The Estevan Arts Council is bringing a unique and high-energy performance to the Energy City. The Leahys are coming to play at Estevan Comprehensive School on May 2. Their concert will be an event for the whole family, as the their fans are of all ages.
The Leahys are an Ontario-based family of musicians who bring together a number of musical talents, blending their various styles of singing and instrumentation into a performance that sounds like a combination of Celtic, folk and roots music all in one. There are elements of heavier music in the Leahys’ sound, with more contemporary drum beats, but that the music draws on a diverse number of old-fashioned sounds is beyond a doubt.
Maria Leahy, who sings and plays guitar, tenor and five-string banjo and mandolin, noted that although she and her siblings hail from Ontario, their sounds were influenced by their East Coast heritage.
“Our mother is from the East Coast. We have a lot of Celtic-based sounds coming through,” said Leahy. “Our mother was Scottish and our dad was Irish, but we did grow up listening to a variety of musical styles. They made their way into the music we play, and that does make it difficult to identify or categorize.”
Leahy said that she and her siblings often look to others to help them understand what, exactly, their sound is, because “we, ourselves, hear so many different things.”
The Leahys grew playing music together from a young age. They are so comfortable performing and collaborating, that Leahy described their playing together as a language of their own among one another.
“It’s a way of communicating, and we understand each other on a certain level, so that when we play onstage, that’s how we’re talking to one another,” said Leahy. “Plus, the more people you have, the more things you can do with the music. You can integrate and be more creative in certain ways. You have a few more options. But then again, we also like to scale it back at times, as well.”
Leahy admitted she doesn’t remember ever having played in Estevan, but she and her bandmates are excited to play in the Energy City. On that topic, she noted that Saskatchewan has always given the Leahys a warm
welcome.
“We’ve spent a good amount of time out west in the past year. It’s always a great time in Saskatchewan for us,” said Leahy. “ I don’t know how many times we’ve said to people that the nicest people come from Saskatchewan. I’m not sure what you guys do there in that province, but we’ve met so many nice and gracious people from Saskatchewan.”
Leahy said the band will be comfortable performing in a community like Estevan, since she and her siblings grew up and honed their sounds in rural Ontario, where there is a similarly strong country feel and appreciation for all things rural.
“We enjoy all kinds of different venues, from larger performance centres, where we’ve done a lot of touring to the small intimate ones, where you can be more raw and spontaneous,” said Leahy. “We like it all. We love the different kinds of energy we experience performing at different venues. Each place offers something different. Wherever there’s a gathering for people, it’s a special moment.”
