A sparkling spirit and veritable vagabond, Mary Beth Carty paints with a broad palette of roots-music motifs, fusing traditional song, instrumental tunes, and songwriting. She is dedicated to cultural-ecology and bringing joy to audiences of all ages. Mary Beth is currently in production for her second solo album featuring Cape Breton’s best musicians and sound engineers. Stay tuned for album theme, title, and release date!
As one of 21 composers chosen for CBC Radio’s The Story and The Song 2021, Mary Beth was invited to create a piece on the theme of Rebirth. Then, a melody came to her in a dream. An epic hike and a pre-production session with Bradley Murphy and Colin Grant followed. “Blueberry Mountain” debuted on CBC Radio East Coast Music Hour and the CBC LISTEN app on March 27th!
Mary Beth has performed well over 500 shows in her long-spanning career, and has had the opportunity to tour in North America, Europe, and Africa. Her debut solo album, 2017’s Les biens-nommés, earned nominations at the Nova Scotia Music Awards and the ECMA’s. It features original, accordion-fueled songs in French and English, with Donald MacLennan on violin and the Melchin brothers on double-bass and percussion.
As a member of now defunct duo Bette & Wallet, Mary Beth was nominated Traditional Singer of the Year at the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Her voice has been described as passionate and mesmerizing. The duo’s most popular song, “Squeegees,” transforms a public domain French-Canadian song into a humorous, bilingual anthem about urban winter hardships.
In addition to her work as a solo artist, Mary Beth is in demand as a guitar accompanist for fiddlers and has performed with many of the best. She is known for her distinct, rhythmic style, keen ear, and mastery of the DADGAD tuning.
Mary Beth is just completing a five month ‘artist residency’ at The Gaelic College, where she taught online classes in step dance, set dance, & guitar accompaniment, and participated in the weekly Wednesday Night Ceilidh. Mary Beth is working on improving her gaelic language skills through Nova Scotia’s Daltachas mentorship program and a Gàidhlig aig Baile immersion program.