MEAGHAN GRANT

Meaghan can be seen playing piano, fiddle, guitar, bodhrán, djembe, stepdancing, and singing throughout the show.  Music is something that she has always been involved in since she was five years old.

Playing with Lyrics and Laughter for the last five summers, she not only got to preform at the Louisbourg Playhouse with the cast, but has also played at the King's Playhouse in Prince Edward Island, appeared on ATV/ASN's Breakfast Television, and played various party gigs for retirements, fundraisers, and other concerts.

Outside of this group, Meaghan has played at various concerts all over the Island, including Highland Village day in Iona, the Gaelic College in St. Ann's, the Gaelic Society in Sydney, Winnie Chafe's 50th Anniversary of playing, the Celtic Colours International Festival, and Colin Grant's East Coast Music Awards showcase.

As for places outside of Cape Breton, Meaghan recently had the opportunity to travel to Scotland with friends and performed at the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, as well as various pubs.  This past St. Patrick's Day she joined a band in Kamloops, British Columbia, where she is attending university, and they performed at a pub in Kelowna.

Besdies music, Meaghan is working towards her Bachelor of Social Work degree which she is taking at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, and will be graduating in 2007.  She hopes to find work in Cape Breton when she is done so that she can be close to home and keep up the music.

MICHELLE MILLS

Michelle’s love of music started at a very young age. She began singing as a child, and has taught herself to play piano, guitar, and button accordion. She also plays various percussion instruments, and since joining the cast of Lyrics and Laughter in 2003, she has learned to stepdance.

Michelle has sung at various weddings, and various venues such as Fall Youth Sing, Suas é!, and the Students’ Ceilidh at Cape Breton University during the Celtic Colours International Festival. She was a member of the Holy Angels High School Choir for three consecutive years and is now very involved with her church choir.

She has recently sung at fundraisers for CIBC's Run For the Cure and World Youth Day, and was a featured performer for the Celtic Colours School Program.

ANDREW TYNE

Interested in music for as long as he can remember, Andrew began playing the trumpet in his school band in the fourth grade. He traveled to Florida as a member of the Glace Bay High School Marching band, where he performed at The Mainstreet Parade in Disney World.

In 1998, he formed his first garage band, Fallen, and played guitar, sang, and wrote all the songs on the band's first self-titled EP, released in 2000.  Around this time, Andrew's interest in Celtic music began to grow, and he hasn't looked back since. He joined the cast of Cape Breton Lyrics and Laughter during the second season of the show, and sang, played guitar and bass, and, along with Colin Grant, performed in the comedy portions of the production.  For the show's third season, Andrew not only performed, but co-wrote the comedy for the show, as well.

This season, Andrew adds the banjo, tin whistle, flute, and mandolin to the long list of instruments he plays in Lyrics and Laughter.

Word of Andrew's skill as an instrumentalist has started to spread, having played with fellow Lyrics and Laughter member Colin Grant at his East Coast Music Awards showcase and at the ECMA 72 Hour Jam. He was also part of a group that toured Scotland and performed in pubs and at a university on the Isle of Skye.

In the fall of 2003, Andrew started Studies at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, where he enroled in the Music program and studied voice. Andrew had the pleasure and the privilage of studying with such amazing musicians as Lisa Berg, Ryan Billington, Skip Beckwith and Tony Genge. Andrew completed his major in music and for the next year will work on finishing the degree with a minor in Celtic Studies. When his BA is finished Andrew plans to attend the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology and continue to work in the music industry.

ERIC ANGUS WHYTE

Eric Angus recently released Always Home, a debut CD that reflects his experiences over the past two and a half years. Eric was born in Sydney and spent much of his growing up years moving with his family. Whether living in the UK or even in Halifax, he retained much of his connection with Cape Breton by listening to the Rankins, Barra MacNeils and the Summertime Revue. Music became a central thread to weave ties to his 'essential' home. Years later, after spending college time in the UK and Europe and then later in the music program at Dalhousie University, Eric returned to Cape Breton to lay tracks down at Lakewind Studios.

