It's not really my thing, but my mom loves Cape Breton music. We're from Halifax but are closely related to Cape Breton. I got dragged into a square dancing event at a tiny, tiny church in the heart of some tiny town in the middle of nowhere when we were in CB for a funeral. It was new to all of us and completely surreal. My social anxiety hated it, but the music was live and completely indescribable. When the tempo starting ramping it made you feel like you were on a roller coaster.
Sounds like you were in Judique lol. I currently live in Halifax and head home a few times a year. It's still surreal for me to attend a square dance. Once you get a few drinks in it becomes this weird high energy orange blur. I'm not sure where the orange comes from, if it's the low watt light bulbs or the old cheap wood panelling that was in style 50 years ago, but that's the color I associate with it.