From Cape Breton to Boone Natalie MacMaster Band at Farthing March 2nd By Jeff Eason A Femme Fiddle. Dancer, singer and fiddler Natalie MacMaster will bring her talented band to ASU’s Farthing Auditorium on Wednesday, March 2. Natalie MacMaster is a one-woman ambassador of the Cape Breton area of Canada. Her early albums were steeped in the traditional fiddle tunes of that area and now that she is known world wide, she is taking those traditions and blending them with the sounds of the global village. Natalie MacMaster and her talented band will perform at Farthing Auditorium in Boone on Wednesday, March 2nd at 8 p.m. The performance is part of Appalachian State University’s 2005 Performing Arts Series, sponsored by the ASU Office of Cultural Affairs. Over the past decade, MacMaster has shared the stage with musical artists ranging from Carlos Santana and the Chieftains to Paul Simon, Luciano Pavarotti, Alison Krauss and Mark O’Connor. She has been named Fiddle Player of the Year for five years by the Canadian Country Music Awards and has won two Juno Awards—the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy. She has also won 11 East Coast Music Awards and in 2002 that organization named her Entertainer of the Year. MacMaster’s latest CD is the amazing studio album Blueprint. Nearly a concept album in its design, MacMaster and company play a series of tunes that show how the traditional and modern Celtic music of their beloved Cape Breton is related to Appalachian bluegrass music. Blueprint includes guest performances by Bela Fleck, Alison Brown, Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush. Their inclusion ups the ante on the musicianship of the disc but MacMaster and her band are up to the task on every take. “Alison Krauss was the artist who first got me listening to bluegrass music,” said MacMaster. “With this album, maybe I can do the same thing and attract people to traditional Cape Breton music.” Of course, as anyone who has seen a Natalie MacMaster show will tell you, none of her albums—as great as they are—can properly convey the magic of seeing this dynamo of a performer in a live setting. Her animated fiddling technique and high-stepping dance moves enhance the entire musical performance and always get the audience up in a stir. MacMaster’s touring band includes Brad Davidge on guitar and vocals, Jahn Chaisson on bass and vocals, Allan Dewar on piano and keyboards, Matt McIsaac on bagpipes and whistles, and Miche Pouliot on drums and percussion. Tickets Tickets for Wednesday’s performance by Natalie MacMaster and her band are $16 for the general public, $14 for seniors and ASU faculty and staff, and $8 for children and students. For more information, or to order tickets, call the Farthing Auditorium Box Office at (828) 262-4046.