Natalie MacMaster

Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. She has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana and Alison Krauss, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma. She has appeared at the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, Celtic Connections in Scotland and MerleFest in the United States.

Background

MacMaster is the daughter of Alex and Minnie (née Beaton) MacMaster and the sister of Kevin and David MacMaster. She is the niece of the late renowned Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster and the cousin of two other fiddlers, Ashley MacIsaac and Andrea Beaton. She is also distantly related to Jack White, whose paternal grandparents were from Antigonish and Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia.

In 2002, she married fiddler Donnell Leahy of the Leahy family band, and moved to Lakefield, Ontario. They have seven children, and have performed and recorded together as a duo, and occasionally include their children, who also play fiddle, in their performances.

Musical career MacMaster began playing the fiddle at the age of nine, and made her performing debut the same year at a square dance in Glencoe Mills, Nova Scotia. When she was 16, she released her first album, Four on the Floor, and a second album, Road to the Isle, followed in 1991. Her first album was self-produced, Both albums were initially released only on cassette, but Rounder Records omitted a few tracks and re-released them as A Compilation in 1998. In 1999, she performed at the Juno Awards show in Hamilton.

In recent years she has expanded her musical repertoire, mixing her Cape Breton roots with music from Scotland and Ireland, as well as American bluegrass.

In 2004, MacMaster appeared on Sharon, Lois & Bram's 25th Anniversary Concert special titled 25 Years of Skinnamarink that was broadcast on CBC on January 1, 2004, at 7:00pm. She performed two songs with the trio, "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" and "Grandpa's Farm".

Awards MacMaster has received a number of Canadian music awards, including several "Artist of the Year" awards from the East Coast Music Association, two Juno Awards for best instrumental album, and "Fiddler of the Year" from the Canadian Country Music Association. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Niagara University in New York in 2006. In 2006, she was made a member of the Order of Canada and, in 2020, she was made a member of the Order of Nova Scotia. In 2023, she was inducted into the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour at the 2023 Canadian Grand Masters event in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Discography Albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) CAN US Heat US Indie US Folk US Grass US World Four on the Floor Release date: 1989 Label: Astro Custom Records — — — — — — Road to the Isle Release date: 1991 Label: Astro Custom Records — — — — — — Fit as a Fiddle Release date: 1993 Label: Rounder Records — — — — — — CAN: Gold A Compilation Release date: 1996 Label: Rounder Records — — — — — — No Boundaries Release date: March 11, 1997 Label: Rounder Records — — — — — — CAN: Gold In My Hands Release date: September 14, 1999 Label: Rounder Records 32 — — — — 6 CAN: Gold My Roots Are Showing Release date: April 11, 2000 Label: Rounder Records — — — — — 4 Live Release date: June 4, 2002 Label: Rounder Records — — — — — — Blueprint Release date: September 9, 2003 Label: Rounder Records — — — — 6 4 Natalie & Buddy MacMaster: Traditional Music from Cape Breton Island Release date: August 18, 2005 — — — — — — Yours Truly Release date: October 3, 2006 (Canada), October 10, 2006 (USA) Label: Rounder Records — — — — — 10 Cape Breton Girl Release date: November 1, 2011 Label: MacMaster Music — — — — — — One (with Donnell Leahy) Release date: April 28, 2015 Label: DLL/MacMaster Music 23 4 15 6 — 1 A Celtic Family Christmas (with Donnell Leahy) Release date: 2016 49 — — — 10 — Sketches Release date: November 1, 2019 — — — — 9 — Canvas (with Donnell Leahy) Release date: March 17, 2023 Label: DLL/MacMaster Music — — — — 7 —

Singles Year Single Peak positions Album CAN AC 1996 "Catharsis" — No Boundaries 1997 "Fiddle and Bow" (with Bruce Guthro) — "The Drunken Piper" (with Cookie Rankin) — 1999 "In My Hands" 18 In My Hands "Get Me Through December" (with Alison Krauss) 40 2004 "Appropriate Dipstick" — Blueprint "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos Year Video Director 1996 "Catharsis" 1997 "Fiddle and Bow" (with Bruce Guthro) Andrew MacNaughtan "The Drunken Piper" (with Cookie Rankin) 1999 "In My Hands" Christopher Mills "Get Me Through December" (with Alison Krauss) Mark Hesselink 2004 "Appropriate Dipstick" 2014 "Go Tell It on the Mountain"(with Johnny Reid and The Rankins) Margaret Malandrucco

Other appearances

Traditional Music From Cape Breton Island, Nimbus NI5383, 1993 (two tracks) Celtic Colours – The Road Home, 1997 (one track) Celtic Colours – The Second Wave, 1998 (one track) Celtic Colours – Forgotten Roots, 1999 (one track) Roots Music: An American Journey, Rounder 0501, 2001 (one track) Songs for the Savoy, 2001 (one track) Celtic Colours — The Colours of Cape Breton, 2002 (one track) Celtic Colours — Volume VII, 2003 (one track) The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada, 2005 (one track) Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy and Peace; Songs:A Christmas Jig/Mouth of the Tobique Reel; 2008 (Sony BMG) Thomas Dolby: Amerikana EP, Songs:Toad Lickers and 17 Hills, 2010 (Lost Toy People, Inc)