On Friday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. the Algonquin Theatre stage will resound with the toe-tapping, Celtic sounds of fiddling supergroup Leahy.

Leahy’s eight musical brothers and sisters bring their whole being to each and every performance. When they opened for Shania Twain on her inaugural world tour, Leahy brought 175 audiences to their feet.

Their life story reads like a Hollywood movie: a large family raised without a television on a farm in the small town of Lakefield, Ontario. In fact, their  story was so compelling that it became the subject of an Oscar- winning documentary titled The Leahys: Music Most of All.   

When Irishman Michael Leahy came to Canada in 1825, he brought his fiddle with him.  Five generations later, Leahy has become an eight-piece whirlwind of Celtic music, dance, and song.

The 11 children of Frank and Julie Leahy were raised just a few miles from the farm that Michael established near Lakefield. Each of them learned fiddle music from their father and  received classical violin and piano lessons as well.  

Their mother, a champion dancer from Cape Breton, taught them their first routines, and in the evenings the old farmhouse shook with music and dancing. Soon the Leahy family was performing throughout rural Ontario, and the house filled with ribbons and trophies won at festivals and competitions.

Leahy’s eight musical brothers and sisters have been playing together their entire lives.  The band’s three acclaimed CDs – Leahy, Lakefield, and In All Things – have world-wide sales of over half a million copies.

Onstage leader Donnell Leahy turned out to be the musical prodigy.  By 16, he was an oft-decorated veteran of the fiddle-contest circuit, with a firm command of Celtic as well as jazz, bluegrass and classical styles. In 2005 he married Nova Scotia fiddle favourite Natalie MacMaster.

The family continues to move forward as musicians and performers. The winter of 2007 saw them release their first  live DVD and CD. They are also in the midst of working on their second DVD and live CD, which are to be released this year.  

On their recent American tour, new audiences learned that the family of instrumentalists, singers, and dancers brings a rare level of originality and musicianship to the stage. This originality includes music that Leahy writes, arranges, and produces. Known for their unique blend of musical styles and genres, their repertoire is more distinct than ever.

Leahy is the recipient of many awards, including Junos for Best New Group, Best Country Group, and Best Instrumental Album. Their self-titled album rose to number four on the Billboard world music charts and found its way onto the soundtrack of the award-winning movie The Hanging Garden.  

Pure and authentic, the band continues to be one of Canada’s most sought after exports.

Tickets for Leahy are $40 for adults and $20 for youth under 18 and are available through the Algonquin Theatre box office, by calling 789-4975, or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.