An upbeat storytelling concert celebrating Cape Breton culture — then and now.

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New Waterford Boy is an intimate upbeat kitchen party where Richie Wilcox tells personal tales of being Rita MacNeil’s nephew for a week, conquering first kisses at junior high dances, the inner workings of Canadian Idol (he was in the top 11 of Season One), and more as he also belts Cape Breton classic tunes from Allister MacGillivray, the Rankin Family, Rita MacNeil and John Allan Cameron. Backed by his band made up of top-notch talented friends, the two-act show pays tribute to traditional Cape Breton culture while making way for the people of Cape Breton today, here and now.

 

“This is a tribute to Cape Bretoners who have the songs of miners and fisherman embedded into their hearts and souls whether they have set foot in a mine, or cast a net, or not. This is a night of storytelling to pay respect to the Cape Breton of my childhood, with hope for the future. This is a tribute to the Cape Bretoner I am and all the different types of Cape Breton man there can be. This is my Cape Breton ... where I can be Rita MacNeil’s nephew for a week, I can be a superhero and conquer a junior high dance and I can belt the tunes of Allister MacGillivray, the Rankin Family and more songs we all know, all night long.” — Richie Wilcox, writer and performer

New Waterford Boy features New Waterford homegrown talent Wilcox and his childhood best friend Lynn MacIntyre (both from up 12 colliery neighbourhood) along with Sydney drummer extraordinaire Brian Talbot (from Slowcoaster and The Cape Breton Summertime Revue) and the come from away talent of Aaron Collier, from PEI [an islander, at least] (keyboardist for The Jimmy Swift Band, creator of Frequencies) and Wilcox’s husband.