COIG BAND MEMBERS (from left) Daren McMullen, Rachel Davis, Chrissy Crowley and Jason Roach perform on stage in 2015. Còig will be at Chocolate Church this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Known for their driving, energetic Gaelic folk rock, Nova Scotia’s Còig is excited to perform at the Chocolate Church in Bath this Saturday. Not only is the band familiar with the venue, the Chocolate Church inspired their Christmas tour and their newest album, “Carols.”
After a 2014 performance showcasing their French Acadian, Irish and Scottish influences at the center, McMullen said the Chocolate Church invited Còig to do another show in December of 2015. However, the band would just be coming off of a large tour in September, and weren’t sure if they could swing a one-date act.
“It’s hard when traveling and touring to do just one show,” said McMullen, who wanted to start another tour but was worried that most of the venues the band had just played weren’t ready to have them back yet. “So we thought about it, and then told the other venues, ‘Oh, we’ll do a Christmas show. It’s a whole different thing, and you should have us back.’”
All of the venues obliged, and Còig recorded “Carols” shortly afterward and reprised their summer tour of folk sea shanties and ballads with with a Christmas themed outing that was unique in its own right.
“It was only so we could play the Chocolate Church,” said McMullen.
Còig, whose other members are fiddler Chrissy Crowley, fiddler and vocalist Rachel Davis and pianist Jason Roach, came together in 2013 after performing together at the Celtic Colours Festival.
“We were just supposed to back each other up and do our solo material, but we had so much fun arranging things and playing together that we decided to form a group and make a record,” said McMullen.
Còig released their debut album “Five” in June, 2014, and played the America Folk Festival in Bangor not long after.
Their various tour dates in Maine led them to the Chocolate Church in Bath, and to a crowd that seemed to really enjoy their music, McMullen said.
“It went really well there,” McMullen said. “There was a huge sold out crowd, and the people were really great to us.”
When they returned in 2015 for the Christmas tour, the crowd was even more receptive.
“We have a nice history with this group of talented musicians,” said Jennifer DeChant, Executive Director of the Chocolate Church. “Còig is a treat for the ears of every audience they meet.”
McMullen believes 2016 will be no different.
“It’s the last date on the tour, and we’re kind of glad because we want to end things on a high note,” said McMullen. “I don’t know if there’s a higher note for us than playing at the Chocolate Church.”
He said Còig has new songs as well as classics up their sleeves for this year’s show.
“We tried to pick some carols that were lesser known for this year,” McMullen said. “We picked ‘The Wexford Carol’ and ‘The Cherry Tree Carol,’ but we do have your ‘Oh Holy Night’ in there, the ones people might expect.”
Many of the songs will come from 2015’s “Carols” album. McMullen said that the band members were careful when putting the album together because “you don’t want to cross that cheesy line.”
“We are really happy with the way the whole thing turned out, not just as a Christmas record but also on its own as a recording,” said McMullen.
After Saturday’s performance, Còig will head back to Nova Scotia to begin recording their next album, which McMullen hopes will be released in April of next year. A summer tour will follow, and McMullen said Maine is certainly on the band’s radar.
“We’ve been to Maine every year since we’ve been together,” McMullen said. “When we come to Maine we’re in a different country, but we feel right at home.”
Còig will take the Chocolate Church stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening. Tickets are $22 in advance and $25 at the door, and can be purchased at chocolatechurcharts.org.
bgoodridge@timesrecord.com
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