Natalie MacMaster

Full of energy, and fantastic fiddling. Though it is hyped as Celtic music I would argue the north American influences in their music made it unrecognizable as that. Natalie McMaster was amazing as she appeared to be at least 8 mos pregnant and was still dancing across the stage and fiddling like a whirling dervish. Donnell Leahy has a great sense of humor which added to the program along with their 6 talented children. However I would say that I would reduce the children's role in the performance a bit.

I have watched Natalie MacMaster since her solo performances as a young lady out of college. The addition of Donnell Leahy, her husband, and their children has added so much to her already stellar performances. Super talented family and entertainers. On stage they interact with their fellow musicians and all appear to be having a wonderful time. Their passion for their music and performing for their audience is so authentic!

The enjoyment of this performance was way beyond my expectations. So full of energy and talent. The whole family! Simply amazing!!!

Natalie MacMaster is a fiddlin' wonder! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see her in a smaller venue since her other shows I've attended were in large Irish festivals with a thousand or more fans. This was a wonderfully entertaining set. Her band is great and adds to her performance - something I can't say for other Celtic solo artists . The "family" time with her husband and three of her 5 kids on stage pulled the audience into her "living room" - we all felt a little bit related to this Cape Breton clan! She is such a fun person - very natural in front of a crowd, clog dances up a storm, and you'll never hear a better fiddler! Don't miss any opportunity you have to go to her show.

We already knew Natalie MacMaster's music as we come from Cape Breton, where she hails from. But we were still amazed at her performance. She puts in so much energy in her playing and dancing. It was out of this world. I would not miss the chance to see her again.

Natalie MacMaster always puts on a good show. It was an absolute bonus the have her husband and three children also perform. The venue was also very much to my liking. Although the event was sold out, it comfortable seating and probably no bad seats. Great concert and very high energy.

After watching Natalie on the internet, we just had to see her. In live performance she was fantastic. So talented, lively and fun. Her band was great, her husband, who played a few numbers, was outstanding and her children were cute and talented. I don't know how she can move so much while she plays. This show would make anyone a Cape Bretten (sp?) fiddle fan. I would highly recommend this show to anyone.

I've seen Natalie MacMaster many times over the past 15 years, from large festivals to a tiny club in Cleveland and she is always amazing. She always has a terrific and varied back-up band, and her energy level is always so high it just carries you along with it. It was a great evening and a wonderful way to spend our 44th anniversary.

Extremely entertaining evening with Natalie, her band, and her family. Music kept my feet tapping the entire time. Almost wanted to get up and dance!

This was my wife and my Valentine present to each other. We love Cape Breton music. Natalie and the band delivered. It was a perfect venue for the show.

Such high energy and talent, not only from Natalie but also her band and family. It was like being at home in Cape Breton in a kitchen party but in the center of Durham NC. Such a wonerful way to get in the Christmas spirit. Just missing a little snow!

It was really great. She has been performing for twenty some years now and I have been attending her shows for 13 years. She is an incredible fiddle player!

Natalie McMaster and her band and family provided a delightful evening's worth of heart-warming and lively entertainment. All of them are so gifted. My husband is a former musician (quite gifted himself) and he knows his stuff when it comes to listening to others performed. He was as entertained as I was and enjoyed the evening enormously. Who would think that seeing other people's children perform on stage could be exhilarating? Natalie is not only a gift musician but clearly she is a gifted mother. I would love to be at her home on Christmas--it must be the most magical Christmas on this planet to be surrounded by such talent and obvious love and affection.

Around this time of year (the show was December 16) I get pretty tired of Christmas music. I went to Natalie McMaster's Christmas show with a bit of trepidation. What a pleasant surprise! A Christmas show with a variety of music. The band was great. The energy was high. And, of course, Natalie was magnificent.

Natalie MacMaster is an incredible performer. She has a way with audiences that makes them feel so comfortable during a performance. While her style is distinctly Cape Breton, she adds in her own energy and personal style to her tunes. I had a great time and felt like dancing.

A fun, high energy, season-appropriate event with quality musicians and performers...

