Dara Smith-MacDonald

Dara Smith-MacDonald was born and raised in Antigonish, but has strong family roots in Inverness. She now resides in Port Hawkesbury. She has been playing the fiddle for over 25 years with a style that is strong, lively and traditional. Dara has played for concerts, ceilidhs, and dances throughout Cape Breton, mainland Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and the United States. She has performed for the Antigonish Highland Games, the Acoustic Roots Festival, KitchenFest, the Celtic Colours International Festival, and the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland. For the past 20 years, she has been teaching fiddle to students at Colaisde na Gàidhlig (The Gaelic College) in St. Ann’s, as well as to many students in her home and around the world via Skype. Dara is a musical director and a board member of the Cape Breton Fiddlers Association.

Adam Young

Adam Young is a sought-after pianist from the community of French Road in Cape Breton. His unique style adds depth, solidity, and a joyful forward motion to the music. He created and directed the Louisbourg Playhouse’s popular music and comedy revue, Cape Breton Lyrics & Laughter, which ran for nearly 400 performances over a twenty-year period. He regularly plays at concerts, ceilidhs, square dances, dinner theatres, and sessions throughout the Maritimes, and has showcased his talents at venues and festivals across Scotland, England, Canada, the United States, and Australia. His 2021 double album Yearbook was nominated for Canadian Folk Music and Music Nova Scotia awards, and took home the 2022 East Coast Music Award for Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year.