Men of the Deeps

The Men of the Deeps is a choir of working and retired coal miners from Cape Breton Island. It’s been over 50 years since the singing miners first donned their signature overalls and helmets to sing about the work and life of Cape Breton’s miners. North America’s only coal miners chorus was organized in 1966 as part of Cape Breton’s contribution to Canada’s Centennial Year. Their work preserving some of the rich folklore of the island’s coal mining communities has taken them far and wide, and they have found kinship wherever in the world hard-working men make a living underground. The Men of the Deeps have released nine albums and a Christmas album, been the subject of two National Film Board of Canada films and one book, toured around the world, and frequently been featured on TV and radio. A songbook featuring choral arrangements for some of the group’s most popular songs has also been published. Today the Men of the Deeps are more than a singing group – it is a social institution. There is a camaraderie amongst the members of the group that carries over to their audiences wherever they perform. Clad in coveralls and hard hats, they make an impressive impact when they enter a concert hall in total darkness with only the lamps on their helmets for light.

Anyone who attends a concert by the Men of the Deeps cannot help but come away with the feeling that a special breed of men has touched them.