Hardly a boring Wednesday at the office.

What a night!

We have all heard good music, nominal music, music that is pleasant or interesting: but sometimes we are met with magical music. It is otherworldly, it moves you. It touches something deeper in you than just sound waves in your ears.

We write this having just experienced some of the magical variety at our very own ceilidh.

It makes sense that often in Celtic folklore, the best musicians were rumoured to have received their gift from the fairies. Listeners could find no natural explanation for those sounds which left them speechless and full of joy. How is it, that these waves of sound can lift my spirit and thrill me?

We seek answers in vain. Beauty, be in it a sunset, or in the strains of a violin or piano, is enigmatic and elusive to description. It is ready to be enjoyed, however, and that, Friends, we are, here in Baddeck! Cape Breton has been blessed with a multitude of wonderful musicians and a good number are featured at our ceilidh nightly. The last few nights are good testament to that. Our humble parish hall has been filled to capacity with many congregating on the step to hear whatever they can manage.

Last night Leanne and Marion were on fire! Marion was all over that piano as we have come to expect from her! Leanne, fresh from a year in Ireland, was full of good tunes and had her characteristic powerful drive in full swing.

Robbie and Jennifer were fantastic tonight- there was magic in the air, indeed! They traded places effortlessly between fiddle and piano, giving each other a turn at the lead chair. For those who arrived unsuspecting, what a treat they received!

Robbie Fraser, together with his brother Isaac, have just released their 3rd cd, Everything Old is New Again. It is hot off the presses, only coming off the truck in the last couple weeks. Based on what we heard tonight, this is not one to be missed.

If for some reason you were unable to get their recording tonight, or find it elsewhere, Robbie did leave some with us at the ceilidh, so Everything Old is New Again will be available for purchase nightly at the Baddeck Gathering along with Mike Hall's recent release, A Legacy, Not to Be Forgotten. Both are $20 each.

See you at the ceilidh!