The Great Ashley MacIsaac

Over the years, we have seen and heard many awesome fiddlers at Celtfest, but as I sat mesmerized by Ashley MacIsaac on Saturday night at Celtfest, I began to realize that I was in the presence of greatness. As my sister-in-law described it, he is a genius.

It was just him with no band. Oh . . . he did have a single beatboxer (believe it or not) guy on stage with him, but the fiddling was straight Ashley and only Ashley: no singing, which I would normally miss but didn't in the least that night.

On a very warm night, he came on stage in black and wearing an overcoat, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. But he delivered. Two days later, as you can probably tell, I remain in awe. I think that shall have to consider it as a lifetime event.

How do you photograph a man dressed in black from your distant seat? Well you use a long lens, take lots of shots, and hope that a few turn out. As you glance at the photos, look for his stray bow strings (particularly in the last two photos), which is a bit of a trademark.

At the end of his performance, he tossed his hat into the audience, so I was able to squeeze a few shots in his short encore.

Here is a YT video that I found that I think gives you a good idea. Just think that he played like this for a whole hour for us.

Believe it or not, he does Stayin Alive, which really roused the crowd at Celtfest. His beatboxer/drummer accompanist is both seen (briefly) and heard in this one. Remarkable.