Barra MacNeils
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The Barra MacNeils are a Canadian musical group from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. The founding members of the group are siblings Sheumas, Kyle, Stewart, and Lucy MacNeil. In 2005 two additional brothers, Ryan and Boyd, joined the band.
The MacNeil siblings are from Cape Breton Island and began performing together in 1980, while they were still teenagers (Lucy MacNeil being only 10 years old). Consequently, they were only able to perform on weekends, and toured during school holidays.
They are classically trained musicians and are alumni of Mount Allison University.
In 1986, they released their first album on their own independent label. In 1992, their third album, TimeFrame, won Album of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards, and the MacNeils were named Band of the Year. They signed with Polygram, and their first two albums were re-released while their 1993 album Closer To Paradise earned a gold record. They have been an opening act for Céline Dion and have toured regularly across North America and Europe.
Barra is the name of a Scottish island, which is the ancestral home of Clan MacNeil
[edit] Discography
- The Barra MacNeils (1986)
- Rock in the Stream (1989)
- Timeframe (1990)
- Closer to Paradise (1993)
- The Traditional Album (1994)
- The Question (1995)
- Until Now (1997)
- The Christmas Album (1999)
- Racket in the Attic (2000)
- All At Once (2005)
- The Christmas Album II (2006)
