Ashley MacIsaac
We appreciate your help!
2019
PM
MEL LEHAN HALL AT ST. JAMES i
3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano
Accessible 
All ages
This event has already taken place.
There is a discounted FESTIVAL PASS available for all 4 Fiddle Festival Shows. Order tickets for each individual show in succession. After all four shows are done, your cumulative price will automatically drop to $110 per person. Please note that this offer cannot be used with any of our other regular discounts.
SCROLL DOWN for information on workshops by all three players in this concert.
This event was made possible in part by the generous financial support of MONICA DARE. Thanks, Monica!
The traditional music / fiddle event of the year featuring Cape Breton fiddling sensation Ashley MacIsaac and BC’s own guitar phenom Quinn Bachand!
It will have been 10 years since Ashley MacIsaac and Quinn Bachand played their first gig together at Vancouver's Vogue Theatre. Ashley had found Quinn on YouTube and impressed with his playing, reached out to see if he'd be available to perform with him during Vancouver Celtic Fest. Quinn was obviously thrilled with the idea, the pair met the day of the show, had less than two hours to rehearse, then proceeded to blow everyone away during their full length set. Here’s a short clip from that night: https://youtu.be/gI2_k3ughJY
Since then Ashley and Quinn have performed at Vancouver's Winter Olympics, toured across Canada, performing on main stages at festivals such as Edmonton Folk Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, Vancouver Island Musicfest and Cavendish Beach Music Festival. They've also performed in Australia including a 3-week tour during the Ten Days on the Island Festival in Tasmania and Castlemaine State Festival, outside Melbourne.
Ashley MacIsaac needs no introduction. He is one of the most celebrated Canadian roots musicians of all time, having sold in excess of 500,000 albums, Ashley has garnered international acclaim by playing the fiddle in that hard-nosed, traditional Cape-Breton style, while adding his own spin, mixing genres and updating Celtic music to appeal to a broader spectrum of fans. Considered something of a local legend and prodigy by the time of his impressive 1992 debut Close To The Floor, Ashley broke through to the mainstream with the double-platinum genre-bending Hi, How Are You Today? in 1995. International radio play for the single, Sleepy Maggie, and a regular slot on MuchMusic made Ashley an instant Canadian icon.
Much has been said about the antics of the enfant terrible of the fiddle, but only because he has had international success and notoriety from an early age and grew up under the spotlight as one of the most dynamic fiddlers from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. MacIsaac constantly pushed the traditional styles of Celtic music as he grew up and incorporated rock, pop, and everything imaginable in between.
A renowned fiddle player, piano player and step dancer, Ashley MacIsaac has performed in the opening ceremonies at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics to a worldwide audience and with artists such as Phillip Glass and The Chieftains. Ashley also played with The White Stripes for their Under Great White Northern Lights Canadian tour which was turned in to a documentary. He has appeared on the Conan O’Brian show, the Today Show and has been a spotlight at international festivals, theatres and halls all over the world. He has also been featured on Bravo’s celebrity series Star Portraits and CBC’s acclaimed series Life & Times.
The talented duo of Qristina and Quinn Bachand will open the show.
With diverse musical talents and a bottomless pool of creativity, Quinn Bachand is recognized as the "Young Lion of the Celtic guitar" (Daniel Lapp) and "Canada's top Celtic guitarist" (Ashley MacIsaac). Although Quinn plays a range of styles that include jazz and bluegrass, it is his talents in the world of Celtic music that have drawn much attention. A gifted and creative guitar player, Quinn adds a contemporary edge to traditional Celtic music. His unique harmonies, hard-driving strumming, inventive chord voicing and powerful rhythmic effects make even the most well-worn tunes seem new and exciting. His work in the duo with sister Qristina, as well as his gypsy jazz project, Brishen, have earned him a mantle-packing collection of national and international nominations and awards. These include 8 nominations at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, 4 nominations at the Western Canadian Music Awards, an Emerging Artist Finalist position in RBC Canada's Walk of Fame, the Saga Djangofest Award, two consecutive wins at the Irish Music Awards, 2010 Top Duo and 2011 Top Traditional Group and most recently a win at the Independent Music Awards for his latest Brishen album Blue Verdun.
An in-demand sideman, in addition to tours with Ashley, Quinn has also toured internationally with Canadian fiddling icon Natalie MacMaster. Quinn is also a member of Kittel & Co., recording and performing with the Grammy nominated fiddler across the US and Canada. A proficient multi-instrumentalist, Quinn is equally at ease playing Irish tenor banjo, claw hammer banjo, bouzouki, bodhran and fiddle. In 2014 Quinn was awarded the prestigious Slaight Scholarship (a full ride) to Berklee College of Music in Boston, He graduated in December 2018.
WORKSHOPS on the day of the show!
Cape Breton Fiddle with Ashley MacIsaac - 3pm to 4pm. Admission - $30
In this one hour workshop, participants will go over some of the tunes Ashley will be performing during the upcoming concert. With up close and direct interaction with Ashley, this workshop will allow you to delve deep into to Cape Breton style of fiddling. Please note participants must have a proficient level of violin playing skills to truly participate as it will go by quickly. Recording devices will be allowed. Space is limited - Please reserve HERE.
Rhythm Accompaniment for Acoustic Guitar with Quinn Bachand - 4:15pm to 5:15pm. Admission - $20
This workshop is designed to look at essential right and left hand techniques that will help you create a full and supportive sound on the acoustic guitar. We will look at chord voicings and rhythmic templates that fill out and lay a solid foundation for the music you’re accompanying. You’ll leave this class with helpful tab charts and practice techniques to reference and push you forward. Space is limited - Please reserve HERE.
Crooked Fiddle Tunes with Qristina Bachand - 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Admission - $20
Tired of predictable patterns and your standard 32-bar tunes? During this fun fiddle workshop we will explore music with eccentric phrasing and learn some “crooked” tunes. Crooked tunes are quirky around the edges; instinctively correct rather than technically correct. Whether the number of bars be odd or fractions of a bar be added or omitted, during this workshop you will discover how satisfying these crooked tunes are to play! This is an all-ages workshop for intermediate to advanced players. Space is limited - Please reserve HERE.
The Rogue Folk Club is pleased to provide great Sponsorship Opportunities for all our shows. For a nominal cost, individuals or businesses can sponsor any of our shows and reap a number of benefits - free tickets,reserved table, recognition on literature, our web site and at the concerts. Find out more here, or simply contact our Sponsorship Director Morris Biddle at mobiddley@me.com