At Paramount, Leahy’s sibling revelry contagious
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Jane Dunlap Norris / Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: March 6, 2008
The short answer is "yes.''
The group of eight siblings from Ontario, Canada, grew up surrounded by musical possibilities.
Their fiddler father and step-dancing champion mother were seasoned performers who encouraged the youngsters to listen to the good stuff, regardless of genre.
So when fans hear the family play its instruments and see its step-dancing prowess during Sunday's performance at the Paramount Theater, they can listen for a world of influences.
"Certainly Mom and Dad were instrumental in starting us singing and dancing and everything,'' said Siobheann Leahy, the fourth eldest sibling. "We all step dance and fiddle and play piano. It's nothing we actually thought about. We started at 3 or 4.''
In addition to Siobheann, the Leahy lineup includes Agnes, Angus, Donnell, Doug, Erin, Frank and Maria.
Leahy's diversity doesn't stop with the song selection. The siblings are right at home on different instruments.
"I play bass, and I really enjoy that,'' Leahy said. Her sister Maria, meanwhile, is at home on the guitar and Donnell primarily is a fiddler.
Folks who've seen Leahy before won't get the same show twice because the band continues to follow new musical threads.
"We have a ton of new material that we have written on our own,'' Leahy said. "It's always changing. When people come back to see us, there will always be new material.''
A new DVD and a new CD will be sold at Sunday's show. A treat on the DVD is a rare chance for fans to see a performance by the couple who started it all - the clan's parents.
When asked if there have been surprises along the way, Leahy offers a humble answer.
"In this day and age, we still have a full house,'' she said. "We do this because we enjoy it. Every time we look out there and see that people have brought their families and gotten off work, we don't take it lightly.''
There are 22 grandchildren in the family at this point, and they're growing up in the same creative environment their parents enjoyed calling home.
Leahy usually tours in the spring and fall and sticks as close to home as possible the rest of the year. "Family is very important to us,'' said Leahy, who has four children of her own.
After the current tour wraps up, the Leahy siblings will dive into another new CD project. Siobheann Leahy said that the performers manage to find productive writing time on the road.
"Everybody does write, but we feed off each other,'' she said. "We do finish quite a lot on the road. You have to make time and prioritize and make it work.''
Another dancer will be joining the Leahy clan on stage Sunday - the winner of the group's "The Call to Dance'' contest.
Madeline Chaillet, 11, of Crozet will perform with Leahy during the song "The Call to Dance.'' Madeline, who performs Irish step dance, is no stranger to winning - she has earned 13 first-place honors over the past two years.
Tickets are $51.50, $46.50, $43.50 and $40.50.
For tickets or details, call 979-1333.
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