A Cape Breton skyrocket is Ashley MacIsaac! A step-dancer as a youth, he and the fiddle soon came together, and the results have him proud owner of a "gold" status (50,000 copies sold) CD release, Hi, How Are You Today. Ashley, backed by his band, is up for entertainer of the year, album of the year, song and video of the year (Sleepy Maggie with Mary Jane Lamond) and leads the nomination sweepstakes for the 1997 East Coast Music Awards. Celtic tradition runs deep. But it's not the tradition making purists' hackles rise- Ashley's enough of a traditionalist and a politician to smooth the ruffled feathers. What makes brows rise is Celtic traditional music, step-dancing onstage, backed by the Kitchen Devils, one of the more outrageous and entertaining Celtic rock bands anywhere.

The musicians:

• Stuart Cameron, guitar
• Joel Chiasson, keyboards
• Adam Dowling, drums
• Scott Long, bagpipes
• Ed Woodsworth, bass

Although he's not a frequent visitor to Highland Games and festivals, no listing of Celtic entertainers would be complete without reference to Ashley McIsaac's inimitable Celtic-Plus turned-on traditional style.

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