Family act bringing Christmas show to Yuma

The Canadian band Leahy, which is made up of eight brothers and sisters who specialize in both instrumental music and dance, will be bringing their unique sound and a little bit of Christmas cheer to Yuma on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Leahy has been featured in three PBS specials in America and inspired a short film entitled "Leahy: Music Most of All," which received an Academy Award. The band, which opened for Shania Twain on her "Come on Over Tour," has been touring internationally since the early 1980s.

Leahy's concert, called "Family Christmas," is scheduled for 3 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Pipa Event Center located at the Quechan Casino Resort, 525 Algodones Road, west of Yuma. Tickets are $19.50 and can be purchased at the front desk of the Quechan Casino Resort or at the cashiers cage at Paradise Casino from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Attendees must be at least 18 years old.

Leahy has recorded three albums: "Leahy," "Lakefield" and "In All Things," which have worldwide sales of over half a million copies. The band has been playing together all of their lives and came from parents who greatly encouraged music.

"Our style is rooted in the music of our parents, who are Irish and Scottish," said Maria Leahy told the Yuma Sun during a phone interview. "That is where we began. But our musical aspirations went in many different directions, so our music includes many different styles and genres. It happened quite naturally."

The band does up to 200 shows each year and has won numerous awards, including Juno Awards for Best New Group, Best Country Group and Best Instrumental Album. They had the most-played folk and roots song in Canada in 2004 and won the SOCAN Award for folk/jazz instrumentalist the following year.

"If people like music, it is a very musical show and has a lot of energy and intensity," Leahy said. "It's Christmas, so it is a way to celebrate the season and get people in the mood with a unique blend of styles. It is going to be a great show. People should expect to see a family, and a lot of instruments, fiddle, piano and bass."

At first appearance, the group's style of dancing looks very similar to the Irish "River Dance" but originated in Canada.

"The style of dancing we do is actually French Canadian step dancing, as opposed to Irish dancing," Leahy said. "We are Scottish-Irish, but we love the French culture in Quebec. The more we can see it, taste it and eat it, the happier we are."

Leahy said people will have a great time at the show.

"We are looking forward to coming to Yuma and playing some good music and meeting new people. It is always interesting to meet people from different areas of the United States and the world."