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MacMaster free to do what she wants

Cape Breton fiddler an eclectic opening act for Faith Hill

Who: Natalie MacMaster (opening for Faith Hill)

Where: Base II — Blackcomb Mountain

When: Saturday, August 7

Tickets: $65/$86/$118

Vivacious fiddle virtuoso Natalie MacMaster has played Carnegie Hall alongside Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and more.

She’s shared other stages with Pavarotti, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, The Boston Pops and a host of symphony orchestras.

When she felt drawn to the sounds of bluegrass she didn’t quench her thirst with a Dolly cover or two. Not Natalie. She rounded up some of the most esteemed pickers in the genre including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush and Edgar Meyer who were more than happy to collaborate on the acclaimed album that came to be 2003’s ‘Blueprint.’

She harbours a secret ambition of playing fiddle in a funk band a la the P-Funk Allstars under deep cover of an alter ego — think Garth Brooks’ rock ’n’ roll fantasy character Chris Gaines only MacMaster claims she wouldn’t tell a soul.

And she dreams of collaborations with R&B icons like Prince and Stevie Wonder – the melody from Isn’t She Lovely would sound especially sensational played by her fiddle, she enthuses.

Amidst all the funk band alter ego scheming, R&B legend dreaming and bluegrass, country, pop, jazz, rock and classical collaborations rest assured - Natalie MacMaster knows exactly who she is.

"Here’s the deal: I’m a Cape Breton fiddler," she declares from her home in Ontario’s lake country, punctuating the statement subconsciously with a tenacious regional accent that’s held fast after years on the touring circuit and the move to central Canada.

"Even if I play a tune that’s not traditional Cape Breton, it doesn’t matter. It might as well be – I’m a Cape Breton fiddler.

"I just play my style. If I play a bluegrass tune it’s still going to sound like my style. Let that be known."

MacMaster’s unshakeable foundation in traditional East Coast Celtic music has grounded her through her experimentation with a myriad of musical styles. "If you love something set it free" goes the familiar saying. MacMaster has applied the concept to her sound.

Her current band consists of a jazz bass player, pop guitar player, and country drummer.

"You put us all together and we just play music," MacMaster says. "We go where the music leads us, not where we think it should be, not where we think people expect it should be. We let it breathe on its own. What that ends up being is a combination of my Cape Breton fiddling and a band of players that sometimes can take on a bit of a funk overtone, or go a little bit poppy, or a little bit jazzy, or a little bit Irish, or a little bit whatever.

"When it comes to me and recording and what I want to play it’s not like I want to be something. I just let the music be what it needs to be; somebody can put a label on it after it’s recorded."

MacMaster attributes much of the creative freedom she enjoys both onstage and off to the fact that despite her success she has yet to record a "hit."

"There’s advantages and disadvantages to having hits. I’m sure people can’t imagine the disadvantages, but one of them is that we can play anything, anytime, however we want it," she says. "Musically, it’s very fulfilling. You don’t have to play the same thing over and over in the same way."

She differs in this way from All-American country-popstar Faith Hill, for whom MacMaster will play the opening set on Saturday, August 7 at Base II on Blackcomb. Hill will no doubt have the entire mountainside at the open-air concert singing along with radio favourites like This Kiss and Breathe .

Even so, MacMaster couldn’t be happier about the lineup, including the profile discrepancies between the two performers.

"I’m going to complement her," the forthright fiddler declares. "I think it’s a real smart pairing. I like opposite things. I would never have a Cape Breton fiddler open for me."

With the upcoming gig squarely in her sights MacMaster’s effervescent voice gains momentum.

"I am going to take her crowd and I’ve got 45 minutes to stir them up and I’m not stirring them up with vocals, so when she comes on stage it’s going to be the first time you hear vocals and it’s just going to be beautiful because it’s fresh."

She pauses.

"And, mind you, because she’s awesome."

More gold for that thar’ Hill show

They weigh in at $118. Even so, the tier one "gold" seats for the Faith Hill/Natalie MacMaster show at Base II on Blackcomb are hot tickets.

The original block of 750 sold out shortly after going on sale on Monday, July 12. Concert organizers added 250 more, which were declared sold out by Tuesday, July 13.

As of Wednesday, July 27, 500 more gold tickets were put aside.

The gold tickets provide general admission seating and the closest proximity to the stage. The remaining 13,500 tickets require concertgoers to bring their own seating —blankets or beach chairs are suggested.

Remember: Pique is giving away four sets of tickets!

Enter online at www.piquenewsmagazine.com by August 2. You must be 19 years of age or older to win.