P.E.I. return for Scottish-Canadian tenor John McDermott

Canadian tenor John McDermott is one of the Island's favourite singers, probably because of his Scottish heritage and choice of traditional material.

He's about to start an Atlantic Canadian tour to promote his new album, with stops in November at the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside and the Confederation Centre.

His new album is called Raised On Songs &Stories, and as he told CBC Mainstreet's Angela Walker, there's no surprise in the material featured.

"The recording itself is purely Scottish, with the exception of one (Irish) track, but it crosses over so much of the historical roots of the music, both lyrical and the music itself," he said.

All one song

There is a twist though, as McDermott did something different with the album, something that he has always wanted to do.

"I wanted it to pull you in, so there's no breaks on the recording," he said. "It's just one track. There's a musical ribbon that connects all of the songs, and each of the stories that are there."

McDermott says that taking out the regular breaks between cuts makes the album more of a journey, and a complete listening experience.

The songs are a mix of familiar, and not-so-familiar and some traditional numbers he found that haven't been overdone.

The tracks include Flower of Scotland, The Rose of Allendale, The Bluebells of Scotland and even Auld Lang Syne.

The Dubliners' number, The Rare Ould Times,contains the title of the album, something that speaks to McDermott's own experience, keeping the Scottish tradition after moving with his family to Canada when he was 10.

"Raised on songs and stories, every Friday and Saturday night, that's what was happening at our place," he said.

McDermott is actually coming back to P.E.I., after spending much of the summer on the Island, including landing a 788-pound bluefin tuna.

"Oh, that was a ton of fun," he said. "Up in Tignish."

John McDermott will be in concert at the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside on Nov. 11, and at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown Nov. 12.

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