Virginia MacIsaac writes from the magical isle of Cape Breton where Celtic influences mix with Acadian heritage and Mi'kmaq legends to create a fantastical cultural atmosphere that is the life and breath of those who live here. The stories of her ancestors and the rugged land and climate are inspiration for her writings on local history and culture, and promotion of community development projects.

Reviews by Virginia include:

CDs:

Margie Adam
• Portal

Charlie Adams
• Quviasupunga

Mac Arnold & Plate Full o' Blues
• Nothin' to Prove

Margie Baker & Friends
• Live at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society

Freeland Barbour
• An Linne Dhubh (The Black Water)

Janet Bates & Instruments of Change
• The Colours Will Come Back

Tab Benoit
• The Sea Saint Sessions

Big Smith & Family
• From Hay to Zzzzzz: Hillbilly Songs for Kids

Big Trout Radio
• Songs About Fishing

Kristian Blak
• Klaemint

Bluegrass Diamonds
• Some of Our Favorites, Hopefully Yours

Ged Brockie
• The Last View from Mary's Place

Albert E. Brumley Jr.
• I'll Fly Away

Shauna Burns
• Every Thought

Robbie Byrne
• Sunset Isle

Roger Cairns
• A Scot in L.A.

Shelley Campbell
• Blue Ridge Reveille

Maggie Carchrie
• Songs the Mermaid Sang

Liz Carroll
• Lake Effect

The Carsons
• .CA

Celtic Connection
• Forever

James Cohen
• High Side of Lowdown

Andy Collins
• Lake St. Serenade

Joseph & J.P. Cormier
• Velvet Arm, Golden Hand

Darryl & Dallas Cornell
• Songs You Oughta Know, with the Roosevelt School 5th-graders

Paul Cranford & Friends
• The Lighthouse

Mark Croft
• Sympathetic Groove

Dakota Sid & the Badland Serenaders
• Live at Josiah Stillwater Cooper's Saloon

Tom Daniels
• The R Months

Eric Darius
• Night on the Town

Deuter
• Like the Wind in the Trees

James Durst
• Internationally Unknown

Danny Elfman
• Hulk

Ted Estersohn
• Root & Branch

Steve Eulberg
• I Celebrate Life!

Robin Flower & Libby McLaren
• Steelhead in the Riffles

John Flynn
• Two Wolves

Gillian Frame & Back of the Moon
• self-titled

Marcel Gagnon
• Crazy Maker

Lennie Gallant
• Believing in Better

Jay Geils, Gerry Beaudoin & the Kings of Strings, featuring Aaron Weinstein
• Jay Geils, Gerry Beaudoin & the Kings of Strings

Michael Giacchino
• The Incredibles

Howard Gladstone
• Candles on the River
• Sunflowers Light the Room

Grand Derangement
• Danse dans les Flammes

Charlotte Greig
• Winter Woods

Donny H
• Listen

Halau Hula Ka No'eau (Hawaiian Arts Ensemble)
• Hawaii: Traditional Hula

HeartSounds
• Shule Aroon

High Noon
• Have Drum Will Travel

Matt & Erica Hinton
• Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp

Adam Hurt
• Intrigue

JimJim & the FatBoys
• Bottle Up & Go

The JW-Jones Blues Band
• My Kind of Evil

Southpaw Jones
• One in the Door, One in the Grave

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
• Finding Neverland

Benita Kenn
• Roads

Kerensa
• Totally Hammered

Sheri Kling
• Passions & Prodigals

Ron Korb
• Between the Shadows: Live in Quebec

Joel Kraft
• Big Ideas

Miranda Lambert
• Kerosene

Jennifer Licko
• Cave of Gold

Little Muddy
• Mayan Mud

Lonesome Brothers
• Pony Tales

Jim Love & the Blue Groove
• Gather 'Round
• Guerrilla Groove

Angus Lyon
• Long Road

Howard Lyons
• Hopes & Dreams, with Joanne Shenandoah

Tom MacDonald
• Celtic Tenor

Ashley MacIsaac
• A Cape Breton Christmas

Matt MacIsaac
• The Piping Album

MacKenzie
• Fama Clamosa

Norman MacKinnon
• Western Promise

Donald MacLellan
• The Dusky Meadow

Buddy MacMaster
• Cape Breton Tradition

Rita MacNeil
• Blue Roses

Nathaniel Maloney
• Old Empty Farmhouse

Bob Margolin
• All-Star Blues Jam

Scott McAllister
• Journey

Sandra McCracken
• Gravity/Love

Dan McKinnon
• Fields of Dreams & Glory

El McMeen
• Amazing Grace
• The Lea Rig
• The Soul of Christmas Guitar

Lori Michaels
• The Lilac Testament

Pete Mitchell
• Cutting the Mustard

Moossa
• Get Away

Lynn Morrison
• Cave of Gold: Celtic Lullabies

Geoff Muldaur
• Beautiful Isle of Somewhere

Dave Nachmanoff
• A Certain Distance

NorthCregg
• And They Danced All Night

NorthernBlues Gospel Allstars
• Saved!

