Autumn in Nova Scotia, that fun-loving, Celtic-kilted, little province by the sea, is the season of brilliant colours, sunny days, cool nights, and one rollicking, reeling music festival after another.
Cape Breton Island, where there’s a kitchen party or a community ceilidh around just about every breath-takingly beautiful corner is in full party-mode with Celtic Colours International Festival. From the Highlands of the Cabot Trail, to the glorious shores of the Bras d’Or Lakes, from concert halls in Port Hawkesbury to the fire hall in Big Pond, this enchanting island offers up Celtic roots music from the finest home-grown and international performers in the world. This year’s line-up includes Celtic superstars the Chieftains along with international stars from Cape Breton like Ashley MacIsaac and Mary Jane Lamond, the beloved Men of the Deeps, and up and comers like Scotland’s Catriona Watt, named the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year. Cape Breton Island is an incomparable vacation destination in and of itself, recently ranked number 2 on Gentleman’s Quarterly’s (GQ’s) list of Best Summer Escapes and number two spot on Travel and Leisure Magazine’s 2007 Best Islands in the Continental U.S. and Canada list – throw in dozens of world-class performers with more concerts, workshops, storytelling sessions, and step-dancing than you can imagine, all wrapped up in the autumn splendour and well, why would you want to vacation anywhere else?
Drum! A musical sensation that has been called the “heartbeat of Nova Scotia” commands the stage at Pier 20, Halifax waterfront from September 14th to October 14th. This one-of-a-kind celebration of the founding cultures of Nova Scotia – Mi’kmaq, Black, Celtic, Acadian – pounds with the rhythm of four hundred years in a spectacular arrangement of music, poetry, song and dance that one journalist declared: “Unreviewable – you have to experience it!”. Audiences have responded to this show time and time again with standing ovations, but perhaps the most remarkable audience reaction was a standing O at the end of the first act! This tribute to the lasting cultures and traditions of Nova Scotia has been performed in seventeen states and across Canada. This fall the Nova Scotian extravaganza comes home to soar at centre stage in our capital city of Halifax.
The Annapolis Valley town of Wolfville hosts the Canadian Deep Roots Music Festival for three days in September. Wolfville, home to Acadia University, combines the energetic vibe of a college town with Victorian graciousness and charm of its lovely architecture. The result is a place where there is literally something for everyone, making it the perfect locale for this eclectic festival. There’s a madcap street parade that welcomes anyone who can tap a triangle to come and march along with them and a Late Night Party that feels like a kitchen jam session with friends – if you were buddies with world-class musicians that is. There are workshops in singing, dancing and drumming and a rhythm workshop for kids. There’s a free concert in the park and main stage events at Acadia’s Convocation Hall. 2007 performers include Nova Scotia’s right-now red-hot star Joel Plaskett, Toronto’s Ndidi Onukwulu, and Montreal’s Annabelle Chvostek along with many more roots artists from bluegrass to gospel.
And of course, since this is autumn, there is also the symphony. From their home stage at the Rebecca Auditorium, Symphony Nova Scotia launches another season of classical, pops and jazz concerts. And since it is Nova Scotia, after all, you can expect a little Beer and Beethoven.
Getting to your Nova Scotia autumn music getaway is easy. There are direct flights from major cities across the continent and the province is just a day’s drive away from most points in New England. Put some tunes in your car’s CD player and head for the best sounds of the season.