Fiddling runs in the family for Cape Breton fiddle maestro Natalie MacMaster, who comes to Lethbridge to share the stage with Johnny Reid, Feb. 13.
MacMaster began fiddling professionally  as a young girl of 16 and his since released 11 albums.

  She married  fellow fiddler Donnell Leahy in 2002.

Now their children  are fine fiddlers who sometimes join them on stage, though they won’t be part of her slot on Johnny Reid’s tour, which comes to Lethbridge on Feb. 13 at the Enmax Centre.
 “It will just be me,” MacMaster said after the first date of the 10 week tour with the country/ pop superstar in Vancouver at the  Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
“ It’s amazing  just how great they are,” she said.

“For sure we’ve encouraged them. We got them started at age four. If you get them started young, then they will get to like it, or  find out if they like it whether it is music or hockey or other sports ,” she said.
“They’ll go on sleepovers with their friends and their bring their fiddles because they just love to play,” she continued.
She is excited to join Johnny Reid on tour for the first time.

“I’ve never toured with him before, but I’ve worked with him,” she said.
“I get to be a special guest  with him in the middle of the show,” she said adding she will be joined by her 10 piece band.

“It‘s excellent to be able to play for Johnny Reid’s fans,” she said.
“ It’s an exciting show, people  will come out of it feeling  completely fulfilled on all levels,” she enthused.
 She is looking forward to doing some writing with Reid during the 10 week tour.

This week, Fort MacLeod singer/ songwriter John Wort Hannam is putting on two special fundraisers to help fight Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS in memory of his childhood friend Ken Rouleau.

 In addition to a Feb. 12 show in Calgary, the second annual Songs for Ken features Hannam and his friends Brooke Wylie,  Amy Thiessen, Dave McCann, Karla Adolphe  and MC Allison Brock performing at the Empress Theatre in Fort MacLeod, Feb. 13.
 Tickets cost $25 for the show, which begins at 7:30 p.m.
 Hannam said plans for the show are going well as word is spreading.

“Last year we had a promoter Vic  Close from the Fish Creek Concerts.
 The Calgary line up will feature John Wort Hannam,, Karla Adolphe, Randall Wiebe, Maria Dunn, John Rutherford, Amy Bishop and The Polyjesters.
 The Fort MacLeod show features Hannam, Dave McCann, Amy Bishop, John Rutherford and Maria Dunn from Edmonton.
“Maria is one of the people who contacted me after last year’s show. A beloved sound man from Edmonton passed away from ALS the same year Ken did, in 2012, so  she asked if she could be involved,” he said.

While mega star Johnny Reid worked  with Calgary based singer/ songwriter JJ Shiplett  on his upcoming album, he will be sharing the stage for first time with him on his current tour, which stops by the Enmax Centre, Feb. 13.

“It’s going to be really fun for us, being on the road with Johnny and playing for his audience,” Shiplett enthused from the tour kickoff in Vancouver.
“ He’s just the consummate professional. So watching him working with his people and the crew and his audience will help me a lot,” he continued, adding he has been friends with Johnny for a long time.

“ I’m with his company, I’m more used to  going to Nashville and hanging out with him at his house there,” he said, noting Reid is executive producer of Shiplett’s new CD, due out soon.

“ He was executive producer, so  he just watched over everything making sure we were on the right track,” he said.
“ The album is done and the art is done. There are just a few details that need to be worked out,” he said, adding He hasn’t co-written any songs with him yet.
“ We’re hoping to do some of that during the down time on this tour,” he said.

There is no rest for the wicked or the U of L Opera workshop.
 The U of L Opera workshop just finished two successful performances of Hansel and Gretel and barely stopped for a breath before preparing  for a special show on Sunday, Feb. 7 to  help bring a large Syrian family to Lethbridge.
“ We usually try to take a week off, but when this show came up, everybody was so enthusiastic abut it. It is a small way we can contribute our talents. Besides , this is what we do, we  sing,” said U of L Opera Workshop director Dr. Blaine Hendsbee.

 The  show, taking place Sunday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, is the second in a series of three fundraising shows to help bring  a 14 member Syrian family to Lethbridge.

“This is a large collaborative effort between St. Augustines and several other Anglican churches and the University of Lethbridge,” said Brian Black who is  helping spearheaded the group’s efforts to privately sponsor the family, who are  scheduled to arrive  within a month, if all goes smoothly.

“One of the sisters in the family and her husband were  refugees and it’s their family,” he continued, noting  They hope to raise a total of  $140,000 which will support the family for a year while they get settled.