Fields famously quipped, вЂњNever work with animals or children,вЂќ he clearly hadnвЂ™t seen the MacMaster/Leahy clan fiddling, step-dancing and positively delighting audiences, something a planned documentary should bring gloriously to lightвЂ¦ whenever that gets made. They feel like a part of the tour and that provides amazing gratification.вЂќ Our kids are practicing and when they come out on stage and do their little number, itвЂ™s their reward. For me, the game was playing house parties. But you need to get into the game at some point. вЂњWhen I was a kid, I played the fiddle for my parents and my brothers and sisters. вЂњBut then one night we put Mary Frances on stage. We worried the expectations might be too much,вЂќ Leahy says. вЂњInitially we were reluctant to let the kids perform. That the children were already being home schooled (MacMaster has a teaching degree) made enacting that decision easier. Rather, the pair realized early on that being on the road without their kids was infinitely harder than touring with them. MacMaster is referring to her and LeahyвЂ™s six musically gifted children, who today are the centrepiece of the MacMaster/Leahy live set though not because the couple necessarily envision showbiz careers for Mary Frances, Michael, Clare, Julia and Alec (SadieвЂ™s only 3). And here I am now doing almost exactly the same thing. вЂњBut I was so in awe of DonnellвЂ™s family, of 11 siblings who could play and had a family band. вЂњThe fiddle was definitely common ground for us when we first got together,вЂќ MacMaster, a Member of Order of Canada since 2006, recalls with a chuckle. ThatвЂ™s no small feat when your combined album sales exceed one million when past collaborators include classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bluegrass star Alison Krauss and banjo ace BГ©la Fleck and when your ecstatic fan base (which boasts Shania Twain and The Chieftains) stretches from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Sydney, Australia. Their first recorded collaboration, 2015вЂ™s Bob Ezrin-produced album One, which was followed by 2016вЂ™s A Celtic Family Christmas (and which cemented the coupleвЂ™s status as powerhouses on the seasonal circuit) confirmed MacMaster and Leahy were as dynamic working together as they were working apart. Though MacMaster and Leahy followed different trajectories вЂ“ she a Cape Breton native who could step-dance before she could walk he the oldest brother of acclaimed family group Leahy вЂ“ both had assuredly crested the traditional music peak. Indeed, when two of the planetвЂ™s very best fiddle players married in 2002, the proverbial mantelpiece was instantly crammed with JUNO and East Coast Music Awards.

Donnell leahy and natalie macmaster