With St. Patrick’s Day behind us but spring ahead, the lilting Celtic tunes of Montreal-based band Cianalas make the perfect soundtrack for a city shaking off the last chills of winter. The band played their first headline show on March 19 at Quai des Brumes, a dimly lit bar on rue St. Denis with eccentric artwork lining its walls. It was the perfect setting for Cianalas—who, in just six months, have gone from busking on the streets of Montreal to playing their first headline show to a packed crowd. The attendees reflected the broad reach of the genre: Mostly 20-somethings with a smattering of older listeners, a reminder that folk music has a way of bringing people together across generations. 

The night opened with Gráinne, a Montreal-based Irish band that also features a member of Cianalas. They moved between songs in Irish and English, combining classic favourites with original arrangements. Beneath the fiddle and steady beat of the bodhrán (an Irish drum), the lyrics conveyed much of what Irish traditional music is about—history with themes of loss and longing.

When Cianalas took the stage, they captured the room’s attention from the first note. People were up and dancing even in the crowded space. Brenna Logan (vocals, guitar), Abi Rees (accordion), Ella Partington (fiddle), and Isabel Hayler Hughes (fiddle) bring a kind of chemistry that only comes from musicians who truly love playing together. Their set was a mix of instrumental and lyrical pieces, moving seamlessly between high-energy dance tunes and slower melodic songs. Logan’s vocals were strong, and the band kept an easy rhythm together. 

One of the most striking things about Cianalas is how much they clearly love what they do, and their commitment to the craft. Even a brief technical mishap with the guitar couldn’t throw them off—the show must go on! They paused to thank the audience for supporting “Irish women in music,” a statement met with cheers from the crowd, reminding them of the tradition they are carrying forward, and the space they are making within it.

What makes Cianalas stand out isn’t just their technical skill or their ability to get a room dancing (though they do both with ease); it’s the feeling behind the music, the way it carries both history and home in it. Their name, Scottish Gaelic for “homesickness,” captures the sentiment perfectly. Hayler Hughes told The Tribune that they don’t see it as a longing to be elsewhere but, rather, as a deep-rooted connection to where they’re from. The name is fitting for a band made up of musicians from all over the U.K. and Ireland, who found each other in Montreal to build a new home together. Even though their music is rooted in Celtic tradition, they have also found musical inspiration in Quebecois folk music, further tying them to the city. 

Hayler Hughes also spoke about the serendipitous way the band came together. She and Rees, despite attending the same high school in England, only met properly at a folk session in Glasgow years later while at university. They both wound up in Montreal on exchange and busked around the Plateau together. After realizing they both knew Partington and Logan through sessions and open mics around Montreal, they decided to form Cianalas. Their story, like their music, is about connection—about the way people, places, and melodies find their way to each other.

Cianalas welcomed Gráinne back on stage for an encore featuring both Canadian and Celtic classics like “Northwest Passage” and “Wild Mountain Thyme,” which had the whole bar singing along. The night was a reminder of why live music matters, especially now when big-ticket concerts feel out of reach for so many. 

Cianalas hosts a weekly folk session at McLean’s Pub on Saturdays from 2-5 p.m., welcoming musicians of all levels to join. As for what’s next, they’re planning a summer tour and hoping to get into a studio to record some of their arrangements. In the meantime, make sure to get out and support your local artists, whether they’re just starting out or they’re seasoned favourites.

You can find Cianalas on Instagram @cianalas_music