NEW GLASGOW – Music Shapes New Glasgow is a concert series that is close to Carmel Mikol’s heart. The award-winning folksinger and songwriter was one of the founding organizers of the series and continues to help put it together each year.
In the first year of the music series, Mikol was in a mentorship program with New Glasgow’s event and programs manager Carlton Munroe, who is also the executive director of the New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee and manages Glasgow Square Theatre.
“I wanted to learn about the behind the scenes, presenting side of the business, partially to help me understand it as an artist but also because I really love the idea of providing a great stage for artists that I believe in,” she said. “So Music Shapes New Glasgow ended up being a partnership that came out of that. We’ve been working on it for three years and every year around springtime I’m very involved in it and it’s kind of a labour of love and a great learning opportunity.”
Mikol said she wanted to organize a music series in New Glasgow because she wanted to start a new cultural event in a town she was unfamiliar with.
“I wanted it to be in New Glasgow because it’s more of a rural, small industrial town. It’s not Halifax and it’s not where I’m from so it offered a lot to learn about a different community and how a community interacts with a new cultural event like this,” she said. “It’s been great to build this thing out of nothing and see it grow every year and see the community take it on.
Mikol will also be the first performer of the series this year. She will perform in a concert at the Celtic Circle that kicks off the series on April 5. Also performing that night will be Juno-award winning singer songwriter Amelia Curran.
“I’m not part of it every year as a performer but this year seemed like a nice fit with Amelia playing. I’m definitely a huge fan of her work and we both take a sort of literary approach to our songwriting so it’s a nice fit in being paired up on stage with her and it also gives me a chance to introduce the whole series,” Mikol said. “Since it’s the kickoff, I’ll be able to personally welcome everyone as I have been doing work in New Glasgow the last couple of years.”
Mikol said the concert series is a great opportunity for people in Pictou County looking to try something new.
“I really hope that people take a chance and come out and see something different because we don’t often get the chance to present these kinds of songwriters in town,” she said. “ So we’re really excited to have Amelia Curran. She also won a Juno and she’s up for another one this year, so it’s pretty much guaranteed a great night out.”
Check Saturday’s edition for more information about the upcoming show with Amelia Curran and Carmel Mikol at the Celtic Circle, which takes place April 5 with doors opening at 7 p.m., show starting at 8 p.m.
Sidebar:
Music Shapes New Glasgow Concerts:
April 5: Amelia Curran and Carmel Mikol, Celtic Circle, Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.
April 12: Thom Swift and AP Coleman at Glasgow Square Theatre show starts at 8 p.m.
April 19: Doris Mason with Scott MacMillan at Celtic Circle, doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.
April 26: Gypsophilia with Pilot Project at Glasgow Square Theatre, show starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at celticcircle.ca, glasgowsquare.com or at any Ticketpro outlet.
