ABOUT ME
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Having performed with her parents and acclaimed fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy for over 600 shows, genre-defying fiddling (and piano) sensation Mary Frances Leahy is branching out with her fantastic debut solo album First Light. The innovative, eclectic nine-track collection of originals, co-produced by Mary Frances and Cuban guitarist Elmer Ferrer, is an amazing blending of Celtic, Latin, and Jazz influences. “It’s a bunch of styles you wouldn’t think go well together,” the 19-year Canadian phenom from the hamlet of Douro, Ontario says. “But once you hear it, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I get it!’ My sound is energetic. It makes me want to dance!”
She isn’t the only one. Whether it’s the title track (which won a 2024 Cape Breton Tourism contest), the jazzy “Return to Skye,” the alluring Latin-leaning “Camino” which equally shows her violin and piano prowess or the groovy fusion oozing from “Celticumbia,” Leahy is confident and charismatic from start to finish. “The one thing I’m finding that’s really cohesive between the genres is the role that dance plays with the music,” she says. “I’m finding that to be a common thread.”
The oldest of seven siblings, Mary Frances is finding her way almost effortlessly from being part of an ensemble with her parents to stepping out into the spotlight as a solo artist. She had plenty of solo moments in concerts, whether playing fiddle, piano, or step dancing. But having her name on the marquee or ticket is a relatively new concept. “It’s weird because for performing, it’s something that I’m so used to,” she says. “But being the lead person is kind of new. So I’m doing something that feels very new but also feels very old at the same time. I’m getting used to it.”
Influenced by her parents, Ferrer, Celtic fiddle legends (Buddy MacMaster, Mac Morin and Howie MacDonald), Western swing artists such as Mark O’Connor and Mark Sullivan, the late jazz pianist Bill Evans and Latin pop star Marc Anthony, Mary Frances is no stranger to the stage. Leahy spent 2024 supporting First Light while performing at Cape Breton’s Broad Cove Scottish Concert and Celtic Colours, the inaugural Nova Scotia Stampede, Prince Edward Island’s Mutual Festival of Small Halls, Milwaukee’s Irish Fest, and Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival. And she’s previously performed with an A-list of talent including Yo-Yo Ma, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, British musician Tim Edey and Spanish gaita (bagpipes) wizard Carlos Nunez among others.
With one of her TikTok videos getting over 2.4 million views and a busy 2025 on the horizon, Mary Frances is on the cusp of stardom, continuing a line of internationally renown musicians in her family tree without any internal pressure. “It doesn’t feel like a duty to my family to perform,” she says. “It feels like a duty to myself because I know I have so much to give.”
Judging by the stunning First Light, Mary Frances certainly does.
