James MacLean

​Hailing from East Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, James MacLean has been playing music for over 15 years. He started from a young age taking piano lessons from the late Marianne Jewell, but then migrated towards guitar. It was in his late teens when he began lessons with Cape Breton guitarist, Brian Doyle, that his love for traditional Cape Breton music began to blossom. After high school, James decided to pursue a degree in music, and under the tutelage of Scott MacMillan, earned his Bachelor of Music from Dalhousie University in 2015. James recently released his debut self titled album with the help from The Frank “Big Sampie” Sampson award. His new album is comprised of all traditional Cape Breton music played on a flat picked guitar and is accompanied by some of Cape Bretons finest musicians such as Mac Morin, Patrick Gillis, Kenneth MacKenzie and his aunt Karen Beaton.