BATH — The Chocolate Church Arts Center will kick off a winter series featuring some of the liveliest expressions of the Cape Breton Celtic scene with renowned musicians Richard Wood and Gordon Belsher.
Performing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, legendary fiddler Richard Wood and award-winning guitarist and vocalist Gordon Belsher will take the stage to perform Celtic-inspired music, sea shanties, plus more in their unique style that has brought them fans from all over the globe.
A child prodigy and fiddler par excellence, Prince Edward Island native Wood has performed for audiences all across Canada and the U.S., as well as in Europe, Japan and Australia. He has appeared with Shania Twain on “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Good Morning America,” and with Irish music legends The Chieftains at Carnegie Hall. Wood has also performed for Canada’s prime minister, the queen of England in Toronto and the emperor of Japan. He has also performed for the Canadian armed forces in both Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Having toured in Canada and elsewhere with Wood since 1995 as accompanist and featured vocalist is Belsher, another Prince Edward Island musician from Guernsey Cove. Belsher also operates his own recording studio called Guernsey Cove Parlour Productions. He was the recipient of the prestigious Music PEI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. Tickets are $15.
The series continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, with guitarist Scott MacMillan and fiddler Colin Grant.
An active music director and arranger, as well as a producer, composer and conductor, Macmillan is renowned as a musical ambassador for the Cape Breton sound. A highly gifted musician and performer in his own right, he has helped to define an important chapter in the history of Nova Scotia and Canadian music. Playing alongside fiddler Colin Grant (formerly of Celtic sensation Coig), this is a musical event not to be missed. Tickets are $15.
Lennie Gallant will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 10.
Gallant performs his unique blend of folk, pop, Celtic and rock music. A Prince Edward Island native, he has performed in both acoustic and orchestral settings. He has shared the stage with the likes of Ry Cooder, Ron Sexsmith, Roger Hodgson from Supertramp, Lucinda Williams and Patti Griffin. Inducted into the Order of Canada, Gallant and his songs have been credited with articulating feelings of those caught up in desperate situations beyond their control, while celebrating lifestyle and landscape with strong poetry and stirring narratives. Tickets are $20.
All performances take place at 804 Washington St. Tickets can be purchased by calling 207-442-8455 or by visiting www.chocolatechurcharts.org.
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