Music Newfoundland Showcase Series at Skye

REGION -- New England Celtic Arts in partnership with Music Newfoundland will present Dwayne & Duane in concert at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage on Wednesday, June 6, and at Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts in Unity on Thursday, June 7.

Curtain at Skye is 7 p.m. and at UCCPA is 7:30 p.m. There is a pre-show jam session one hour prior to curtain at both venues. Audience members are encouraged to bring their instruments and jam for a few minutes before the show.

Steeped in the rich musical traditions of Cape Breton and Newfoundland Dwayne Cote and Duane Andrews twist their inimitable blend of East Coast Celtic and Roots music with strands of Gypsy and Jazz sounds.

Heavily influenced by the brilliance of Gypsy Jazz legend Django Reinhardt, multi ECMA award winning guitarist Duane Andrews has literally brought his music around the world from his home in Newfoundland to Tasmania, Australia with stops in between at the Newport Folk and Montreal Jazz festivals to name a few

and the late great John Allan Cameron simply said it all about fiddler Dwayne Cote whom he called "the best kept secret in Celtic music.”

Duane Andrews’s music is the product of a great ear and adventurous spirit and a love of music that is beyond category. Uniting what would seem to be impossible – traditional Newfoundland music with the Gypsy Jazz of the legendary Django Reinhardt, Andrews makes it not just work – he makes it soar. The award winning guitarist, composer, producer and international performer’s new album, Raindrops, is the best evidence yet of his truly unique musical vision and is the sound of him, literally, bringing it all back home.

A native of the island of Newfoundland, off the east coast of Canada, Duane grew up exposed to the island’s mélange of cultural influences – a mix of English, French, Irish, Spanish and Portuguese - and his development as a guitarist reflects that. After graduating from the Jazz Studies program at St. FXU with honors, Duane spent several years studying contemporary music composition at the Conservatoire International de Paris and at the Conservatoire National de Region in Marseille, France.

Dwayne Cote was born and grew up in Grande Greve, Richmond County in Nova Scotia. His mother Gladys Stone Cote, who continues to reside in Grand Greve, was a renowned dancer, instructor and performer in the Maritimes in the 70's and mid- eighties. His father is the late Gordon Cote, a celebrated Celtic fiddler who in recent years performed with Bobby Brown and The Cape Breton Symphony.

Dwayne is deemed to be one of the most unique violinists and fiddlers in Atlantic Canada. He uses a distinct classical tone that has developed both through professional exposure and his own self-education, yet his style rings true to the traditions of his native Cape Breton.

Skye Theater is located three miles west of East Dixfield village at 2 Highland Dr. off Winter Hill Road and Rt. 2 in South Carthage. UCCPA is at 42 Depot St. in Unity. Ticket price is $15 at the door. For reservations call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469. Reservations are strongly suggested at both venues.