All in the musical family

Published 8:00 pm Saturday, January 28, 2006

One more kid and they could have fielded their own baseball team, but what do you do with eight?

If you live in Ontario, fiddling runs in the family and Mom is a champion step dancer, how about throwing those together and forming an award-winning musical team?

That’s what the Leahy family of Lakefield, Ontario did, and the eight children, simply called Leahy, have hit home runs with their performances since they were teens.

As teens they toured with their parents, but the siblings got their big break when their 1997 self-titled debut album caught the attention of country music star Shania Twain, who invited them to join her tour.

Leaving Mom and Dad behind, the group joined Twain for a 175-stop world tour.

“Leahy,” the album, reached double platinum in Canada, with more than 200,000 sold, and soared to number four on the Billboard world music chart.

They took home Canadian Juno Awards in 1997 for Best Instrumental Group and Best New Group, and followed with the Best Country Group or Duo award in 1998.

Leahy bring their unique brand of music and entertainment to Kitsap County for one show only, 8 p.m. Jan. 27 at Bremerton’s Admiral Theatre.

Their music has Celtic roots, but also contains elements from classical, country and pop music, as well as Irish step dancing, ala Riverdance.

In case you want to know who’s who as they dance and play away the evening, here’s a quick look at their skills:

Oldest brother Donnell leads the group on fiddle, and has been called a “true master of his instrument.”

He is married to the superstar of Cape Breton fiddling, Natalie MacMaster. Three guesses what their offspring will do for a living.

Sister Erin plays the piano, and fills in on vocals, fiddle, guitar, bass and step dancing. Angus plays fiddle as well as piano and mandolin, and also step dances.

Maria plays guitar, as well as piano, fiddle and banjo and sings and stepdances. If Leahy doesn’t work out she can fall back on her career as a high school teacher.

Siobheann Leahy Donohue plays bass, as well as fiddle and piano, and also sings and step dances. Her Irish name is easier than it looks, simply pronounced “Shivon.”

Doug plays fiddle and saxophone, and stepdances, Agnes Leahy Enright’s main role is as a step dancer, but she also sings and plays piano and fiddle, and Frank Leahy provides the percussive rhythm for the performers.

The siblings take turns writing the group’s material; sometimes individually, sometimes collaboratively.

“We all write individually,” Donnell said. “Sometimes something that is half-written becomes a collaboration, other times someone writes a whole piece. There is a sort of general vibe that we possess, where we all recognize whether we like a piece or not. Then there will be a collaborative effort in tweaking or finishing it off.”

The group has just finished their third album on Virgin Records, “In All Things.” It joins “Leahy” and “Lakefield.”

Donnell said with their undefinable musical style, they are able to play a wide range of venues.

“Over the course of a year, we perform at jazz, bluegrass, country and Celtic festivals. We play for classical audiences, we’ve played with heavy metal bands, and it works every time.”

Leahy perform 8 p.m. Jan. 27, Admiral Theatre, 515 Pacific Ave., Bremerton. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., reservations required.

Tickets are $63 dinner show main floor, $32 main floor show only or loge and $25 balcony, all seats reserved. They are available at the box office, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by phone at (360) 373-6743. wu