Canadian musician Alan Doyle and his group, The Beautiful Band, will be on stage at the Performing Arts Center on March 12. Courtesy photo

NASHUA – The Beautiful Band, a folk pop group led by Alan Doyle, will take the stage at the Performing Arts Center on March 12.

Originally from Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, Newfoundland, Doyle was born into an Irish musical family providing him with a “very celtic influence.” In 1993, he founded folk rock band Great Big Sea with Séan McCann, Robert Hallett and Darrell Power.

“We rolled under that umbrella for 20 years,” said Doyle. “It was great fun.”

After Great Big Sea broke up, Doyle went on to establish The Beautiful Band in 2012. Since then, he has been joined by fellow musicians Cory Tetford, Kendel Carson, Kris MacFarlane, Shehab Illyas, Todd Lumley and Billy Sutton.

“I am the luckiest guy in the world,” said Doyle, a 14-time JUNO Award nominee. “It’s such a privilege to stand among those players on stage.”

As the band’s frontman, Doyle plays the guitar, banjo, mandolin and bouzouki.

“It’s honest, simple music,” he said. “Folk music is at the root of everything.”

The band’s latest album, “Welcome Home,” was released last year featuring nine songs that are both “typically buoyant and surprisingly intimate.”

“I have always struggled with the middle ground. I love playing live so much and I have been rightly accused of writing songs more for concerts than albums,” said Doyle. “Most people who come to my shows want that kind of night out. So, I have overlooked the lower and slower, the lower part of my vocal range and the slower songs. I’m letting myself do that for the first time on this record.”