From the opening strains of "Home I'll Be," played as a haunting slow air by Ashley MacIsaac, to the final chords of the same Rita MacNeil tune sung by the large ensemble of musicians  who gathered last night in her honor, the tribute concert organized by Joella Foulds and Max MacDonald was magnificent. A few highlights: No one plays Cape Breton fiddle better than Ashley MacIsaac, and the slow air displays the instrument's greatest emotive power. One tends to think first of Rita's lyrics, but the concert brought home the power and grace of her melodies. Bette MacDonald was hilarious as always, but Maynard Morrison's...

The velvet-voiced Max MacDonald leads the cast of the Cape Breton Summertime Revue in a chorus of "Everybody's Going to the Bungalow" Tuesday night at Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre. The revival of the anthemic show, which ran from 1986 to 1998 and launched the careers of many of Cape Breton's best known performers, is playing five nights to packed — and rapturous — houses. Like its namesake, the revival combines poignant lyrics and melodies, like those of Leon Dubinsky's heart-wrenching, "Remember the Miner," Remember the miner; have a thought for the one Who's working the back shift while this song's being sung. His blood...

[caption id="attachment_2694" align="alignwrap" width="550" caption="L to R: Bassist Fred Lavery, guitarist Dave McKeough, and old time rocker Matt Mainglewood, testing the limits of the iPhone's flashless camera. "][/caption] A decidedly graying crowd of hardcore Matt Minglewood fans packed the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club over the weekend for the latest in Colleen MacDonald's Load of Wood music nights. Minglewood was joined by some of Cape Breton's best loved session musicians, including Fred Lavery on bass, Dave McKeough on guitar,  Ian Aker on sax, Kenny Boone on mouth harp, and James Munroe on trombone. To receive e-mail notification of these occasional (and mercifully early...