Leaping fiddlers! Leahy coming to the Phillips Center

March 2, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leahy, the Canadian powerhouse of eight musical brothers and sisters, delivers a triple-threat performance of fiddle-driven music, dance and vocals augmented by keyboards and percussion. While Leahy’s music is influenced by members’ Irish and Scottish roots, there is no one category into which the group fits. The group has an inherent desire to widely travel the musical gap. With no clear genre in which to place members, many fans of the group simply describe its style as “Leahy.”

Leahy will bring its unique style to the University of Florida when the group performs at 7:30 p.m., March 16, at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

As teens, the Leahy children began performing across Canada with their parents on the festival and fair circuit. Their musical finesse not only made them a favorite among audiences, it also caught the eye of a documentary filmmaker. The resulting profile, “The Leahys: Music Most of All,” won an Academy Award in 1985 for Best Student Foreign Film.

While they temporarily disbanded during the early 1990s, the pull of the music was too strong and they reunited in 1997, recording a self-titled CD. “Leahy” went Platinum in Canada and reached No. 4 on the Billboard World Music Charts. The group also captured attention as the opening act for Canadian country superstar Shania Twain’s first world tour. Leahy played 175 tour dates with Twain, receiving standing ovations nightly.

The group’s second CD, “Lakefield,” found the siblings taking on greater writing, recording and producing responsibilities. Their efforts helped them to become Virgin Canada’s largest-selling domestic project worldwide –– a testament to the band’s success in finding a loyal audience as musically adventurous as they are.

Their most recent album, “In All Things,” was released in 2004 and is marked more than ever by Leahy’s willingness to range freely over musical boundaries and shed conventions when necessary. “In All Things” earned the group another Juno nomination in 2005, this time for Best Roots and Traditional Album by a Group.

Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-2787 or by calling Ticketmaster at 904-353-3309. Orders may be faxed to 352-846-1562. Tickets are also available at the Phillips Center Box Office, University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union and all Ticketmaster outlets; and on the Web at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Phillips Center Box Office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and two hours before performances.