The McDades
The McDades Release "Dance Around The Spinning Wheel"
The First Single From ‘Thread The Light,’ the Long-Awaited New Album From One of Canada's Most Treasured and Beloved Folk Ensembles
Photo: The McDades with Farhad Khosravi - Photo Credit: Lyle Bell
The McDades release "Dance Around The Spinning Wheel" today, the first single from their forthcoming album ‘Thread The Light,’ out May 29, 2026, on Free Radio Records. A traditional song arranged and produced by the band, the track arrives as the opening statement from one of the most decorated and deeply loved ensembles in the history of Canadian roots music: JUNO Award winners, two-time Canadian Folk Music Award winners, Canadian Folk Music Award winners for Best Vocal Group, and for over two decades the band that critics, audiences, and fellow musicians reach for when they need to explain what it sounds like when virtuosity and joy occupy the same room at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1AjY5Whwtc&feature=youtu.be
At the heart of The McDades are siblings Shannon Johnson (fiddle and vocals), Solon McDade (bass and vocals), and Jeremiah McDade (whistles, saxophone, and vocals), joined on Thread The Light by Andy Hillhouse (guitar and vocals) and Eric Breton (percussion and vocals), with guest contributions from Farhad Khosravi on santur, Dan Stadnicki on drums, and Jean-Sebastian Williams on baritone guitar. The three siblings grew up performing together, and whose stages included the Canadian National Exhibition, the Commonwealth Games, and a performance for the British Royal Family. Music is not something the McDades came to. It is what they were made of from the beginning.
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/4gjtokVabKUQLdgaxim0Fh?si=175a3919c1694636&nd=1&dlsi=2a168b5f7cf2474d
"Dance Around The Spinning Wheel" is a vibrant new single that invites you straight into the circle where rhythm, melody, and movement blur into one joyful pulse. Built for singing at the top of your lungs and dancing without hesitation, the track carries an irresistible, communal energy. At its core the song is driven by the mesmerizing shimmer of the santur, played by guest Farhad Khosravi, weaving a hypnotic thread that pulls listeners deeper with every turn. This trance-like texture grounds the music while the arrangement lifts and expands, blending traditional roots with global influences and a touch of modern pop sensibility. The result is a sound that feels both ancient and immediate, familiar yet fresh, where voices rise together, feet move instinctively, and the spinning never quite stops.
Punching through the walls of tradition, The McDades' Celtic-rooted music fuses the spontaneity of jazz improvisation and infectious global rhythms. Their ground-breaking compositions and innovative arrangements are characterized by stunning virtuosity and a near-telepathic interaction on stage. With vocal harmonies that can only come from a family, and an obvious love for each other and their music, The McDades' sound is immersed in the spirit of improvisation. Combining original tunes and unique interpretations of traditional songs, their performances feature both energetic instrumentals and moving vocals performed in English and French. This compelling and dynamic group, as the London Free Press put it, finds their groove somewhere between a down-home kitchen party, a jazzy after-hours club, and a folk festival.
‘Thread The Light’ follows The Empress (2021), the album that earned them the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Vocal Group and reinforced what has always been true about this band: that their music is, as Living Traditions wrote, a compulsively vital canvas of rustic and cosmopolitan soundbites that caress the ear as much as illuminate the senses. The new album arrives with the depth and confidence of a band who have been playing together, in various configurations, since childhood, and who understand instinctively that tradition is not a ceiling but a foundation.
What has always set The McDades apart is not any single element of their sound but the combination: Shannon's luminous fiddling, Jeremiah's astonishing multi-instrumental fluency across whistles, saxophone, and beyond, Solon's anchoring bass, and the vocal harmonies that can only come from people who have been singing together since they could speak. "It has been energizing and often magical," Jeremiah has said of the band's journey. (Celtic Life International, 2022) That magic is audible from the first note of "Dance Around The Spinning Wheel."
For a band who have been described as crafting a new Canadian sound, this album is the next chapter of a story that has been building for a very long time and shows absolutely no sign of slowing down.
https://themcdades.bandcamp.com/album/the-empress
