The driving beat of Cape Breton fiddling will return to the The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in 2013! We’re excited to welcome Dawn Beaton and Barbara Magone to the faculty of the Festival.

Dawn Beaton hails from Mabou, Cape Breton and has been playing fiddle and step dancing for most of her life. Music has been at the forefront of her life, surrounded by it through an infusion from her parents, her relatives, and living in the vibrant community of Mabou. Along with her fiddling sister, Margie, Dawn released her debut album, Taste of Gaelic. The recording won the East Coast Music Award for Roots/Traditional Duo or Group Recording of the Year in 2010. Dawn is also the Artistic Director for Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton that takes place every October on all corners of the island.

Barbara Magone is no stranger to Fiddle Tunes veterans. She was born and raised in Detroit in a community of transplanted Cape Bretoners. Her father was her first teacher, and her musical abilities were encouraged by the Cape Bretoners who came to her home for frequent music sessions. Childhood summers spent in Cape Breton also gave her a firm footing in that traditional music. She played for dances, concerts, weddings accompanying such notable Island fiddlers as Buddy MacMaster, Carl MacKenzie, Cameron Chisholm, Theresa MacLellan and John Campbell.

Barbara’s knowledge and experience in a wide array of Celtic forms is as deep as they come. She is adept at accompanying many styles of music very well and according to the Boston Globe, “She is one of the most sought after Celtic accompanists in North America; powerful yet sympathetic.”

Learn more about Dawn and Barbara, and the rest of the faculty of the 2013 gathering on our Fiddle Tunes Artist Faculty page.