The event will feature MacMaster, Leahy and friends performing using a mixture of contemporary popular music, American bluegrass, holiday standards and traditional Celtic instruments, including the fiddle, which has become a signature of both musicians.
The concert will be broadcast through the HomePlay.Live network, which offers pay-per-view livestreamed concerts. Concerts like this, often advertised through poster printing and social media, have experienced a boom in popularity this year as artists and music lovers adapt to social distancing regulations.
MacMaster and Leahy were both well-established artists in Canadian Celtic music before marrying in 2002. Their 2016 joint album, “A Celtic Family Christmas”, will give them a basis for the upcoming digital special. The duo’s seven children sometimes perform with them.
In a message to fans, MacMaster and Leahy expressed the importance of the upcoming concert:
“Music has always been and always should be an important part of the season. For Donnell and I, Christmas has always given us beautiful moments and memories. And now as parents, we hope to help create the same for our children in our own way.”
Celtic Christmas at Home will be streamed from the Artesian concert hall in Regina on December 11. It will be one of the few performances taking place at the venue this winter, due to restrictions on live audiences.