The Barra MacNeils Family Band Come To Massey Hall This Christmas

Massey Hall welcomes back Cape Breton's renowned Celtic family group, The Barra MacNeils on Friday, December 22, 2023 for a special holiday concert, An East Coast Christmas. Tickets on-sale this Friday, March 31, at 10am ET and can be purchased at masseyhall.com or by calling 416-872-4255.

The Barra MacNeils - An East Coast Christmas is a musical potpourri of traditional MacNeil family favourites gleaned from Christmas ceilidhs, midnight masses and the general festive frolic that accompanies each holiday season. With their captivating vocals, distinctive harmonies and extraordinary musicianship, The Barra MacNeils inject new life and energy into the sights and sounds of Christmas. The Halifax Daily News proclaims that the band are "a treasure of the East Coast, rich with tradition and unmatched in ensemble performance"; and the Globe & Mail to call the recording on which their concert is based "one of the best Christmas albums of all time!"

The five MacNeil siblings - Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle and Sheumas - formed over 30 years ago and combine on a vast array of instruments including accordion, guitar, piano, fiddle, bodhran, mandolin, banjo, Celtic harp, tin whistles, bouzouki, flute ... all underpinned by the nimble-fingered Jamie Gatti on bass. The result is a sound that is unmistakably The Barra MacNeils, one moment a rousing chorus, then a hauntingly beautiful Gaelic ballad, the next a flurry of foot-stomping instrumentals, which of course pulls one then another into a step-dancing revelry.

As a group, the MacNeil siblings are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. From Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the family group is deeply rooted in Celtic music, culture, dance, language and history.

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