Leahy kids wow the crowd at Heritage Music Fest

August 12, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

The Next Generation Leahy performed at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Centre Thursday, August 4, kicking off the entertainment for the new Heritage Music Festival in Shelburne.

At 7pm, Doug and Jennifer Leahy and six of their children took to the Fiddle Contest stage to bring their musical showmanship to an audience of old time fiddle lovers of all ages.

According to Rotary Club volunteers, the audience was about 400 on Thursday, down from 500 at last year’s opening with The Beckett Family show.

The long days of heat may have been a discouragement for many, but those who attended saw a fantastic show.

The Next Generation Leahy, ranging in ages from five to 13 wowed the audience with professional polish and prowess in their Celtic based musical performance.

From the high energy opening – a rousing fiddle and step number – the young family moved with ease from one great number after another.

Doug Leahy said, it was “an honour to be in Shelburne with all its fiddle history” and thanked all the volunteers “who keep fiddle and step dancing competitions and traditions going.”

Music has been passed down through many generations of Leahys, and parents Doug and Jennifer led The Next Generation in a performance that included traditional fiddle and step dance, French accordion, cello, guitar, keyboard, percussion, and vocals, incorporating tight harmonies with mom Jennifer, which were reminiscent of the excellent tones of the Andrews Sisters.

Although it was their first show in Shelburne, the children already perform professionally, touring across the country, playing with the likes of The Chieftains and Donnell Leahy & Natalie MacMaster. This past spring, the family toured from Vancouver Island to Cape Breton Island.

The family lives on a farm near Lakefield, ON, where the children are all home schooled, which now allows the family “to travel and still keep up with the kids’ formal education.”

When the kids want to learn a new instrument, if music teachers are not available in the area, they connect with them via Skype, and the Leahy children, with music running through their veins, quickly become proficient.

“It’s not something that we have to push on them,” say Doug and Jennifer. “They love performing together as a family.”

Proceeds from profits at the Heritage Music Festival, from events like The Next Generation Leahy concert, go to support the many good works of the Shelburne Rotary Club in our community. For more information on how you can become involved visit: www.heritagemusicfestival.com.