Celtic Colours Festival
'Kelly's Dream'

My first concert, Kelly's Dream, at The Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton was a real treat. I hadn't seen Terry Kelly in years and the Beaton Family of Cape Breton are very well-known for their magic on the fiddle and piano.

Andrea & Kinnon Beaton & Fin Moore

Plus I was going to be seeing fabulous celtic entertainment from Sweden and Scotland.  However, I almost didn't make the show!  I went to the wrong venue!! We arrived just in time!

Newfoundland singer/songwriter Terry Kelly has been entertaining folks in the Canadian Maritimes for well over 25 years. 

He was on the university tour circuit in the 1980s which is where I was first introduced to him. 

He is most definitely one of the best live performers in the Canadian maritimes.  His shows are always great. 

Terry Kelly

Tonight it would be his voice and his keyboard.  His songs and lyrics are more mature now.  They are thoughtful and inspiring.

He remains great with the audience and has a solid rapport with the people who have come to hear his song.  It was wonderful to see him perform again.

The Beaton Family of Mabou are absolutely amazing. This is a family with music in their blood and soul. The crowd loved them.  It was a real family gathering with daughter, Andrea and parents, Kinnon and Betty Lou. 

Their toe-tapping jigs and reels had the audience dancing in their seats and applauding for more. Andrea even danced for us.

Daughter, Andrea Beaton
Dad, Kinnon Beaton

Of course, no Celtic Colours Festival is complete without dancers.  The Scottish group Dannsa did not disappoint.  Joined by Scottish piper Fin Moore, Scottish fiddler Sarah Hoy and Cape Breton dancer Mac Morin, this group was absolutely amazing! 

One of the dancers also played the bagpipes so the music was cheering the dancers on.  They were certainly having a great time.

It was really nice to see folks from the audience getting up from the seats to get a better look at the dancing.  I saw this happen again and again throughout the Celtic Colours Festival whenever dancers took the stage.  It was easy to see that dancers have a special place at Celtic Festivals.

A unique thing was to be experienced at this concert.  Vasen from Sweden was going to introduce us to Swedish traditional music.  Three guys with a guitar, a fiddle and a nyckelharpa and you have beautiful rhythms that the crowd loved.

The Grand Finale

One of the highlights of the evening was at the end of the concert.  All performers were onstage at the same time and played several tunes together.  The dancers joined too! This grand finale at the end of each concert is a hallmark of all Celtic Colours shows.

The audience couldn't get enough.  You could easily tell that the artists were having great time! It was the perfect end to a perfect concert.

The concert took place in a school gymnasium so it had a very cozy feel to it.  Basketball nets were in full view and the climbing wall was moved to the side to give more room for seats. 

The tradition in many communities when there is an event is that parents and students from the school offer tea and various treats to the audience doing the break.  It was wonderful.

Make sure you explore all of my Celtic Colours stories!

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