The Empress

Siblings Shannon, Solon and Jeremiah McDade have been steeped in folk music from childhood, playing in a family band with their parents. As adults they front their own Celtic-based jazz/world/rock-infused Juno-award-winning band, The McDades. Their latest, The Empress, leans towards energetic instrumentals, for instance the fiery ‘The Oak, Ivy and Ash’. But there are also equally energetic vocal-based songs, eg ‘The Golden Willow Tree’, a showcase for seamless vocal harmonies sometimes produced by the musical siblings.

The second single was a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s ominous 1974 hit, ‘Sundown’, and in The McDades’ hands the song turns into Celtic-rock fusion with a blazing sax solo. That’s not to say that the group don’t have contemplative moments — the lilting ‘November 8th’, for example, takes a break from the more typical high-energy sound. The trio’s anchor instruments (whistle, fiddle, sax and bass) are nicely augmented by Andy Hillhouse on guitar, Eric Breton on cajón, darbuka and percussion, as well as numerous special guests. But at its heart it’s a brother-brother-sister act — one that surprisingly has yet to garner a loyal following.