Great show, fun, lively, and the talent of Natalie and her musicians was outstanding!

I haven't had so much fun in years. Natalie puts on a great show. Her band obviously enjoys what they do. It was especially fun to see 16 year old children with tremendous talent - one on the cello, and one with a wonderful singing voice and amazing step dancing ability. It was a wonderful evening.

Natalie McMaster brought her version of how Christmas is celebrated in Nova Scotia to a sold out Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC on Thursday night. The adoring audience was thrilled with her combination of instrumental virtuosity, down-home storytelling, and eclectic array of sidemen. She played with a pianist, cellist, quitar/bassist, and percussionist. She also introduced a sixteen year old niece with the vocal styling of Linda Rhondstadt, and the stepdancing talent of Natalie herself. Although dozens of familiar Christmas songs replaced the majority of her standard Celtic tunes, the experience of hearing Natalie McMaster playing in live concert must be like the experience audiences had hearing Mozart play in person.

Natalie was totally awesome as were her band mates. Her infectious energy and love for her music, even while being 8 months pregnant, was very special to observe. She rocks!

This very talented (and husband-and-wife!) duo gave a high-energy performance of various styles of fiddle music - from Celtic to jazz, all played impeccably. Their two accompanists were equally accomplished on the piano, and in the case of Erin Leahy, on the fiddle as well. All four step- and tap-danced, too! My husband and I drove from Rochester to Buffalo for this performance, and it was well worth it!

After every Natalie MacMaster performance I have ever attended, I have heard the same word uttered by many of the people as they leave the UB Center for the Arts. That word is "Wow!". Natalie's shows are always full of so much energy, excitement and sheer talent that the WOW factor can last for several days. Last night was no exception. I have seen Natalie perform several times and Donnell perform with Leahy. Last night was the first time I've seen them perform together. Their training and fiddling styles are really quite different, but they blended and balanced them to produce a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Absolutely outstanding!!! Probably one of the best performances I have seen. Thanks!!

Would not miss their concerts for the world, totally feel good show, they are charming with their banter

As usual, Natalie MacMaster never disappoints! Her incredible talent and style radiated throughout the show. Adding her husband, Donnell Leahy to the mix made the show even more incredible. The two fiddlemasters added their own touches to traditional favorites. Natalie MacMaster's pianist performed a wonderful old Scottish tune with a beautiful melody. Donnell Leahy's pianist, his sister, Erin, blew the roof off! She is spectacular.

The music was great, but the best was see there children with them

Natalie and Donnell are entertaining in so many ways. Fiddling, dancing, conversation, sharing their amazing children, sharing their a,axing band. On and on. Can't wait to see them again.

We see Natalie whenever she is within a couple of hundred miles! Her and Donnell together with the children is just awesome!! Went to Cape Breton this past summer to see where she came from and it was as wonderful as she says it is.

This was an unforgetable program. Our whole group thought it was the best show we had ever seen. I'm hoping they come back and I'll be the first in line. They have so much energy and make you feel happy. The children were adorable and were a great addition to the program. So much talent in that family!

Wonderful energy, great band and excellent audio. Met my high expectations for a Canadian Celtic experience.

One of the best times I've ever head watching a live musical performance! Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy and their band gave a bravura performance - traditional Scotch Irish/Cape Breton music with a modern, rock sound and sensibility. Energizing, melodic and sometimes moving the music was the result of a troupe of incredibly talented and versatile musicians. And the addition of Natalie and Donnell's children to the act was a welcome surprise. Also loved the Irish dancing by several members of the band and the kids - gifted performers all!

Natalie and Donnell were awesome; Oh, and the kids stole the show. Talent runs in that family!

If you like fiddle music, these are two of the best in the world. The rest of the band is great, and of course, the kids got a standing ovation after their segment.

The show at the Burchmere was awesome. Natalie and Donnell are great fiddlers and performers. The band was masterful and the children fiddling and dancing were charming.

Absolutely outstanding. Great musicians. They made it a fun and enjoyable evening.