Nura
• self-titled

Zachary Oberzan
• Athletes of Romance

Brian O'Connor
• Come West Along the Road

Meaiti Jo Sheamuis O'Fatharta
• Boithrini an Lochain: Sean-nos Songs from Connemara

Orion
• Restless Home

Oskorri
• The Pub Ibiltaria 8

Brad Paisley
• Time Well Wasted

Elizabeth Patterson
• Pengalleon
• Tidal Wheel

Larry Pattis
• Hands of Time

Petrella
• Dreams of the Heartland
• 100 Proof Woman

Mairtin Pheaits
• Traditional Songs from Connemara

Mike Phillips
• Uncommon Denominator

Bruce Piephoff
• Bright Leaf Blues

Dave Potts
• $12.99

Colleen Power
• Lucky You Are

Luke Guy Reed
• No Hat

A.J. Rosales
• Resistor

Rosheen
• Musique Celtique

Justin Roth
• Shine

Mark Saul
• Mixolydian

Secondsight
• self-titled

Sensible Tom
• Acoustic Caravan

Daniele Sepe
• Anime Candide: War & Love Songs

Simirillion
• self-titled

The Slackers
• Close My Eyes

Doug B. Smith
• A Slight Remove

Sara Softich
• Pipe Dream

Naomi Sommers
• Flying Through

John Sonntag
• Chasing Stars

Minton Sparks
• Middlin' Sisters
• Sin Sick

John Stein
• In Brazil: Concerto International de Jazz

The Larry Stephenson Band
• Clinch Mountain Mystery

Al Stewart
• A Beach Full of Shells

Tendachent
• Ori Pari

Tha Tribe
• Mad Hops & Crazy Stops

Tonio K. & 16 Tons of Monkeys
• Live

Henoch Townley
• Reaching Point

Paddy Tutty
• The Roving Jewel

various artists
• Bhangra: The Sound of Bollywood
• Blues in the Mississippi Night
• Calypso: Vintage Songs from the Caribbean
• Celtic Airs
• Celtic Waves: Surfing the Ocean of Tradition
• Failte: A Cape Breton Welcome
• Flatpicking Favorites: Hot & Spicy
• The Future of Blues
• The Humours of Piping
• A Northern Christmas
• Nunavik Concert
• The Piper & the Maker
• Preachin' the Blues: The Music of Mississippi Fred McDowell
• Tradition

Minnie White
• The Hills of Home

Ken Whiteley
• Gospel Music Makes Me Feel Alright!

Ginny Wilder
• Lessons in Life & Love

William Woods
• Cobalt Blue


Concerts:

The Beatons of Mabou

Causeway Crossing

Ceilidh anns a'Bhraigh: Ceilidh in the Glen

Celtic Pops Encore

Celtic Women '03

Celtic Women '04

Ceol Na H-Aibhneadh (The Music of the River): A Tribute to Theresa & Marie MacLellan

The Chieftains: the Cape Breton Connection

Close to the Floor '02

Close to the Floor '03

Close to the Floor '10

Common Ground: Carlos Nunez' Celtic Journey

Cutting Edge

The Dancing Lights Troupe: Twelve Celtic Winds

Fiddle & Prose

Guitar Summit '03

Guitar Summit '04

Guitar Summit '05

Guitar Summit '07

Home is Where the Heart Is

Island to Island: The Cape Breton-Ireland Musical Bridge

The Judique Flyers

Kinfolk

Buddy & Natalie MacMaster

Matt Minglewood & Rylee Madison

My Cape Breton Home

Natalie MacMaster & Friends: Bringing the World Home

The Next Generation '02

The Next Generation '03

Only a Woman's Heart

The Original Guitar Summit

Pickin' & Grinnin'

Salute to the Cape Breton Fiddler

Sandy MacIntyre's Trip to Toronto

Teacher's Pets

Tribute to Bill Lamey

Two Fiddles, Two Pianos Encore

The Unusual Suspects

Wendy's World


Books:

Lynn Austin
• Candle in the Darkness
• A Light to My Path

Duck Baker
• Fingerstyle Blues Guitar 101

James Scott Bell
• A Certain Truth

Sigmund Brouwer
• The Disappearing Jewel of Madagascar

Gerald Coomer
• The Summer I was Seventeen: A Story of the Appalachian Trail

Annabel Davis-Goff
• The Fox's Walk

Tommy Emmanuel
• Fingerstyle Guitar Method

Benjamin Filene
• Romancing the Folk: Public Memory & American Roots Music

Tommy Flint
• Kentucky Thumbpicking Blues for Guitar

Anne Frasier
• Play Dead

Justin Goldberg
• The Ultimate Survival Guide to the New Music Industry: Handbook for Hell

Melissa Fay Greene
• Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster

Kristen Heitzmann
• Secrets

Aida Hudson & Susan-Ann Cooper, editors
• Windows & Words: A Look at Canadian Children's Literature in English

Randy Ingermanson
• Double Vision

Karen Kinsgbury
• Like Dandelion Dust
• A Thousand Tomorrows

J.R. Lindermuth
• Something in Common

David Ryan Long
• Quinlin's Estate

Frank MacDonald
• A Forest for Calum

George MacDonald
• Malcolm

Kathryn Mackel
• The Departed

Don McKay
• Deactivated West 100

Joyce Meyer
• How to Hear from God: Learn to Hear His Voice & Make Right Decisions
• Seven Things That Steal Your Joy

Ed Munger
• Jigs & Reels for Classic Guitar

Bobby Norfolk
• Norfolk Tales

Mark Andrew Olsen
• The Assignment

John A. Senneff
• The Apastron Reports: Quest for Life

Lauraine Snelling
• A Dream to Follow

Edrick Thay
• Haunted Cemeteries: True Tales from Beyond the Grave

Harry Thurston
• A Ship Portrait

Richard Voss & Laurence Traiger
• Roving Through Ireland: Piano Solos of Traditional Irish Folk Music

Jamie Langston Turner
• No Dark Valley

Chris Tusa
• Haunted Bones

Stephanie Grace Whitson
• A Garden in Paris