On Big in Canada’s first trip out East, Laura and Mac discuss bad boy fiddler, Ashley MacIsaac. Blending traditional fiddle music with alt-rock and a punk attitude, Ashley MacIsaac was plucked from Cape Breton and found mainstream success with his surprising smash hit “Sleepy Maggie”. But as the age-old story goes, this too-fast-fame took its toll. After all, he just wants to be known as “Ashley MacIsaac, from Cape Breton, playing the fiddle.”

Also discussed: the newly rebranded Great Big in Canada Concert Experience, Canadian rock operas, Jully Black on the Amazing Race Canada, the “poisoned” Canadian music atmosphere, indexes, and much more.