The Iona Heights Inn

Saturday Ceilidh - Shelly Campbell
2016-08-20 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax) | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Shelly Campbell
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Saturday Market
2016-08-20 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-08-13 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-08-06 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-07-30 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-07-23 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-07-16 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-07-09 08:00 - 12:00, 2016-07-02 08:00 - 12:00 | The Iona Heights Inn, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, NS, B2C1A3, Canada
The Jillick at the Inn will play host to 8 market vendors, who handcraft and or grow their own products. We like to encourage buying local, as well as young and old entrepreneurship alike.
Details to follow.

Hillsburn
2016-08-17 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Still riding high in the wake of a well-received self-titled EP released last October, folk-pop group Hillsburn is, like many of us, looking forward to a spring and summer of festivals. Plus a full-length album in the fall.
Made up of brother and sister Clayton and Rosanna Burrill, Jackson Fairfax-Perry and main songwriter Paul Aarntzen, the band started playing together after a health scare of Aarntzen’s. A prolific songwriter, he ended up writing a selection of songs for a yet-unformed band at his house in Hillsburn, NS after a hospital stay. Recruiting some friends, the evolution of the band was easy. “It was something that felt really natural, and we all had a lot of fun with it,” says Clayton. “All four of us were sort of in transitional periods, evaluating what we wanted to spend our time doing, and Hillsburn really just presented itself to us.”
Hillsburn’s thoughtful, melodic songs come from Aartzen’s literary background. “Lyrically, [Paul] makes up a lot of first-person stories. He’s also writes fiction, so a lot of our songs end up sounding a little like short stories set to music.”
Though rooted in folk, the band prefers to dodge genres in favour of just doing what sounds best. “We don’t necessarily think of ourselves as working within the folk tradition. I think we adopted the folk-pop label because we play mostly acoustic instruments, many of which are staples of folk and bluegrass—acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo,” says Clayton. “But really these were just the instruments we had kicking around when we started trying to arrange some of Paul’s songs. We also use saxophone, keyboard and ukulele. We’re certainly not folk purists. We have one song that’s just a Rhodes keyboard and three-part harmony. So we tend to use whatever instrumentation sounds best, regardless of what genre the song sounds like as a result.”

Saturday Ceilidh
2016-08-13 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-08-06 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-07-30 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-07-23 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-07-16 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-07-09 17:00 - 20:00, 2016-07-02 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Music TBA.
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs.
Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Saturday Ceilidh - Roger Stone
2016-08-13 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Roger Stone
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Dave Gunning
2016-08-10 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
“Over a career now spanning 20 years and 10 albums, folk-based singer/songwriter Dave Gunning has earned multiple Canadian Folk Music and East Coast Music Awards (and a Juno nomination) for his well-crafted work. An engaging performer, he has entertained audiences in the U.S., Europe and Australia and is highly respected by his peers. His new (eleventh) album Lift is shaping up as his best yet. The self-produced record has a sparce and acoustic feel, but there’s plenty of lyrical and musical variety here, with some tunes having a pro-environment message. Gunning has a very honest and big-hearted vocal style, and we expect this fine album, Lift, to add to his trophy collection.” –
Kerry Doole, newcanadianmusic.ca

Saturday Ceilidh - Howie & Flo
2016-08-06 18:00 - 21:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Howie & Flo
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Laura Smith & Kim Dunn
2016-08-03 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Laura Smith’s distinct singing voice has been a mainstay of the Canadian music scene for many decades now. Growing up in southern Ontario, she made the bold move to Cape Breton in the mid-‘80s where she found a vibrant music scene and the ability to grow artistically. She has remained in Nova Scotia ever since and has a community of musical friends who are able to support her performances and, occasionally, are the sources of new material. Laura continues to hone her craft of song writing. Personal accolades include two Juno nominations, a Gemini award, and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities to honour Laura’s songwriting talent. She is probably most well-known for “My Bonny”, her unique interpretation of the Scottish song “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”, a version of which she recorded with The Chieftains in 2010 which was named Song of the Decade by LiveIreland, the Irish Internet radio and TV enterprise.
North Sydneys Kim Dunn was the recipient of the first ECMA Musician Special Achievement Award for his work as a singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, musical director and pianist. His first solo record, Take This Hammer, was called a polished gem by The Chronicle Herald. He has performed extensively throughout North America and abroad and has worked with an A-list of artists including: Rita MacNeil, Bruce Guthro, Matt Inglewood, Alison Krauss, Jimmy Rankin, David Myles, Jill Barber, Dave Gunning and countless others.
Kims latest recording, Day By Day, picks up where Take This Hammer left off. As with its predecessor, Day By Day offers listeners an indelible collection of heartfelt, rootsy tunes anchored by a pitch-perfect tenor delivery and incomparable musicianship. This music is made to last and only gets better with each listen.

