By David DeRocco 

Their new album is called On The Bright Side; the first single is “Living The Dream.” Both titles reflect the kind of characteristically positive sentiments you expect from Canada’s ambassadors of East Coast Celtic music, The Barra MacNeils.

 For more than three decades, the five MacNeil siblings – Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle and Sheumas – have been channeling their multi-instrument talents into some of the most beloved music ever to flow out of the Canadian Maritimes. Since the release of their first eponymous album in 1986, the Barra MacNeils have been racking up awards and gathering fans across North America and Europe. With their latest release On The Bright Side, the band from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia has once again mined the vaults and emerged with an upbeat album of traditional songs and originals packed with fiddle tunes, emotional ballads and their own signature harmonies.

 While the Barra MacNeils are renowned for their Christmas tours, the band has decided to crisscross the country on a summer tour that brings them to FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre June 4^th. Stewart MacNeil took time to speak with GoBeWeekly about the tour, the new album and the joys of singing ABBA. 

GOBE: You’re on the road this summer and coming to St. Catharines, and without a Christmas tree in sight.

STEWART: Yes, we’re pleased to be back at the Performing Arts Centre. It’s been a few years so it’s nice to be coming back.

GOBE: And touring in support of your new album.

STEWART: Yes, touring with On The Bright Side, a lot of great new material and a lot of gems from the past as well. We were up to the East Coast Music Awards last weekend for the 30^th anniversary and we played a couple of shows, so we had a chance to road test some of the new tunes and they went really well. People really enjoyed it and we’re really pleased to be touring the new album.

GOBE: The band’s been around over three decades. When you attend an award show like that, are you inspired by what you see coming up behind you?

STEWART: Well it’s just amazing, just the sheer number of artists now. It’s exponential now, every 20 years or so there’s so many more artists and so many genres. And it is inspiring. For me, I always have my ears to the ground. I listen to everything. So it is a treat. It’s been quite a few years since we’ve been to the East Coast Music Awards weekend. Just to catch up with some old friends and people who are still in the business is amazing. We’ve been together for over 30 years and there really aren’t that many artists or bands who do stay together that long. It’s been a great road for us.

GOBE: It appears there’s no signs of slowing down after 30 years as a band.

STEWART: The band is really sounding good. Everybody seems to be in pretty good health these days. Lucy is just sounding amazing. Her voice is just stellar and her voice is featured on some great ballads on the new album. And the new album also has some great traditional instrumentals, some great Cape Breton music, some Irish tunes as well along with some good kitchen party songs It’s a lot of fun playing. Who knows how long it will last so we’re just enjoying ourselves.

GOBE: Sounds like you’re actually “Living the Dream” as the first single implies. What does “living the dream” mean to you at this stage of your career.

STEWART: I’m not sure where that song came from but it certainly has something to do with how simple and how complicated live can be, and the rat race that so many of us get into in our life. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be this complicated.

GOBE: You mention the rat race. After years of writing, recording and touring, what’s been the greatest eye-opener for you or lesson you’ve learned about this business.

STEWART: I think the big thing is you really have to revisit it on a regular basis. Sometimes you can just sit down and it will be a line or a little riff or something. I like to keep a catalogue of that stuff. Other times a whole song pours out. There’s never one way, and I think you have to be true to your own gut and own heart when you make your music. You can’t let somebody put you in a box. At the same time, I think the thing that has given the Barra MacNeils such a long run is we play traditional music but we also do different things with it. Over the years, sometimes we’ ve gone right back to our roots and other times contemporary. At the end of the day that’s helped us develop our fan base and keep us interested in the music.

GOBE: Do you still feel creative musically? Sometimes our creativity can wain as we age.

STEWART: It’s funny. There are times where I feel I’m more creative. I think actually I listen to more music now than I did 20 years ago. I think I enjoy it more. I spend a lot of time streaming old jazz and stuff that maybe I didn’t hear a lot of growing up. And other genres as well. I should also say I listen to more traditional music now than I have in my whole life. It just seems more accessible now. If it’s possible I probably appreciate music now more than any other time in my life.

GOBE: You’ve been working with your bandmates a long time now. Does anyone ever throw out strange suggestions, like “let’s cover AC/DC on the next album.”

STEWART: Oh god yes. I think we’ve all took our turns.

GOBE: What’s been the strangest suggestion.

STEWART: That’s a good question. On the new album, actually one of our fans who lives in Chicago sent us some ideas he thought we should consider covering. One of them was an ABBA song, “The Way Old Friends Do.” It was a great suggestion. We demo’d a version and said wow that’s pretty cool. It’s not one of the better known ABBA songs, but they were such brilliant writers that the song really does stand up with the vocal harmonies of the Barra MacNeils. It’s certainly one that’s become a quick favourite. Sometimes people are surprised to hear that it’s an ABBA song. That’s one example. We’ve probably played more music at parties than what we’ve recorded!

GOBE: For those who may not have ever seen the band before, why should they come out to see The Barra MacNeils June 4^th.

STEWART: They should come out because it will lift you up. There’s a lot of very upbeat music and dancing. There’s some great vocal harmonies. Some of the ballads will have you in tears. Hopefully by the end of the night we’ll have you dancing in the aisles. We’ve been touring a long time. We do have a wonderful loyal fan base. For those who haven’t seen us, they should get out of the easy chair and just truck on down!

For tickets visit FirstOntarioPAC.ca