When Adele grows up, she wouldn’t mind being like Adele.
“Adele is a very talented singer, I enjoy her music,” Adele Leahy, 13 said. Like the world-famous singing star with the same first name, Adele Leahy performs on stage, makes records and tours throughout the world.
She is part of The Next Generation Leahy, a family act that plays The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center on Jan. 24 at 5 and 8 p.m. Adele, along with Cecilia, 8; Evelyn 5 and three brothers – Gregory 12, Angus, 10, Joseph, 7 — perform with parents Doug and Jennifer Leahy.
They all live on a farm in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The family chores include feeding cattle, milking cows and baling hay. And when this brood isn’t tilling the soil, the Leahys bundle up the kids in an RV and hit the road to sing, dance and play music.
Kind of like the Partridge Family meets the Chieftains.
In fact, the Next Generation Leahy opened for the Chieftains on a recent tour.
“That was a lot of fun, those guys are great,” Daddy Doug Leahy said. Like the Chieftains, the Leahys specialize in Celtic music, rollicking step-dancing and a rocking Irish good time.
It’s no accident these kids have such talent. As they say in Canada, “it’s in the genes, eh!”
The family is part of the famed Canadian family group known as Leahy, which includes eight siblings and stretches back three generations.
Doug, who plays the fiddle with Mom Jennifer on piano, decided to form their own family band.
“We didn’t push the kids,” Doug said. “Music is something they love and it comes natural to them.”
But how are you going to keep them down on the farm after they play the role of music stars? Who wants to milk a cow when you can be under the spotlight before a packed audience fiddling the night away?
“That’s not a problem because we strive for balance in their lives and as a family,” Doug said. “This whole thing is a balancing act,” Jennifer added. “They all know that the road is the road, but when they come home they have chores to do and all of them have to help out the family.”
No big deal says Adele Leahy.
“I like traveling and performing, especially going to Florida in the winter,” she said. “It’s fun to be on stage and sing and dance.
“But when we get back to the farm we get back to real life. It’s nice to be away and play shows, but it’s always great to get back home.”
Gregory Leahy, 12, shares those feelings.
“I like being part of a family band and staying in hotels, but it’s not home,” he said. “My goal is to be a singer and a farmer. That’s what our family is all about.”
Both occupations are demanding. The Leahy kids play multiple instruments – fiddle, accordion, cello, piano –and they practice at least a couple of hours a day. They are home schooled. Then there are the farming chores. Put it all together and this is one of the hardest working families in show business.
“But it doesn’t feel like work because we love what we’re doing and doing it together as a family,” Adele said.
Next Generation Leahy performed here last year at the New Covenant United Methodist Church.
They were on the bill with Fernando Varela, who was impressed. “Those kids are amazing, I’m bringing them back,” he said and now has booked them at The Sharon.
Florence LaRue, singer with the famed Fifth Dimension singing group, was in the audience that night. “Those kids are so talented and so young,” she said. “They really impressed me.”
Now the Leahys will be back in The Villages, a year older and getting more popular all the time. Adele has been writing songs and the kids work together on choreography and music.
They were on the road for about month and recently completed a 17-show tour. Another possibility, Doug Leahy said, is a tour of China.
“We have to think about that,” Doug said. “We don’t want to do too much, too fast. We’re just trying to keep up and take care of the kids. As long as they enjoy it and are having fun, we’re going to keep making music.”