Kevin Chaisson

Three brothers from Bear River – Kenny, Kevin, and “Young Peter” Chaisson – are among the most widely respected and influential musicians on Prince Edward Island. Bringing to fruition a vision first conceived by their father Joe Pete Chaisson (c. 1914-81), they helped found the PEI Fiddlers' Association, the Rollo Bay Scottish Fiddle Festival and the Rollo Bay Fiddle Instruction Program. As leaders of the Eastern Kings Fiddlers, they helped promote a strong interest in Cape Breton repertoire and playing style among an entire generation of fiddlers from northeastern and north-central Kings County. As coordinators of the Rollo Bay Fiddle Instruction Program, they helped set the stage for the development of a new generation of accomplished players, including JJ Chaisson, Timothy Chaisson, and Sheila MacKenzie.

Kevin Chaisson resisted family pressure to take up fiddling during his youth and turned to the piano instead, becoming perhaps the strongest and most-in-demand piano accompanist for fiddle music on the Island. His accompaniment style – influenced by such Cape Breton pianists as Dougie MacPhee, Hilda Chiasson, and Joey Beaton – has been very widely emulated throughout the Island.