Nova Scotia in general and Cape Breton Island in particular is known for having a rich fiddle culture. After the Acadians and Mi'kma'k lost rights to the land, the British settled the land with Scots, many of whom had been kicked off their own land during the Highland Clearances between the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s. "Canada" was officially founded in 1867, with Nova Scotia as one of the four founding provinces.
Cape Breton, being an island, kept a strong and unique Scottish fiddling tradition that (according to wikipedia) is nearly lost on the mainland. Fiddlers and musicians from Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada come to Cape Breton for the music, and so we decided to spent our last night there in a historic Acadian bar that featured fiddle music. There was an open mic and in addition to the house band and local talent, there were fiddlers and musicians from Quebec and Toronto.
Overall we were really impressed with the diversity and amount of talent and clear love of music on this small and remote island in Atlantic Canada. Andrew had a delicious seafood platter and we enjoyed a couple local beers - the first of our trip because we don't drink much these days, but the moment felt right.
Cape Breton was a really special place and I'm going to remember it for a long time. I've been wanting to come here for a decade, but I really had no idea how unique it would be both ecologically and culturally.Read more
August 20 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F