Skye Theatre to open with Scottish ensemble

REGION -- New England Celtic Arts in collaboration with Crossroads International Celtic Festival will present The Barra MacNeils at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday and at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center in South Carthage on Wednesday, February 20.

Curtain is 7 p.m. at both locations. Pre-show jam sessions at Skye and Unity start one hour prior to curtain.

Skye Theatre will launch its ninth season with the iconic Canadian Celtic band The Barra MacNeils. “We like a strong start to the year and the Barra's are just the ticket,” said Phill McIntyre, founder of New England Celtic Arts and Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center. “From the inception of NECA, I have had a vision of collaboration and as a result we have grown from hosting 10 shows the first year to an amazing 224 events in the region in 2012.”

2013 promises to yield similar numbers with collaborations in 20 plus venues and several festivals in Maine and northern NH. McIntyre and a team of skilled professionals have formed to launch a new venture in Oxford and Franklin Counties in 2013 under the banner of Crossroads International Celtic Festival.

The proposed festival will take place from September 11-15 in the towns and villages of western Maine and will host as many as 18 concerts in addition to community events planned around the festival.

2012 marked 25 years for the Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island based family group, the Barra MacNeils, in an outstanding recording and touring career. The year was accented with two new recording projects: a Live In Concert symphony project recorded in Halifax’s Rebecca Cohn Auditorium over two nights with Symphony Nova Scotia and a special Celtic Colours recording project featuring a wide variety of musical guests from the folk, Americana and Celtic music worlds.

Their other recent releases have covered the span of their entire career, as well as live concerts reflecting the musical course of their career, from humble family beginnings to world wide acclaim. The concert touring in support of these projects has taken the group to theatre and festival stages coast to coast across Canada, had them jetting across America from festival stage to theatre stages and beyond, as well as sending them to Ireland and Scotland for prestigious events across the Atlantic.

As a group, the six MacNeil siblings are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. Hailing from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the family group is deeply rooted in Celtic music, culture, dance, language and history. Their numerous critically acclaimed recordings have included their own original songs as well as tried and true standards, both instrumental and vocal.

The Barra MacNeils live concert experience brings so much more to the stage than most live acts ever can. Multiple lead vocalists, beautiful sibling harmonies, top drawer instrumental prowess on a wide variety of acoustic, stringed, percussion and wind instruments blended with dancing, storytelling, Gaelic songs and a journey through an ancient culture; it is family entertainment at its highest level.

Steeped in Cape Breton tradition with strong Celtic roots and musical artistry, this diverse and talented family group continues to wow audiences around the world with their captivating vocals, harmonies and extraordinary musicianship.

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 $25 for adults and $12.50 for children 15 and under at the door. For reservations call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469. Reservations are strongly suggested at both venues.