Buddy MacDonald Concert Spotlights Songwriting

Cape Breton troubadour Buddy MacDonald will close out this year’s Cabot Trail Writers Festival on Sunday 6 October, at the North River Hall. This finale event, combining a scrumptious brunch with an intimate concert, has been an audience favourite since the Festival began in 2009

Buddy is a home-grown bard who has been entertaining music-lovers throughout Canada, the US, and Europe for 35 years. He grew up on Cape Breton’s rural North Shore, steeped in a culture rich in music and storytelling. His father, Tommy ‘Peggy’ MacDonald, was one of the legendary North Shore Gaelic Singers.

His famed song Getting Dark Again perfectly captures the spirit of a ceilidh, with its signature line ‘For the second time since we’ve been up, it’s getting dark again’. His songs, available on CDs and Songbook, are played at kitchen parties throughout Cape Breton and beyond, and were featured in the hit Toronto production Needfire. Buddy has hosted the Celtic Colours late-night Festival Club since its inception in 1997, entertaining the boisterous crowd and sharing the stage with some of Celtic music’s most well-known musicians.

The Cabot Trail Writers Festival is a celebration of words, and it will shine the spotlight on Buddy’s gifts as a songwriter and storyteller. Combined with the delicious fruits of local farming, a fitting and tasty end to this year’s festival!

by Sue McKay Miller
2013