Niagara Celtic welcomes 'King and Queen of Celtic,' Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy

Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games Press Release

The Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games is proud to announce the Ceilidh and Finalé bands for the 2025 event.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, the opening band, Tuatha Dea, from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, starts out the evening at 6 p.m. At 8:30 p.m., the headliner taking the stage is “Canada’s Queen and King of Celtic” performers: Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. They will be joined by their talented children.

MacMaster, known for her virtuosic skill and charm, was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2006, won two Canadian JUNO Awards, 19 East Coast Music Awards, and has released three Gold albums. Donnell led the family band Leahy to double-Platinum status, won three Canadian JUNO Awards, and was the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Leahys: Music Most of All.”

MacMaster and Donnell have passed their musical talent and dancing on to their children.

While their focus is the fiddle, they also play a variety of musical instruments accompanied by the Cape Breton style of step dancing.

Prior to the festival the family will present three private workshops for music students at Lockport-area schools.

Tuatha Dea tours and performs nationally and internationally and has been celebrated for uniqueness and energy. Songs “Appalachia Burning” and “Kilts and Corsets,” drawn from personal experiences, relate the depth and heart of the band’s creative spirit. Powerful hard-hitting tunes “Wisp of a Thing,” “Morgan La Fey” and “Amy” reflect the group’s rock edge.

To finish the festival on Sunday, Sept. 14, starting at 5 p.m., the event will welcome another Canadian group, The Mudmen.

Always entertaining and definitely unique, Mudmen are a blast of Celtic energy. The Mudmen have performed at festivals, theaters, events and clubs in eight different countries. Mudmen have guested and or opened for Glass Tiger, The Irish Rovers, The Chieftains and, of course, MacMaster.

To see these three world-class bands and many more performers on five music stages, visit the largest Celtic gathering in New York state: the Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival at the Niagara County Fairgrounds. Enjoy authentic highland games, pipe bands, clans, dancers, bonfires, history groups, animal presentations, workshops, artisans, merchandise vendors, the “Taste of Celtic” (with 25-plus food vendors and adult beverages), pageantry and a special children’s area.

To find out everything you need to know about this exciting and extensive celebration of Celtic Culture, or to purchase tickets before they are sold out, visit niagaraceltic.com.