A native of East Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, James MacLean has been playing music for more than 15 years. In his late teens, he started lessons with Cape Breton guitarist Brian Doyle, that his love for traditional Cape Breton music began to blossom. After high school, James went on to pursue a degree in music, and under the tutelage of Scott Macmillan, earned his Bachelor of Music from Dalhousie University in 2015. James recently released his debut, self-titled album with support from the Festival Volunteer Drive’ers Association through The Frank “Big Sampie” Sampson award. His new album is comprised of all traditional Cape Breton music played on a flat-picked guitar with accompaniment from some of Cape Breton’s finest musicians including Mac Morin, Patrick Gillis, Kenneth MacKenzie and his aunt Karen Beaton.
Our Saturday afternoon tradition continues on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th) with Kyle MacDonald taking the Doryman stage. **Piano accompaniment to be announced soon.** ... See MoreSee Less
The Cape Breton Island International Blues Festival Society's "Heartful of Blues" event starts tomorrow at the Capri Cabaret, with a line up of incredible acts. Check it out below! ... See MoreSee Less
Enjoy live music all weekend at The Cape Breton Home Show 2026 Presented by The Sydney Credit Union. Explore our performer lineup, schedule, and artist bios for March 28th & 29th, 2026 at the Memberto...
A few people sent me this today and it still feels a bit unreal. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for it, but if there is, I don’t want to hear it. Grateful for every listen. Plow Just Went By is out now. ... See MoreSee Less
Congratulations to all the recently announced 2026 ECMA nominees. A special shout out to all our Cape Breton Nominees in both the Music and Industry Categories. We are happy to see such strong representation from the island. Stay tuned as we feature post about our Cape Breton Nominees leading up to the Festival.
The full list of ECMA nominees and categories can be found in the link below.
://www.ecma.com/news/38th-east-coast-music-awards-gala-presented-by-rogers/ ... See MoreSee Less
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a regional collaboration of people in the music industry of Atlantic Canada. We are a registered non-profit…