Absolutely the best fiddling I have ever heard. Lots of energy. Wide range of styles. Can't wait to see Natalie and Donell again. They are a dynamic duo.

Wonderful evening! Natalie and Donnell are masterful, exciting musicians. They never fail to share their heritage and love of music with the audience. They bring "fiddle playing" to a whole new level, I couldn't keep my feet still! Their band mates were great as well. And then there are their children...Wow! We hope they will come back to Southern California.

From the venue (Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN), to the acoustics, to the performers, this was a fantastic evening! Natalie and Donnell and their backup musicians deliver an energetic, wonderful performance. These talented fiddlers/step dancers from Cape Breton combined video of their home town in Nova Scotia with a variety of tunes, from Celtic jigs and reels, to strathpeys. The crowd was enthusiastic and we were on our feet for the encore, clapping and foot-stomping along with them. I will be sure to see them again, when they come to the L.A. area!

First heard Natalie at a solo performance at the Hollywood Bowl and loved it. This performance with the whole family was even better. What a great evening.

Natalie and Donnell are certainly exciting, talented performers, but when they wove their kids into the performance it made for an even more special and entertaining night. They just exude love and harmony (and talent!)

Amazing talent. I saw Natelie in 2000 at Wolf Trap when she was touring with Judy Collins. We were amazed at her talent - fiddling and dancing then... and she has only gotten better. Now she is joined on the stage with her husband and 4 of her 6 kids. All play the fiddle. All step dance. She is a rare talent. Bought her CD -good. But what makes her music sine is to see her on stage.

Wow. If you are a fiddler, there are not words to describe it. The individual band members are awesome in addition to the big names.

Natalie and her entire family are so entertaining with their instruments, their dancing and their singing. I thought that she and her husband had a good level of humor about them, especially when their video clips didn't go according to plan and they had to improvise. I thought the scenes from their hometowns and the stories of the family traditions passed down to them brought a level of emotion so great that I almost felt as though they were long-time friends of mine.

Outstanding performance great talent. Bring them back again.

We really enjoyed Natalie , her husband, their band & especially their children. Show was very lively.

I've seen Natalie McMaster about 5 times and she and her company never cease to wow me to my toes! Exquisite music (always varied--this time at Cain Park, Cleveland), her company performed some Eastern European-flavored music. I LOVE seeing her children perform and she and her husband and her band are truly talented and heart-warming and I can't imagine missing her whenever she comes anywhere near to town!

Natalie and Donnell are masterful musicians as are the rest of the band members that night. Music creative and engaging. Better than the last time we saw them...they just put on an amazing show!

The concert was wonderful from start to finish. The musicians are super talented, entertaining, and funny. Not to mention the kids!! They were amazing too. A great performance.

the program started right on schedule and no warm up act, which was good. They are simply amazing musicians and the entire concert was filled with up beat tunes and Irish dancing. The pianist even joined in the Irish dancing! There was a brief intermission and I'm sure they needed it as they were just putting their all into it. The concert was 2-1/2 hours and it even included four of their children and they are amazing as well so glad they included them! The forum was perfect - outside amphitheater on a perfect summer evening with excellent seating throughout, good food and beer too!

From start to finish this varied concert kept the audience oohing and clapping and stomping. An amazingly talented family.

A most enjoyable musical event with Natalie, her husband Donnell and, their children. Their music and performance warms one's heart and takes you to another world. Can't wait to enjoy their music at a future concert!

Thoroughly enjoyed the show! McMasters is amazing on the fiddle and she has great stage-presence. Loves to interact with the audience. It is hard to sit still when she is playing. Great band that accompanies her

I have seen her 6 to 8 times, and as always, her show was great. This was my first time to the Birchmere, and I will certainly go back. It is a very nice venue.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and an inspiring concert with her and seeing all the amazingly talented musician as well as her adorable children playing amazingly well.

Natalie never fails to delight with her charming onstage personality and her exceptional fiddling skills. She kept a lively banter and connected warmly with the audience. Her backup band were all skilled musicians and clearly enjoyed what they were doing.