Maeve. Had posted a longish msg 2 hours ago with info. Will try to refresh my head as to what I said.
There are two places I would start with
Both are great. The Triangle will be featuring John Ferguson & Roger Stone from Wednesday to Saturday. - Both are talented singers and instrumentalists with a large repertoire of trad and modern songs ( ie James Tayler, Stan Rogers, John Prine, Bob Dylan), including Will the Turtle Be Unbroken from John.
O'Carrolls will have Dave Stone from Sunday through to Thursday. He's a skilled songwriter but also has a good selection of songs from other people or trad songs. Dave is a distant cousin to Roger. They come from the same community in Cape Breton. John is from another town in Cape Breton. - Friday and Saturday, the entertainment @ O'Carrolls will the Gig Dogs. - They're a group of talented instrumentalists who play extremely well and sing some songs. They banded together and each sing some of the songs and all have instrumental solos throughout the show.
All are good friends of mine and I highly recommend them.
IF your friend is looking for Rock music or Meat Market pickup joints, these pubs won't do. I can supply some other names if needed.