Always Home evokes a variety of responses as the twelve tunes run the gamut from clear cool folk numbers to edgy pieces with crisp lyrics and memorable tunes. The songs have a gravitas and depth that come off sounding like the best work of a seasoned veteran of the folk industry. The CD is collecting lots of important admiration. Rob Wilson, former owner/operator of the famed Red Shoe Pub said, “I’ve been a little jaded by the music I’ve received in the past six years. Always Home was a great delight to play. The recording is wonderful… This is a very good album.” Wendy Berfgfeldt, CBC Cape Breton host and producer, adds “Sophisticated lyrics, haunting melodies… this singer songwriter is as hip and smart as he is compelling. Eric Angus Whyte is the artist to watch this year.” Glenn Meisner, music producer for CBC Maritimes says, “Following in the traditions of the great Cape Breton songwriters comes Eric Angus Whyte. His debut CD Always Home shows a lyrical maturity far beyond his years.”

Where did the music come from? Eric credits this first CD as a product of his years of moving around, playing on streets in England, at Dougie MacLean’s pub in Scotland, in Milan and Barcelona, here and there but away from home--pleasant and painful experiences; this is the stuff that plays in the songs. Listeners can relax with it and hopefully… replay their own journeys.

Always Home features some great backup talent--notables include production and guitar by Fred Lavery, multiple ECMA Award winner Gordie Sampson, Lucy MacNeil of Barra MacNeils and other great musicians like Stephen Muise, Allie Bennett, and Brian Talbot. Eric Angus plays guitar and harmonica (not surprising--he kind of looks like Dylan too). The total package comes off as very well produced but retaining raw qualities that prove it’s real and didn’t churn out of a new age synthesizer.

Eric Angus is first and foremost a songwriter, and he’s prolific. He’s building a substantial repertoire of new, original material with subject matter ranging from spiritual life to economics. In all of it, he keeps coming up with insights, amazing word play and, perhaps most interestingly, great scores. Pieces vary from restless to joyful. They are entertaining and engaging, thought provoking and nostalgic. His songs cover a wide spectrum topically, but manage to squeeze into the folk genre. While they might stretch traditional boundaries, Eric’s still been comfortable and well received in venues like North by Northeast and the Stan Rogers Folk Festival.

So… what’s up these days? Besides opening for Raylene Rankin, Gordie Sampson, Crush and the Barra MacNeils, he’s shared the stage with Joel Plaskett, Ron Sexsmith and Tom Russell. Eric’s been doing a lot of solo performances and songwriters' circles. His stage banter is engaging and brings the audience into his world. Stories between songs are sometimes funny and alternately serious; always relevant.

These days, between engagements, he lives in Boularderie Island, writing, playing, and developing new material. He was recently been nominated for the ECMA Folk Recording of the Year.

ADAM YOUNG

At the ripe old age of five, Adam began learning to play the piano. In the two decades since, he has gained proficiency on the instrument, and has become quite well-known in the local music community.

Although he grew up surrounded by music, his interest in all things Celtic didn't surface until well into his teens, when he began learning the Cape Breton style of piano accompaniment. Although he has taken lessons from a few of the Island's best teachers, Adam's style has developed from a unique blend of all of the musicians who have inspired him over the years.

Adam grew up performing in front of audiences; he played his first gig at age seven, and hasn't stopped since. Over the years, he has played for a number of diverse productions, from Riverview High School's dramatic production A'Dhachaidh A'Rithist (Home Again), to a series of cabarets produced by the Festival on the Bay in Glace Bay, to a UCCB Dramagroup production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, for which he acted as musical director and wrote several original score pieces.

After graduating from high school in 1998, Adam earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cape Breton University (at the time known as the University College of Cape Breton). His double major was in English literature and Celtic Studies, and he took several courses on music, history, and folklore, all of which he has put to good use in his current role.

After graduating from UCCB in 2002, he gathered together six good friends to produce a music and comedy revue, and the group became known as Cape Breton Lyrics and Laughter. The first year was a resounding success, and the group has just entered its fourth season at the Louisbourg Playhouse. Over 23,000 people have seen the show, and the milestone 250th performance will be held in August 2006.