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The Cottars are a Canadian Celtic musical group from Cape Breton Island formed in 2000.

From 2000 to March 2006, the Cottars were composed of Ciarán and Fiona MacGillivray of Albert Bridge, Nova Scotia and Rosie and Jimmy MacKenzie of Baddeck, Nova Scotia. In 2006, the two families split citing artistic differences, and new members were introduced. Along with the MacGillivrays came Bruce Timmons (guitar) of Big Bras d'Or, Nova Scotia and Claire Pettit (fiddle and vocals) of New York. Later, Pettit left the group to finish her undergraduate degree and Rachel Davis (fiddle & feet) of Baddeck, Nova Scotia joined in her place.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, they released their first album entitled Made In Cape Breton, which was well received by critics and the public, and led to them winning the Best New Artist award at the 2003 East Coast Music Awards. In 2004 the Cottars released their follow-up album, entitled On Fire; for this, they won the Best Roots/Traditional Album at the 2005 East Coast Music Awards. The group's latest recording, Forerunner, was released on Rounder Records in 2006, and was their first American release.

In 2002, the Cottars were featured in Irish Tenor^[1] John McDermott's PBS production A Time to Remember, and were introduced to their future agent, Pam McDermott of McDermott Entertainment.^[2]

In 2002 the Cottars released their first CD Made In Cape Breton, on Warner Music. The disc, with their single, a cover of Tom Waits's The Briar and the Rose, showcased John McDermott's vocals along with Fiona's in two duets. The CD won an East Coast Music Award for Best New Artist in February of the following year and a nomination for Best Artist. The ECMA broadcast also featured Ciarán and Fiona in the group's live rendition of The Briar and the Rose, which was received with a standing ovation. The performance was nominated for an Emmy Award.

The Cottars released their second CD, On Fire on Warner Music in 2004, for which they won an ECMA for Best Traditional Group. They released their latest album, Forerunner on Rounder Records in 2005, with two new Tom Waits covers; Georgia Lee and Hold On.

From 2005–2006, the Cottars were invited on a 25-city tour with The Chieftains, which ended at Carnegie Hall on St. Patrick's Day, where they performed with Elvis Costello."The Cottars have the same kind of drive and energy The Chieftains had when we were first starting out", says Paddy Maloney, founder of The Chieftains. "With their combination of incredible musicianship, amazing voices and wonderful dancing, what a future they have ahead of them!"^[3]

The members were each individually nominated for a Gemini Award in 2003 for their performances at the 2003 East Coast Music Awards in the category of Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series.^[4]

[edit] Feast

In 2009, it was announced that the band's fourth studio recording, Feast, would be released in early 2010 under Rounder Records, and would feature the new members, Timmons and Pettit, in addition to the MacGillivray siblings.

Breakup [link]

In July 2006, it was announced that the group would disband, citing disagreements between the two pairs of siblings. Although it was the MacGillivrays who were reported as ending the professional relationship first, new tour dates were soon scheduled featuring a new arrangement in which the MacKenzie siblings were not included. Claire Pettit, 16, a new fiddler who divided her time between New York and Cape Breton was integrated successfully into the Cottars along with guitarist Bruce Timmons, the only non-teen in the group.

Discography [link]

• 2002 - Made In Cape Breton
• 2004 - On Fire
• 2006 - Forerunner
• 2010 - Feast

References [link]

Citations

External links [link]

• The Cottars official website
• The Cottars at MySpace