Fiddler extraordinaire will play at Skye, Lakeside
CARTHAGE — New England Celtic Arts will host Canadian super fiddler April Verch, voted Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center’s 2008 Performer of the Year, on Wednesday June 24. She will be presented with the award at this concert. She will also perform Thursday, June 25, at Lakeside Theater in Rangeley.
Both concerts start at 7 p.m.  A preshow jam will be held at 6:15 p.m. at Skye Theatre.
Verch is known for the pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and step dancing , as well as the depth of her repertoire, ranging from Americana mainstays Buddy and Julie Miller, to simple country songs and rollicking tunes from her native Ottawa Valley, to original instrumentals.
Verch grew up and is now living in Pembroke, Ontario, an area with a rich, distinctive musical and step-dancing tradition shaped by the diverse roots of immigrants drawn to the region’s lumber camps.
“By the time I was 10, that was it,” she said. “I knew I wanted to play fiddle and dance for a living. I just wasn’t sure how I could do it.” By the time she finished high school, she had recorded her first two self-released albums (“Springtime” in 1992, “Fiddle Talk” in 1995) and was appearing across Canada at concerts, as an invited guest at fiddle contests and as a teacher at fiddle camps. She capped her fiddle contest career with a pair of impressive wins, earning the titles of Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion and Canadian Open Fiddle Champion.
Tickets at Skye are $10 at the door. Tickets at Lakeside are $10 in advance, $12.50 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at the theater or at www. rangeleymovies.com. For reservations, call Skye at 562-4445 or Lakeside at 864-5000.
Skye Theater is at 2 Highland Drive off Winter Hill Road and U.S. Route 2 in South Carthage. Lakeside Theater is on Main Street in Rangeley.