Acadia Halls Concerts
Each afternoon and evening during the Acadia Trad Festival, our faculty and selected students offer incredible performances you will not see anywhere else. We call these incredible performances Acadia Halls, in honor of the many historical venues in which they are held.
More than 10 Acadia Halls concerts are held during the Festival, both at intimate venues around Mount Desert Island and at modern Gates Auditorium on the College of the Atlantic campus. Performances feature Acadia Trad Festival Faculty, who are all world-class international performers, as well as Festival instructors and Master students who must apply to perform.
2015 Concert Videos
Did you miss the 2015 Festival main stage concerts? Or were there are want to relive the experience? Check out our Video gallery!
Sunday, June 26
Trad for the Common Good
10:00 a.m. – Common Good Soup Kitchen – $5 donation at the door.
Start your day with good eats and fun, and a rousing session Acadia Trad School faculty and students.
Opening Concert: Celtic Couples
7:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $22 advance, $25 at door
The 2016 Acadia Trad Festival kicks off with an energetic lineup of performers playing Irish and Cape Breton tunes. Teen fiddle sensation Gus LaCasse will open the show, followed by the rousing dance tunes of Cape Breton duo Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald and the distinctively spicy Liz Knowles and Kieran O’Hare. You will not want to miss this exciting evening!
Monday, June 27
Our Cape Breton Home
4:00 p.m. – Jesup Library, Bar Harbor – $10 suggested donation
Cape Breton duo Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald will bring a piece of their beautiful home to our festival, performing traditional and original Scottish and Cape Breton tunes featuring fiddle, Scottish border pipes and song. Be ready to tap your feet to their music; this promises to be a lively afternoon!
Celtic Shores
7 :00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $22 advance, $25 at door
The shores of Ireland and Scotland come to the shores of Maine. This concert will feature Maine duo Velocipede, piper Chris Gray (Scottish small pipes), Prince Edward Island fiddler Ward MacDonald (fiddle and piano), and The Alt (John Doyle, Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’Leary), which is unquestionably one of the leading Irish bands of our time.
Cape Breton Dance
10:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $10 at the door
This is what it’s all about! Join us after the evening concert for a traditional Cape Breton-style ceilidh. Fiddles, piano, guitar and pipes accompany this energetic community dance that will literally have the walls shaking. Music provided by Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald with Ward MacDonald calling.
Tuesday, June 28
One Room for Old Time Music
4:00 p.m. Mount Desert Island Historical Society – $15 advance, $18 at door
Old Time music in a one room school house; this is how life should be. Vermont-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Pete Sutherland will raise the rafters of the beautiful Mount Desert Island Historical Society with his potent originals and intense recreations of age-old ballads and fiery fiddle tunes.
Irish Times
7:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $22 advance, $25 at door
This evening brings us a sprinkling of influences from Appalachian mountains to Ireland, with bits of Scotland mixed in. This thrilling concert will feature world-renowned Irish fiddler Liz Carroll, Old-time multi-instrumentalist Pete Sutherland, Irish Sean-Nós dancer Kieran Jordan, flutist Nicole Rabata, harp virtuoso Maeve Gilchrist and the Press Gang. Acadia Trad Festival teacher and student Seán Heely and Colin McGlynn will open.
Wednesday, June 29
Celtic Crossroads: Ireland to Scotland
4:00 p.m. – The Hall at Otter Creek – $15 advance, $18 at door
A powerhouse of music enters the Hall this afternoon. The masterful Jenna Moynihan will perform a blend of music that has Scottish roots but undeniably modern influences. The Press Gang, one New England’s hottest Irish bands, will get your feet tapping.
Trad Blend
7:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $22 advance, $25 at door
Three diverse but related traditions come together this evening, with Irish, Old-Time, and Cajun music finding their collective roots. Clawhammer banjo great Riley Baugus performs songs from the mountains and four-time Grammy Award Nominee David Greely will play cajun fiddle and sing songs from Louisiana. Nic Gareiss, one of the world’s leading percussive dancers, will perform with harpist Maeve Gilchrist.
Contra Dance
10:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $10 at the door
Bring your dancing shoes to this traditional New England Contra Dance. Julia Plumb and Baron Collins-Hill of Velocipede will keep you moving with their unique style of high energy dances and tunes. The dance will be called by Chrissy Fowler, one of New England’s most beloved callers.
Thursday, June 30
Tunes from the Isles
4:00 p.m. – St. John’s Church, Southwest Harbor – $15 advance, $18 at door
Matt and Shannon Heaton (guitar and flute) will be playing tunes from Ireland and singing songs inspired by their Celtic roots. Joining this performance will be brother and sister duo, Dan and Liz Faiella, Scottish fiddle master Seán Heely, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Elam.
Kicking the top of the box!
7:00 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $22 advance, $25 at door
The music of the Maritimes heats up the hall tonight. Prince Edward Island trio Vishtèn has earned their place as one of the most respected bands on the international touring scene, fusing Acadian and Celtic genres with rock and indie-folk influence. Cape Breton fiddle sensation Kimberly Fraser will perform with fellow fiddler Jenna Moynihan. This will be a high-energy performance of Cape Breton and Acadian tunes and step dancing — not to be missed.
Friday, July 1
Next Gen Trad
4:00 p.m. – Northeast Harbor Library – $15 advance, $18 at door
This concert features some of today’s most promising young traditional artists. Featuring 15-year-old Acadian fiddle sensation Gus LaCasse, Scottish fiddler Seán Heely and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Elam, and Old-time due Eden Forman and Lukas Pool. This will be an unforgettable performance.
Farewell to Friends
6:30 p.m. – Gates Auditorium – $5 advance, $8 at door
In many respects, this is the most special concert of the week. For the entire Festival week, students and faculty have lived side-by-side and worked together intensely, building strong bonds and community. Now it is time to say goodbye — at least until next year. The audience will be treated to music acts comprised of students at all levels, many performing with their instructors. Expect to hear some great music and lots of laughter.
The Trad Café
At each concert at Gates Community Center, the Trad Café sells yummy treats, coffee and tea. 100% of the funds raised by the Trad Café go to support the Acadia Trad School Scholarship Program.