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Natalie MacMaster has a new album, Yours Truly (Koch), but it is not the focus of her new tour. Instead, Two Fiddles and Two Pianos is a special show for Atlantic Canada. As the name implies, it is stripped-down, just Natalie and her husband Donnell Leahy on fiddles, with Leahy's sister Erin and Mac Morin on pianos.

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Natalie MacMaster and her husband, Donnell Leahy, hit the road with their fiddles and two pianists for an East Coast tour that she called ‘less of a show and more of a session ... like we’re sitting in your living room.’

The Cape Breton star moved to Ontario when she married Leahy, but she still makes it back to the East Coast "four or five times a year," MacMaster says, speaking from her home.

This jaunt will be a special one. "We've been married six years and we haven't done anything like this before," she says. "This is our chance to get out and tour as a family. We have done shows together, but it's been Leahy the group, and Natalie, it's not been Donnell and I."

More laid-back than a traditional concert, MacMaster says they'll both be onstage for the whole show: "It's intertwined, both of us the whole way through, but it's half-and-half, some mine, like the Cape Breton ones, and (some) his."

She promises lots of dancing, too, and that it won't be just straight-ahead music.

"There's one we call Madness, you don't know what we'll play any night," she said. "It's less of a show and more of a session. It's more like we're sitting in your living room."

Two Fiddles and Two Pianos comes to Moncton's Capitol Theatre Nov. 18, heads to The Playhouse in Fredericton Nov. 20 and to Imperial Theatre in Saint John Nov. 23.

MacMaster said she and Leahy are planning on recording a disc and a "big tour" in 2010.

THE OLYMPIC SYMPHONIUM - 'MORE IN SORROW THAN IN ANGER' (Sonic Unyon)

Word has been building about this Fredericton group over the past couple of years, with lovingly received live shows and a fine 2007 debut disc.

The Symphonium began as a side project for some busy-bee local players - Nick Cobham (All Of Green), Kyle Cunjak (Catherine MacLellan) and Graeme Walker (Grand Theft Bus) - but it is quickly becoming a bigger job, with some strong national recognition. Leaning on the softer side of the principal players, the group bounces from country-tinged tracks to acoustic pop and gentle instrumentals. Each member trades lead vocals, and the results are sweet and beautiful, proof you don't need volume to sound big.

Plenty of auxiliary members take prominent guest spots, including Dale Murphy (Cuff The Duke) on pedal steel; Rose Cousins, Amelia Curran, Jenn Grant and MacLellan on harmonies; Joel LeBlanc of Hot Toddy on electric guitar; and the Bus's Bob Deveau as go-to drummer. There's a big album launch tour starting Thursday at The Blue Olive in Saint John, Saturday at The Capitol in Moncton, Wednesday at Struts Gallery in Sackville, Nov. 20 at Salty Towers in St. Andrews, with a hometown party Nov. 21 at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton.

HANK WILLIAMS - 'THE UNRELEASED RECORDINGS' (Warner)

A major archaeological find, this three-CD set features Williams on a Nashville radio show in 1951. It is lucky the amazing recording still exists. The show was often live, but sometimes Hank would be on tour so he would record direct-to-disc for the station to play later. These acetate records were about to be thrown out in the '80s when a wise collector snapped them up. Litigation ensued but finally the estate has been able to release them.

Featuring work that sometimes eclipses his studio recordings, the collection shows how tight Williams's touring band was. It features many cover versions of popular hits, as well as obscure gospel and country gems. There are also touches not featured on his regular records, including harmonies from the band and a playfulness not usually associated with Williams's darker history. From a croaky but clear take on Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain that is surely the equal of Willie's to a sincere reading of the beloved hymn Softly And Tenderly, Williams knew his rural American audience. These 54 cuts are a treasure trove and a whole new way to hear country music's greatest performer.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS - 'LITTLE HONEy' (Universal)

Known for dark and confessional songs about dirt-road romances choked on dust, Williams sounds the happiest she has been since penning Passionate Kisses in the '80s.

Starting with Real Love, things are good in her world, letting her rock with abandon and even having some fun. A duet with Elvis Costello on Jailhouse Tears has him playing a no-good spouse, letting Lucinda rip the lying drunk apart. Little Rock Star is a direct warning to the Britney Spears of the world, so young and foolish.

And Honey Bee, well that's just a sex song in the classic tradition. For those who love Lucinda in trouble, there are good times in her good mood.

THE JEFF HEALEY BAND - 'LEGACY: VOLUME ONE' (Arbor)

This two-CD-one-DVD set is a generous, quite complete look at Healey's early blues days, when he and his group burst out of Toronto to quickly earn an international reputation. Respected stars lined up to praise him, from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Eric Clapton to George Harrison, and he had million-sellers, helped by the hit single Angel Eyes.

All of the best-known cuts are here on disc one, while the second CD is a grab-bag of previously unreleased live cuts. The DVD is a profile of the '80s and '90s, with lots more live material, star quotes and videos.

There is controversy surrounding the set. Healey's widow (he died in March) is asking fans to boycott it, while Tom Stephen, the band's original drummer and manager, says he owns all the rights and informed the estate that he wanted to do a tribute set for fans. Hmm, tough call.

It is a good set, although a little cheaply packaged and, since it only looks at the Healey Band days, it misses much of his best music, especially his later forays into jazz.

Plus, much of his output featured more attempts at pop hits, with more misses than successes, including recording a Dianne Warren song. Healey chose to get back to doing music he loved, and dissolved the band.

You certainly wouldn't need any more of his work than this.

Bob Mersereau is a music writer and the arts reporter for CBC in New Brunswick.