New musicians, old tunes: Out-of-province musicians find opportunities to perform Celtic music in P.E.I.
- Judith Mendiolea Lelo de Larrea
- Dec 5, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 27, 2025
(This story was originally published by The Guardian on Nov 23, 2024)
Sara Nelson was four years old. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the TV in her familys living room in New Brunswick when the animated characters in “The Little Einsteins” started playing in an orchestra.
I want to play that, Nelson said signalling toward the violin on screen.
Her parents signed her up for lessons, and by eight, Nelson was performing with the fiddle alongside her younger brother at Fundy National Park, New Brunswick. Their gigs were part of the Molly Kool Kitchen show, where they provided music for stories about Molly Kool, North Americas first female ship captain.
It was so young that you don’t register that you’re nervous, you’re just going up there playing your songs, and then you’re done, Nelson said. You’re just having fun as a kid.
Now 18, Nelson has taken her fiddle farther than Fundy.
Drawn to P.E.I.
Along with stops at shows in the Maritimes, including the 2023 International Shellfish Festival in P.E.I., Nelson performed on the main stage at the HebCelt Festival in Scotland and also spent a whirlwind week performing at Dollywood in Tennessee, playing 24 shows over six days.
Sara and James Nelson play traditional Celtic music together. The siblings have been playing since they were children and form part of a group called the Lumber Jills in Sackville, N.B. Contributed – Contributed
Despite all the travel, she keeps getting drawn to P.E.I.
P.E.I. has so much music its everywhere, from festivals to square dances, Nelson said. Its exciting to be in a place where people love the music I love.
Nelson isn't alone.
Musicians from across Canada and beyond are drawn to P.E.I. every year. For Celtic music professionals, the still strong tradition on the Island offers opportunities to grow, perform, and collaborate.
A Celtic hub
P.E.I. has long been associated with Celtic music, where the fiddle is a cultural staple. Festivals, jam sessions, and ceilidhs thrive on the Island, blending Cape Breton, Acadian and Scottish influences.
But this rich tradition isnt static its dynamic and welcoming.
Musicians from across Canada and beyond are increasingly drawn to P.E.I. for its vibrant music culture and abundant opportunities to perform.
Every Thursday, musicians gather to share their music and learn from each other about different styles of playing during jam sessions at the Old Triangle in Charlottetown.Judith Mendiolea Special to The Guardian
Local venues like The Old Triangle and Copper Bottom Brewery host regular sessions, while organizations like the P.E.I. Fiddlers Association provide a platform for preserving and evolving these traditions.
Its this mix of history and openness that brought Ray Knorr to P.E.I., changing the course of his musical career.
Travelling East
Like Nelson, the fiddle became a lifelong companion for Knorr when he was four years old. Growing up in Saskatoon, Sask., he received a toy fiddle-guitar hybrid from his uncle.
Knorr spent his teenage years competing in fiddle contests and attending music camps across Western Canada, where he developed a style that emphasized clean, technical playing.
But in 2022, a road trip across Canada led him to P.E.I., and everything changed.
He had been working as a software engineer in Western Canada but decided to quit his job and move to P.E.I. to pursue his music career.
His first performance at Tunes on Tap in Montague was eye-opening.
I was struck by how much people appreciate live fiddle music here, he said. The fiddle style here focuses on groove and energy for dances, whereas back home, its more about technical precision.
Ray Knorr, left and Tom Gammons perform as the duet Gammons and Knorr, playing traditional Celtic music in Charlottetown. The musicians bring influences from Saskatchewan and Montana into their performances and are set to release an album in April of 2025. Judith Mendiolea Special to The Guardian
Knorr now performs weekly at jam sessions on The Old Triangle and hosts intimate house concerts with his music partner Tom Gammons.
My goal is to take the groove and love of playing from the Maritimes and combine it with the technical traditions of Western Canada, Knorr said.
Today, he is a full-time musician. Something, he says would have been almost impossible back home.
His partner, Gammons, came to P.E.I., even from farther away.
From Montana to P.E.I.
Gammons connection to Celtic music began in Montana, where he grew up surrounded by stories from his Canadian relatives. His mother was from Saskatchewan, and his aunt and uncle ran the Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party music camp.
As soon as I was in this community environment around traditional music, it changed my life completely, Gammons said.
Gammons met Knorr as a teenager at a music camp, and their shared love for traditional music sparked a lifelong friendship.
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As soon as I was in this community environment around traditional music, it changed my life completely.” Tom Gammons
While Knorr pursued contests, Gammons focused on guitar accompaniment. Every fiddler needs an accompanist, and I could be that person that was really appealing to me, he said.
Gammons moved to P.E.I., in 2022 and was immediately swept into the music scene.
His first performance was unplanned he mistook a variety show for a jam session and brought his guitar along.
Well, since youre here, youre going on stage, the friend who invited him said.
The actual performance itself, I don’t remember super well, Gammons said.
I think the big thing that just really stood out to me was the readiness of the local musicians, as well as the local audience, to just welcome a new player into the scene. It’s so receptive in that way that I instantly felt like, OK, I can do this.
I think the big thing that just really stood out to me was the readiness of the local musicians, as well as the local audience, to just welcome a new player into the scene. It’s so receptive in that way that I instantly felt like, OK, I can do this. Tom Gammons
He added, Coming to P.E.I., you really feel the intergenerational love for this music.”
A natural setting
Nelson said she had the same experience at her Shellfish Festival performance.
It was surreal, she said. I stomped on the stomp box and started clapping during one of our sets, and the crowd joined in. That was my favourite moment.
Sara Nelson started playing the fiddle when she was just four years old. Later, she would begin playing with her brother James Nelson at the Molly Kool Kitchen Party at Fundy National Park, N.B.Contributed
For Nelson, the Island music community also offers great learning opportunities.
It’s so much fun to get to play with different people and it’s like more of a natural setting because when you’re on stage, you are putting on a show. But when you’re at (a jam session) it’s like a lot of fun, ’cause it’s natural, Nelson said.
It’s keeping Celtic music alive because everyone can participate in workshops and you can learn from all of these amazing musicians that are playing. Everybody crams into this little building and jams all night. And some people say it’s so late, like 4 or 5 a.m. I’ve only ever stayed till two.
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