The Coach House Concert series welcomed artist Irish Millie to the Glenhyrst Art Gallery in Brantford on Saturday, March 28, 2026.
Millie, who is a fiddler, singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Peterborough, was accompanied by her father, Murray Shadgett, on the guitar.
The 19-year-old is already a seven-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, with two 2026 nominations for her EP Then and Now (Young Performer of the Year, and Single of the Year for “You Were There”), and a 2025 Folk Music Ontario nomination for Performing Artist of the Year.
Throughout the two-hour set, Millie and her father performed 13 songs, six of which were her own compositions, and the rest from well-known artists as well as fellow musicians she’s met along her travels.
In between, Millie shared various anecdotes about how she picked up different songs to perform throughout the years, as well as what inspired her to write her own pieces.
The first half of the show included tunes like We Banjo 3’s Marry Me Monday, Pat Cooksey’s Brick Layer Song, Frank Zappa’s Directly From My Heart To You, and her own songs Big Red, Joel’s Tune, and Rylie’s Reel.
Following intermission organizer Brian Gall told the audience that when musicians come to play for the Coach House series, they do it to share their music, not for the money.
“The pitch is usually pretty short and sweet, and it includes some mathematics,” he said. “You never really know for sure whether the artist is going to say yes, because sometimes 55 people will show up, other times it’s maybe 25. The artist basically has to say, ‘Yes, I’m willing to take a shot at it,’ and not everybody does that. So it’s really nice to have humble artists that are willing to do the show because the music is important for them and for everyone else that’s here, so cheers to that.”
Millie and her father then returned to the stage to continue their performance.
The second half featured a medley originally performed by We Banjo 3, and songs like Natalie McMaster’s If Ever You Were Mine, as well as her own Mystery to Me and Ghosts. She also put her own twist on Charlie Daniel’s The Devil Went Down to Georgia, switching Georgia out for Ireland among other changes.
Noting that Millie and her father received a standing ovation at the end of the concert, during intermission, Brantford resident Stephanie Henderson said she was impressed with the performance.
“She’s fantastic. I had looked her up on YouTube before this and was really impressed,” she said. “I mean, the father-daughter thing is adorable, and the fact that she’s 19 and has that kind of stage presence and talent is just incredible.”
When asked what she thought about the Coach House series overall, Henderson added that she thought it was wonderful.
“It’s a great venue. It sort of has this intimate feel and the volunteers who run it are great. I’ve been to a few of these shows now, and I enjoy it every time I’m here,” she said. “The tickets are reasonable; I think the prices are within reach and it’s just very accessible for anybody. It’s nice too because people come to these events and they know their neighbours, or they see some familiar faces so I like that. It’s just wonderful that this series is part of the overall Glenhyrst community art hub.”
For those who are interested in attending a Coach House Concert, the last of the 2025-2026 season will feature Bry Webb and Lotus Wight on Saturday, May 30 at 8 p.m., doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
