Where is the best place near or in Charlottetown to listen to fiddle music?

Hi Toni,

The fiddle music scene in Charlottetown is ever changing with fiddlers having a date here or there and venues not having fiddlers on a regular basis. I do have a strategy for you though! 

Once you arrive on PEI pick up our monthly entertainment magazine called 'The Buzz'. It has a list of pubs, theatres, festivals and events that will have musicians of all sorts playing.  Watch for the following fiddler names in those listings - Cynthia MacLeod, Courtney Hogan-Chandler, Keelin Wedge, Ward MacDonald, JJ Chaisson, Louise Arsenault and Richard Wood. Most of these performers have their own websites with their dates listed as does 'The Buzz'.

Then check the listing or websites for venues. The Olde Dublin Pub (facebook page is best) and The Old Triangle have entertainment regularly, but not always fiddlers.  The Old Triangle does have a 'Schooner Session' on Thursday evenings (possibly with a fiddler) and Sunday afternoons, fiddler Roy Johnstone hosts an 'Irish Music Session'.

Peakes Quay in Charlottetown has a live concert series with music twice a day (2-4 and 6-8), weather permitting. It won't always feature a fiddler, but again check online for one the fiddlers listed above. peakesquay.com/summer-concerts/

'Ceilidh in the City' concert series is another possibility for some Island fiddle music in town.  July 6^th (Tip 'Er Back) & 20^th (Cynthia MacLeod & Gordon Belsher), and Aug. 10 (Billy MacInnis) feature fiddlers as guest performers.

Another venue in Charlottetown to look into would be the Benevolent Irish Society on North River Road. facebook.com/bishallpei 

If you can venture out of town, I would recommend attending a concert at the Stanley Bridge Women's Institute Hall.  This year, they have fiddlers regularly in three shows each week.  Every Monday is 'Back Home Tonight', featuring Todd MacLean, Gordon Belsher and either Cynthia MacLeod or Courtney Hogan-Chandler, from July 4 to September 19th. Wednesday evening features 'The Chaisson Family' a charming group of Island performers.  If you like a lot of fiddle attitude and energy, book into 'Richard Wood Trio - World Class Kitchen Party' on Saturday evenings. The shows there start at 7:30 pm.

If the timing is right and you can venture east to Rollo Bay, there is the 'Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival', July 15 to 17.  It is a great lineup this year, with many Island fiddlers, as well as Stacey Read, Andrea Beaton and Chrissy Crowley and others visiting from off Island.

I hope this helps your search for some great fiddle tunes and hearing our wonderful Island fiddlers!

Charlene Belsher