| Natalie MacMaster | |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Name: | Natalie Ann MacMaster |
| Birth Date: | 13 June 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Troy, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Instrument: | Fiddle, piano, vocals |
| Genre: | Cape Breton fiddle music |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Years Active: | 1989–present |
| Label: | Rounder Records |
| Associated Acts: | Buddy MacMaster Donnell Leahy |
Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. She has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana and Alison Krauss, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma. She has appeared at the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, Celtic Connections in Scotland and MerleFest in the United States.
MacMaster is the daughter of Alex and Minnie (née Beaton) MacMaster and the sister of Kevin and David MacMaster. She is the niece of the late renowned Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster and the cousin of two other fiddlers, Ashley MacIsaac and Andrea Beaton. She is also distantly related to Jack White.[1]
In 2002, she married the fiddler Donnell Leahy of the Leahy family band, and moved to Lakefield, Ontario. They have seven children, and have performed and recorded together as a duo, and occasionally include their children, who also play fiddle, in their performances.[2]
MacMaster began playing the fiddle at the age of nine,[3] and made her performing debut the same year at a square dance in Glencoe Mills, Nova Scotia. When she was 16, she released her first album, Four on the Floor, and a second album, Road to the Isle, followed in 1991. Her first album was self-produced,[3] while her second was co-produced by John Morris Rankin (The Rankin Family) and Tom O'Keefe.[4] Both albums were initially released only on cassette, but Rounder Records omitted a few tracks and re-released them as A Compilation in 1998. In 1999, she performed at the Juno Awards show in Hamilton.[5]
In recent years she has expanded her musical repertoire, mixing her Cape Breton roots with music from Scotland and Ireland, as well as American bluegrass.[6]
In 2004, MacMaster appeared on Sharon, Lois & Bram's 25th Anniversary Concert special titled 25 Years of Skinnamarink that was broadcast on CBC on January 1, 2004, at 7:00pm. She performed two songs with the trio, "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" and "Grandpa's Farm".
MacMaster has received a number of Canadian music awards, including several "Artist of the Year" awards from the East Coast Music Association, two Juno Awards for best instrumental album, and "Fiddler of the Year" from the Canadian Country Music Association. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Niagara University in New York in 2006. In 2006, she was made a member of the Order of Canada and, in 2020, she was made a member of the Order of Nova Scotia.[7] In 2023, she was inducted into the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour at the 2023 Canadian Grand Masters event in Truro, Nova Scotia. [8]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US Heat | US Indie | US Folk | US Grass | US World | |||
| Four on the Floor |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Road to the Isle |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Fit as a Fiddle |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| A Compilation |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| No Boundaries |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| In My Hands |
| 32 | — | — | — | — | 6 |
|
| My Roots Are Showing |
| — | — | — | — | — | 4 | |
| Live |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Blueprint |
| — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | |
| Natalie & Buddy MacMaster: Traditional Music from Cape Breton Island |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Yours Truly |
| — | — | — | — | — | 10 | |
| Cape Breton Girl |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| One (with Donnell Leahy) |
| 23 | 4 | 15 | 6 | — | 1 | |
| A Celtic Family Christmas (with Donnell Leahy) |
| 49 | — | — | — | 10 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
| Sketches |
| — | — | — | — | 9 | — | |
| Canvas (with Donnell Leahy) |
| — | — | — | — | 7 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC | |||
| 1996 | "Catharsis" | — | No Boundaries |
| 1997 | "Fiddle and Bow" (with Bruce Guthro) | — | |
| "The Drunken Piper" (with Cookie Rankin) | — | ||
| 1999 | "In My Hands" | 18 | In My Hands |
| "Get Me Through December" (with Alison Krauss) | 40 | ||
| 2004 | "Appropriate Dipstick" | — | Blueprint |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Year | Video | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Catharsis" | ||
| 1997 | "Fiddle and Bow" (with Bruce Guthro) | Andrew MacNaughtan | |
| "The Drunken Piper" (with Cookie Rankin) | |||
| 1999 | "In My Hands" | Christopher Mills | |
| "Get Me Through December" (with Alison Krauss) | Mark Hesselink | ||
| 2004 | "Appropriate Dipstick" | ||
| 2014 | "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (with Johnny Reid and The Rankins) | Margaret Malandrucco |