA 2000 will also feature a new event for the Awards and Conference weekend. On Friday, February 4, ECMA will present Nancy White’s Jokebox at Glace Bay’s Savoy Theatre. This concert will be a celebration of the comedy song as Nancy welcomes Kim Stockwood, Gordie Sampson, Howie MacDonald, Terry Kelly, Bette MacDonald, Maynard Morrison, Jean Hewson and Christine Smith. Show time is 7 pm and the $17.50 tickets can be purchased by calling 902-564-6668.