Nova Scotia sister act Cassie and Maggie returns to Tucson

Rock bands do it all the time, but it’s rare that you see a folk act put out a theme album, a recording built around a singular thought or image.

Enter Nova Scotia-born sisters Cassie and Maggie MacDonald.

Late last year, the pair, whose music borrows from American and Canadian folk tunes mixed with the Celtic that they grew up on, put out “Willow Collection,” a disc themed around the willow tree. There’s the Appalachian old-timey gem “Willow Tree,” with the sisters’ impeccable acoustic guitar-fiddle harmonies; the Celtic-flavored lover’s ode “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme”; their self-penned, tender and endearing “The Willow Lullaby”; and a super-cool reimagining mashup of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” the traditional folk tune “Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree” made famous by the Carter Family and the Patsy Cline hit “Walkin’ After Midnight.”

“The willow tree is a very special and popular theme in many folk music traditions, so we thought it would be a fascinating inspiration for our new album,” Cassie said in an email interview from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “We wanted to include the very popular bluegrass standard ‘Bury me Beneath the Willow Tree,’ however, there have been so many wonderful renditions of this song recorded over the years we wanted to make sure we put our own special spin on it.”

That song got the sisters — Cassie on lead vocals, guitar, keyboards and mandolin; Maggie on violin and vocals — to thinking of other popular songs that referenced the willow tree and “right away Johnny Cash’s ‘Big River’ and Patsy Cline’s ‘Walkin’ After midnight’ came to mind.” They mashed all three tunes to create “The Willow Hits,” a song that borrows lyrics and chords from each to create an entirely unique and altogether new song.

The duo, up for a pair of Canadian music awards, hit the road this month to promote the album, stopping in cities across North America and the States. They play the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway, on the campus of the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, on Saturday, Oct. 28. The show is produced by InConcert, which brought Cassie and Maggie to Tucson in 2015 in a sold-out show that promoters said left the crowd “spellbound.”

“When we performed in Tucson last, it was our very first time visiting your beautiful city. We drove down from Flagstaff and had never seen the saguaro cacti. ... We were so excited when we saw our first one on the side of the highway that I pulled the car right over so we could get a picture,” Cassie recalled. “It was quite dangerous in hindsight, but we were just so delighted and were worried that we wouldn’t see another one. As we continued in toward the city, we realized that we didn’t need to risk life and limb ... as they’re very prevalent in Tucson.

“We remember our last show in Tucson as one of our favorite performances ever, and we can’t wait to be back in your lovely city, capping off what has been an incredible six-month tour,” she said.

Tickets for Saturday’s show are $22 in advance at Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave., the Folk Shop, 2525 N. Campbell Ave., or online at inconcerttucson.com, which will charge you a $3 per ticket handling fee. It’s $25 at the door if there are any left. Details: inconcerttucson.com