Music
Live at the Brackley Beach Ceilidh
Released in 2012, this live (and lively!) CD+DVD set features perennial favourites over the course of the Brackley Beach Ceilidh’s decade-long run from 2004-2013.
If you have fond memories of the foot-stomping fiddle tunes, the crowd singalongs, and the chants of “Barry! Barry!” for Cynthia’s father to get on stage to stepdance, this collection will transport you right back to the Brackley Beach Community Centre on those warm summer evenings.
And if you never got to take in a Brackley Beach Ceilidh, invite 150 of your closest friends over on the hottest day of the summer, whip up some strawberry sundaes, and be prepared to take a trip to Brackley Beach with Cynthia along with some of PEI’s most well-known entertainers.
Live at the Brackley Beach Ceilidh highlights iconic performances from some of PEI’s top local musicians, including John Connolly, Mike Pendergast, Jon Matthews, and Eddy Quinn, who is featured in this video clip with ceilidh favourite Whiskey In The Jar.
Riddle
Released in 2010, Riddle marks a giant leap forward for Cynthia MacLeod, from “prodigy” to “Master”; from “energetic girl” to “dynamic, strong young woman”. With its soaring and unique arrangements, exquisite musicianship, and broad and varied influences, Riddle shows a sophistication and artistry earned by Cynthia through her years as one of Canada’s premier entertainers.
From straight-up dance hall sets to comical Acadian reels to heart-wrenching ancient Scottish laments, Riddle is more than a series of fiddle tunes; it is an emotional journey with Cynthia as your guide and some of the East Coast’s finest performers as your travelling companions. She can still drive ‘er as hard as any, but in Riddle, we see a new finesse, subtlety, and maturity that adds heart and strength to every tune.
Hot off the Floor
Released in 2007, Hot off the Floor is true, honest-to-goodness roots/traditional music, the way you would hear it in a warm kitchen on a cold winter’s night in rural PEI. In fact, this album just might have been inspired by some of those very kitchen parties with the musical friends that appear alongside Cynthia on this album.
Hot off the Floor’s down-home jigs, strathspeys and reels are intertwined with live tracks from the Brackley Beach Ceilidh as well as an intimate house concert in Massachusetts.
Crackerjack
Released in 2004, Crackerjack is an energetic frenzy of fiddle tunes demonstrating new heights of Cynthia’s skill and creativity. Assembling a team of fantastic musicians, she cranks out the tunes that she still gets the most requests for - Fairy Dance, Road to the Isles, Tennessee Waltz (featuring Eddy Quinn on vocals) - as well as showcases a few of her own compositions for the first time.
Head Over Heels
Released in 2002, Head Over Heels is Cynthia’s debut recording that went on to sweep that year’s Music PEI Awards. You can hear the excitement of being in the studio for the first time, collaborating with some of the region’s top traditional players and demonstrating a musical intuition beyond her teenage years. This is the album that set the stage for Cynthia’s career; a rock-solid foundation on which many years of honing her craft were built.