Their peppy brand of Celtic music was instantly embraced by the public, young and old. Whether they played to the crowd at the Atlantic Hotel or for a dance at the Bonnie Glen, they played to full houses and kept the floor full all night. Members changed through the years, but the band’s following continued to grow. Over the years, different entertainers added their talents to the band. Artists such as Rick Linke, Gerry Lefave, David Wright, Denis Carr, Paddy Kelly, Shelley Downing, Jack Smith, Luane Doyle and Bonita Leblanc played with the band.
Their music began to be recognized outside of Glengarry when, under the auspices of The Glengarry Club of Ottawa, the Brigadoons with other Glengarry talent performed in the many Glengarry variety shows first presented at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and later at the Centrepointe Theatre in Nepean. Further appreciation for their special brand of music came when they performed at the Glengarry Club of Ottawa’s New Year’s dances, Molly Maguire’s Pub in Ottawa, for the troops at the Canadian Forces Base in Alert and at a parade through Quebec City sponsored by the Lions Club of Alexandria. The music always had that special undeniable Glengarry flavour.
Rathsayo
They did week-long performances (three shows a day) at EPCOT Center for ten consecutive years and performed annually on 19 Caribbean cruises as part of Scotland Goes to Sea. They have had the pleasure of working alongside such international Scottish stars as The Alexander Brothers, Peter Morrison and Eddie Devine, at numerous highland games and at Celtic events with Natalie MacMaster, The Barra MacNeils, the Rankin Family, The Tanahill Weavers and The Battlefield Band, among others. One of the highlights for the group is their performance each year at the Friday night Tattoo at the Glengarry Highland Games, a spectacle unequal to any in North America.
While all this performing took them far and wide, they also took time to make CDs and to play for their local fans. When the parish of St. Raphael’s suffered the devastating loss of its church to fire, Rob and his wife, Irene, wrote The Burning of St. Raphael’s which the group sang at one of the first fund raising concerts in the Ruins and later included on their first CD. In 1997 past and present Brigadoons members re-united to participate in the fund raising CD, Friends Helping Friends, produced by Neil MacDonell, another native Glengarrian. Not only did this event celebrate the Brigadoons 25th anniversary, its was also a fund raising initiative to support The Friends of the Ruins to help maintain this historic site. This generous action earned the group permanent recognition on a bronze plaque at the site of the Ruins. Many times a year, the Brigadoons are honoured to be called on to perform at seniors’ homes in Glengarry. Rob describes this as “an uplifting experience to be approached by residents who, during our early years, were staunch supporters.”
A major change to the band occurred when its founder, Rob Taylor, retired in 2008. The band continued on with Denis Carr assuming the role of band manager with musicians Paddy Kelly, Ashley MacLeod, Dan Leroux and Reg Portieous. In 2019, another change was made when fiddler Heather Flipsen joined the band.
Fortunately for their many fans, The Brigadoons are still performing and while new songs are being added to the repertoire, they still perform, at the request of the fans, those favourites from Glengarry such as The Road to Dalhousie, Glengarry My Home or the Martintown Song.
