Katie McNally Trio, MadFiddle & Highway 151

press release: The Katie McNally Trio (Portland, Maine) appears in Madison for an intimate performance on Saturday, February 1 , at First Unitarian Society.  They will be supported by premiere youth fiddle ensemble MadFiddle & Highway 151 for an evening of intergenerational music-making that will leave you feeling inspired, refreshed and very fuzzy inside.

The Katie McNally Trio returns from a recent voyage to Scotland, where they lived, wrote and recorded in a countryside studio.  They will be premiering material from their forthcoming album in addition to selections from their 2016 release that was hailed as,  " one of the best modern Cape Breton records of the past ten years." (Irish Music Magazine)  To open the night, MadFiddle (50+ youth performers, ages 7-19) will be joined by adult backing band Highway 151, presenting folk tunes from around the world.  MadFiddle is directed by Shauncey Ali, an award-winning fiddler, composer and educator.  The night will conclude with a collaboration of the evenings' performers in a proper super jam!

“The new face of Scottish fiddling in the USA" (The Living Tradition),  Katie   McNally  has made waves in both the American traditional music scene and abroad since the release of her debut album, Flourish, in 2013. Based in Portland, ME, her latest project synthesizes her elegant and powerful fiddle playing with the talents of genre-crossing pianist Neil Pearlman and bluegrass phenom Shauncey Ali on viola. 

The trio's 2016 album The Boston States reinvigorates and reimagines the historic musical connection between Maritime Canada and New England. Under the guidance of producer Wendy MacIsaac (Beolach, Mary Jane Lamond), McNally has curated a collection of tunes that will draw inspiration from mid-century recordings of Cape Breton fiddlers both in Nova Scotia and Massachusetts and be sculpted by the creative energy of the modern Boston acoustic music scene. Recorded at the legendary Lakewind Sound Studios in Cape Breton, The Boston States was hailed as " one of the best modern Cape Breton records of the past ten years." (Irish Music Magazine)

Opening the evening will be MadFiddle & Highway 151, a premiere youth fiddle ensemble, ages 7-18.  They appear with Highway 151, an adult backing band featuring Chris Powers on mandolin, Bruce Anderson on guitar and Patrick Spaay on bass.  MadFiddle is directed by Shauncey Ali.

The night will conclude with a super jam of all of the evening's performers.