Leahy

Last night my friend Judy and I went to the local Mt. Baker Theater to hear Leahy perform. This Canadian group is comprised of a family of siblings, eight out of 11 of them.  The leader of the band, Donnell, is obviously Canadian as soon as he opens his mouth to speak. The family is made up of all self-taught musicians, with almost every one of them playing multiple instruments, but mostly the fiddle, guitars, piano, and step dancing.

Their mother was a champion step dancer (and they ALL step dance, as we saw in the finale) and their father played the fiddle. From the liner notes:

Growing up together on the farm [in Lakefield, Ontario], they would work outside by day, play, dance and sing by night. Erin [she mostly played piano last night] recalls that their fiddle-playing father and their step-dancing mother "encouraged us to listen to and play a wide variety of styles. I see that coming across in our writing today." ... Their compelling career voyage has proven that a musical style defying easy definition can still find a large and wide audience.

No kidding! The large Mt. Baker Theater was almost sold out, and the rocking show we were treated to was amazing in its variety. I was especially mesmerized by Erin, listening to her piano playing, and then I found out she also an accomplished fiddle player AND a great step dancer! Here is a link to their profiles, listing what each one performs on stage. Irish step dancing is like what they did, except that they didn't hold their upper bodies completely still.

Tonight, St. Patrick's Day, they will be in Seattle at Benaroya Hall, and if you happen to be looking for something exciting to do, check out this show. The last number they played before the encore was exciting in its rocking and foot-stomping action, and then, one by one, they laid down an instrument and joined the original two step dancers, until all of them (and a 15-year-old talented daughter Emily) were step dancing in amazing unison, bringing down the house!

I guess you can tell I loved it.
:-)