Irish Millie in Concert

Special guests - Trained by Chickadees

Saturday, November 14, 2026

7:30 pm

Highland Hills United Church, 21 Newcastle Street, Minden

Irish Millie is a 19-year-old Canadian singer, songwriter and fiddler from Peterborough Ontario, known for her high-energy blend of East Coast drive, bluegrass edge, and contemporary trad with a distinct Celtic pop rock energy. A seven-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, she earned two 2026 nominations for her EP Between Then and Now, including Young Performer of the Year, her fifth nomination in the category, and Single of the Year for “You Were There.” Her previous album GRACE also received two CFMA nominations, and she has been nominated for Folk Music Ontario’s Performing Artist of the Year.

In 2026, Irish Millie was named Emerging Artist of the Year at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, further solidifying her place as one of Canada’s most exciting young voices in folk and roots music. That same year, she was selected as Breakthrough Artist of the Year through North2North, earning the opportunity to represent Canada on international stages at Lilla By Festivalen in Sweden.

Irish Millie has performed extensively across Canada, the United States, and Europe, with appearances at Musik over Præstø Fjord, Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival, Peterborough Folk Festival in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Live From the Rock, St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage, and the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre. She has performed for audiences of more than 10,000 at Peterborough Musicfest and has showcased on official Folk Music Ontario stages curated by Folk Canada.

Following her performances in Sweden, Irish Millie will tour Canada’s East Coast throughout July 2026, continuing a busy season of live performance and audience growth.

Her all-original album GRACE earned praise from Celtic music icons Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, who described it as “fresh, lively… cool tunes and great playing.” Featured in Cashbox Canada, Irish Millie has also been recognized for her passion, work ethic, and distinctive voice in the Canadian roots scene.

A former Peterborough Folk Festival Emerging Artist of the Year, Irish Millie is also recognized for her community engagement through initiatives such as Fiddling for Fox, which earned her the Peterborough Civic Award for Community Betterment. She is currently a full-time student in the University of Toronto Music Industry and Technology Specialist program, balancing academic study with an active touring, writing, and recording schedule.

With a new album released in July 2026, Irish Millie continues to push her sound forward while staying deeply rooted in the traditions that shaped her, bringing a fresh, genre-blending energy to every stage she steps on. 

Have a listen!

Trained by Chickadees is a husband and wife folk duo (Bethany Houghton & Ernie Demuth) who play singer songwriter originals and a few covers. Their music covers fiddling, folk and rock cello.

Open Stage

featuring West o' The Loch

October 10, 2026

7:00 pm

Royal Canadian Legion - Br 129

719 Mountain St., Haliburton

Come play, come listen. Join us for a live music event featuring local and guest musicians. Admission - PWYC (Pay What You Can) All ages welcome.

Open stage happens downstairs in the "Club Room". You can enter Legion the by the front door (there is an elevator) or by the side door on left side of building. Seating: mainly large round tables - capacity 65 persons including performers. The bar will be open thanks to a Legion volunteer.

Note to performers

We are limiting the number of performers to 13 so arrive early to be assured of a spot. Doors to the Legion will open at 6:00 PM day of Open Stage. Performers will approach the greeter and take a number to secure their position. Sign up begins at 6:30 performers will give their numbers to David . No advanced sign up requests will be accepted.

Host - David Boloten

Featured performer - West o' the Loch

Jamie McGowan was raised on the south west corner of Loch Lomond, Scotland. He was exposed to traditional tunes and song as a child and as a teenager played in new age Scottish Rock Band- Flood of Red. Since becoming a resident of Canada over 10 years ago, Jamie has written and performed many of his original compositions across the highlands.

William MacKechnie aka Brian Sachs was raised in the south western Ontario Town of Listowel. He heard Irish tunes at a local gathering when he was very young. In later years he became a Piper with a local Scottish Pipe and Drum Band and learned Folk Song while at the University of Guelph with a good friend David Bates. William plays several instruments and performs Traditional Celtic Irish and Scottish songs and tunes as well as Folk Songs and some Country try Songs.

West O’ The Loch was formed 18 months ago and performs at local establishments in The Highlands. The band name was crafted from Jim and William’s family history. Jim being raised on the south west shore of Loch Lomond where his ancestors thrived. Brian’s Great Great Grandfather, Dugald MacKechnie immigrated to Canada in 1850 from the Isle of Mull, an Inner Hebrides Island off the west coast of Scotland. 

Home Routes House Concert

featuring

​Brian Conway and Cate Sandstrom

Friday October 16. 2026

7:00pm (doors open at 6:30)

Hosts: Barbara Kraus and Reiner Arnold

​Tamarack Lodge

1003 English Circle,

Gooderham ON

To reserve your seat in the yurt

Email: info@tamaracklodge.ca

Phone: 705-559-5972

$25 to the artist

​Brian Conway and Cate Sandstrom are both traditional Irish fiddlers, and there is a particularly interesting teacher–student connection between them.

Brian Conway is a highly regarded Irish-American fiddler from the Bronx, New York, and one of the important living exponents of the New York–Sligo style of Irish fiddle playing.

His musical lineage is unusually direct. He studied with Martin Wynne and Andy McGann; McGann was a student of the legendary Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman. Conway has therefore been an important link in transmitting the New York Sligo tradition across generations. He has also won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions and has recorded for Smithsonian/Folkways.

His 2025 album Wallace Avenue is particularly interesting because it documents both his own playing and his role as a teacher. More than 20 of his former and current students participate on the final track. Cate Sandstrom is among those students and plays on another track as well.

Cate Sandstrom is a younger-generation traditional Irish fiddler based in New York. Her story is interesting because she actually discovered traditional music in Canada. According to her biography, she became interested in traditional music there and then spent seven weeks in Ireland in 2012, where she began playing Irish music. She subsequently studied both classical and Irish music and eventually studied with Brian Conway.

She now performs with the McLean Avenue Band, teaches fiddle privately and through workshops, and has performed in the U.S., Canada and Europe. She has also appeared on television/film, including Life & Beth and Malevolence 3.

Their musical relationship - ​perhaps the most interesting part. Conway and Sandstrom have developed a fiddle-duet partnership, rather than simply having Conway accompany a former student. Their playing draws on the old Irish tradition of two fiddlers playing melody and harmony together.

Conway's own website describes the tradition as exemplified by earlier Sligo partnerships such as Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds. The musical challenge is considerable: the two fiddlers have to coordinate ornamentation, bowing, rhythm and melodic variation while maintaining a very tight sense of ensemble. And this isn't just historical material. Conway and Sandstrom have been performing together extensively in 2026, including a series of concerts and workshops in California and New York.

Other events from the Haliburton County Community Cooperative



October 14 - Telling Our Stories Speaker Series featuring Ian Brown

October 17 - All Candidate Meeting - Algonquin Highlands

Join us on Facebook and Instagram for more news and stories.

For a listing of live entertainment in the Haliburton Highlands

click HERE