*** Press Release ***
Pushing the boundaries of Nova Scotia fiddle, ECMA Nominated artist Brad Reid releases sparkling new album The Bridge.
Nova Scotia fiddler Brad Reid fuses traditional Cape Breton fiddle with modern acoustic pop and jazz on his new album The Bridge, available everywhere as of May 19, 2023.
Guests include award-winning artists Kim Dunn, Troy MacGillivray, and Jennifer King. With bluesy piano riffs, punchy bass, and fluttering “Bridgerton-like” compositions (check out Ferry Air), this album will take you by surprise and at times leave you breathless.
"The Bridge” is 10 brand new tracks of original tunes, inspired by connecting the old Cape Breton traditions with modern acoustic pop and jazz, from the great Scottish and Cape Breton composers, to contemporary pop and jazz artists like Taylor Swift and Herbie Hancock.
Reid describes his album as “like jam session where everyone comes from a different style of music, but then they just let go, and in that moment, that’s when the music transcends genres”.
“Music can feel like it’s ’supposed’ to sound a certain way, and I suppose that’s what gives traditional music its tradition,” says Reid. "But to make the best music you can, I think you have to keep digging deeper and find what makes you unique as a person, and bring that to the music”.
“To me," Reid continues, “this album is tricky, playful, thoughtful, social, fun, and creative - all elements that I’m discovering make up who I am”.
The instrumental roots/traditional record follows "NEW Scotland”, which was released is 2020 after touring with Cirque du Soleil around the world for a year. “NEW Scotland” was nominated for a 2022 East Coast Music Award, and two 2021 Nova Scotia Music Awards.
Reid, whose background includes jazz saxophone, came to the fiddle honestly via his grandfather, a fiddler who grew up in Cheticamp, on Cape Breton Island. Growing up in the Halifax area, and hearing his grandfather play for years, it wasn’t until Reid attended a fiddle festival as a young teen that he saw kids his own age playing the fiddle, and wanted to take it up. Then when his grandfather passed away, Brad felt the call to keep the fiddle tradition going in the family.
"Happiness is new album The Bridge by fiddle master Brad Reid”
Terry Parker, Atlantic Axess, CAN (2023)
“A true pleasure”
Matt Merta, Fiddler Magazine, USA (2021)
"Traditional yet innovative”
Anne Marie Kennedy, Irish Music Magazine, IRE (2021)
For interview opportunities, contact:
Brad Reid
902-830-1167 / brad@bradreid.ca