Saturday Ceilidh - Lisa MacArthur
2016-07-30 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Lisa MacArthur
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Lucy MacNeil
2016-07-27 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
The only girl in a family of five boys, Lucy MacNeil can be described as the heart of The Barra MacNeils. Her crystalline vocals are immediately identifiable with the group’s quintessential sound.
For Lucy, music has always had a heartbeat and she recalls it as the centre of her childhood home where family, neighbours and visiting musicians were often known to gather — the perfect rhythm of everyone’s feet tapping with the music would lull her to sleep on many nights.
Lucy’s own musical journey officially began when she was 9 years old, but even before that she was step dancing alongside her mother, a well-known local dancer and teacher. Her career with The Barra MacNeils has seen her opening tours for international stars such as Celine Dion, Kenny Rogers and fellow Canadian Rita MacNeil. Yet, with all the many rich and rewarding experiences Lucy’s fondest memory of performing took place in grade 10 at Memorial High School. A contestant in the winter carnival pageant, she put together a performance for the talent portion that drew on all her talents – singing “The legend of the St. Anne’s Reel” playing the fiddle between verses and then ending with a step dance routine. The remarkable effort would lead to her very first standing ovation.
A devoted mother of two talented young girls, Lucy finds time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, from sharing recipes with her mom, and getting car care advice from her dad, chatting with old friends or dancing to the infectious latin rhythms in her ZUMBA class. Lucy MacNeil looks forward to discovering where music and her extraordinary life will lead her next.

Saturday Ceilidh - Boyd MacNeil
2016-07-23 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Boyd MacNeil
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Union Duke
2016-07-20 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Like a musical locomotive hurtling ’round the bend, Union Duke is a Toronto folk quintet that’s taking the world by storm – one captivating performance at a time. Bridging soulful indie rock with bluegrass and country, these city-slickin’ whipper-snappers unleash soaring vocal harmonies over heel-stomping beats, in a growing collection of irresistible songs that set hearts and dancefloors ablaze.
Union Duke’s 2014 release Cash & Carry was recorded in a log cabin in the Ontario woods and features songs of love, loss, and a cheap shirt. On the heels of 2013’s Bandits & Bridges, these five energetic troubadours delivered their second self-produced record in as many years, and their runaway train shows no signs of slowing. Currently, they are working on their third studio album scheduled for release in Summer 2016.
Have a listen

Saturday Ceilidh - Anita & Ben
2016-07-16 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Anita & Ben
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

J.P. Cormier
2016-07-13 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
J.P. Cormier is a man with many musical talents. He is a skilled songwriter, a gifted singer, & an extraordinary musician who has accomplished success with more than one instrument. During his long career, he has won many competitions, including the Canadian Open Guitar Championship, the Southern U.S. Fiddle Championship, & the Southern U.S. Banjo Championship. He has also worked with a number of big-name artists and appeared on the ever-popular Grand Ol’ Opry over 24 times. His debut album, Out of the Blue, was released when he was only 16 years old.
Cormier was born in London, Ontario, Canada. When most kids were just starting kindergarten, he was already showing a strong interest in music. Soon that interest proved to be an impressive natural talent. He taught himself to play the guitar. It would only be the first of many string instruments he would master in the coming years.
Not long after Cormier’s ninth birthday, he won his first guitar competition, holding his own against musicians of all ages. He landed his first steady professional job when he was only 14. It was a weekly bluegrass television show called Up Home Tonight. Two years later came the release of a debut album filled with instrumental bluegrass music that showcased his guitar skills. After some time appearing at a number of festivals, Cormier became the mandolin player for the famous bluegrass-gospel group the Sullivan Family. He spent a number of years afterward touring with the group, and with other major artists.
In 1997, Cormier, all grown-up, finally finished a sophomore offering, Another Morning, for his fans. The award-winning recording was followed by a third full-length album, Heart & Soul. Along the way to making a name for himself, Cormier has performed with countless artists, the list reading something like a who’s who in music, including Alan Jackson, Marty Stuart, Bill Monroe, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Kitty Wells, and many others. If his musical career had crashed to an end with the start of the new millennium, Cormier would still have touched enough parts of the music world to ensure that his legacy lasted long after.

Saturday Ceilidh - Darrell Keigan
2016-07-09 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Darrell Keigan
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10

Port Cities
2016-07-06 20:00 - 22:30 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Stellar songs, dynamic vocals, and superior musicianship marks the emergence of Port Cities onto the Canadian music scene. An exciting new group from the east coast, Port Cities brings together the award winning talents of Carleton Stone, Breagh Mackinnon, and Dylan Guthro.
The trio began writing together when they met at the Gordie Sampson Songcamp in Ingonish, Cape Breton. The result was a strong friendship and ongoing collaboration as they each released and toured solo albums.
Port Cities has now surfaced as the result of a genuine connection and a shared belief that the music they make together has endless possibilities. The outcome is a rootsy pop sound with an emphasis on powerful harmonies, outstanding songs, and an engaging camaraderie onstage and off.
The members of Port Cities are no strangers to great music, with six [solo] albums released collectively to date and collaborations with the likes of Juno award-winning duo Classified and David Myles, along with Hawksley Workman (Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea), Howie Beck (Feist, Hannah Georgas, Hayden) and Jason Collett (acclaimed singer/songwriter and member of Broken Social Scene).
The band is currently working with mentor and friend, Gordie Sampson (Carrie Underwood, LeAnn Rhymes, Rascal Flatts), writing and recording for their debut release, anticipated for release in 2016.

Saturday Ceilidh - Paul Cranford
2016-07-02 17:00 - 20:00 | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Paul Cranford
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our weekly ceilidhs. Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers all from our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating ranging from $5-$10
