Ashley MacIsaac is a Cape Breton fiddler who took the island’s Scottish dance tradition to the pop charts. His 1995 album Hi How Are You Today? sold more than 200,000 copies in Canada, and its single Sleepy Maggie reached the Canadian Top 20. He won three Juno Awards in 1996 and 1997. He has recorded more than a dozen albums since, from punk-edged crossover records to straight Cape Breton fiddle.
Why MacIsaac matters
Cape Breton fiddling had stars before MacIsaac, but none of them had a hit on rock radio. He put the strathspeys and reels of Inverness County over drum loops, distorted guitars, and a dance beat, and teenagers who had never heard a fiddle bought the record. That opened a door for every traditional player who came after him, including his cousin Natalie MacMaster. He also kept making pure Cape Breton records, so the tradition got the attention without losing the source.
Life and career
MacIsaac was born Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac on February 24, 1975, in Creignish, Inverness County, on Cape Breton Island. He learned from local players and from his first teacher, Stan Chapman. MacIsaac is left-handed. Chapman told him not to restring the fiddle, so he learned to play a right-handed instrument left-handed, and that setup became part of his sound.
His first cassette, Close to the Floor, came out in 1992 when he was 17 and sold about 8,000 copies. A CD reissue in 1995 sold more than 26,000. A Cape Breton Christmas followed in 1993. In 1995 A&M released Hi How Are You Today?, which mixed traditional fiddling with modern dance rhythms and a punk rock edge. It reached number nine on the Canadian album chart and went double platinum. Sleepy Maggie, a collaboration with singer Mary Jane Lamond, peaked at number 13 on the Canadian RPM chart and hit number 29 on the Billboard dance chart. The Devil in the Kitchen was the other single. He toured as an opening act for the Chieftains in 1996.
He won Juno Awards for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots and Traditional Album in 1996, and Instrumental Artist of the Year in 1997. Fine, Thank You Very Much came out in 1996 and reached number 24 in Canada. He played on Bruce Hornsby’s 1998 album Spirit Trail.
He kept recording. Helter’s Celtic came out in 1999, and capebretonfiddlemusicNOTCALM with Howie MacDonald in 2001. He published an autobiography, Fiddling With Disaster, in 2003. Later albums include Live at the Savoy (2004), Fiddle Music 101 with Dave MacIsaac (2005), Pride (2006), Crossover (2011), Beautiful Lake Ainslie with Barbara MacDonald Magone, and FDLER (2016). He played the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and co-hosted the East Coast Music Awards with Heather Rankin in 2016.
Playing style
MacIsaac plays the Cape Breton style, the Scottish Highland fiddle tradition that survived on the island after it faded in Scotland. The core is the strathspey, with its snapped dotted rhythms, and the reel that follows it at speed. Cape Breton players drive the bow hard and cut the notes with the left hand, and MacIsaac does both with more force than most.
Two things make him easy to spot in three seconds. First, he plays a right-handed fiddle left-handed, so the bow arm and the string order run backward from what you expect. Second, he attacks. His reels push ahead of the beat, and on the crossover records the fiddle fights guitars and drum machines for space and wins. On the pure trad albums like Beautiful Lake Ainslie the same drive shows up with spare, traditional backing.
Influences and legacy
His first teacher was Stan Chapman. He grew up inside a family of players. His cousin Natalie MacMaster and cousins Wendy and Alexis MacIsaac all tour, and his sister Lisa MacIsaac fiddles in the band Madison Violet. The island’s recorded tradition, from Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald to Buddy MacMaster, is the source he draws from.
His crossover records made Cape Breton fiddle a national sound in Canada in the mid 1990s. He recorded with Howie MacDonald, Dave MacIsaac, Barbara MacDonald Magone, and Bruce Hornsby, and opened for the White Stripes in Glace Bay in 2007.
Signature tunes and songs
Sleepy Maggie The Devil in the Kitchen Beautiful Lake Ainslie.
Essential recordings
Hi How Are You Today? (A&M, 1995) Fine, Thank You Very Much (1996) Helter’s Celtic (Loggerhead, 1999) Beautiful Lake Ainslie, with Barbara MacDonald Magone
Awards and honors
Juno Award, Best New Solo Artist (1996) Juno Award, Best Roots and Traditional Album, Solo (1996) Juno Award, Instrumental Artist of the Year (1997) Double platinum certification in Canada for Hi How Are You Today?
What to learn from MacIsaac
Learn The Devil in the Kitchen from Hi How Are You Today? and play it with the Cape Breton snap: a short note followed by a long one, cut hard with the bow. The technique to steal is his drive. Play a reel with your foot stomping on every beat and let the bow dig in on the downbeats. Bluegrass fiddlers who add that Cape Breton attack to a breakdown find they can pull a jam faster without playing more notes.
Sources
Ashley MacIsaac, The Canadian Encyclopedia Ashley MacIsaac, Wikipedia
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more Canadian fiddlers. MacIsaac’s cousin Natalie MacMaster is Cape Breton’s other international star. Buddy MacMaster and Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald built the recorded tradition he grew up on.