Peterborough Musicfest Announces Steven Page, Sloan and More Added to 2025 Lineup

Barenaked Ladies’s Steven Page, Sloan and more were some of the acts added to this year’s Peterborough Musicfest lineup, announced at the Silver Bean Café on Thursday morning.

(from left to right) Vince Bierworth, event emcee; Brian Ellis, MUSICFEST BOARD CHAIR and TRACEY RANDALL, Musicfest Executive Director, showing off this year’s lineup of acts. PHOTO BY DAVID TUAN BUI.

Millbrook’s Serena Ryder, Kim Mitchell and Gob were acts announced before the full lineup release.

With a wide array of acts, the lineup caters to all music tastes but is looking to diversify it even more. With four dates (July 5, 9, 26 and 29) to be announced later, those spots will help round out all genres according to Tracey Randall, Musicfest executive director.

“We've already covered classic rock so we now need to cover country,” she explained. “We know that two of the four are going to be country.”

Musicfest is discussing adding acts to the vacant dates but cannot release details until next month. The free-concert series has roughly 83 per cent of its funding and needs another $80,000 to help sign off on finishing the lineup. Randall says once sponsorships and other funding can reach that amount, the full lineup can eventually be released.

“I've got a couple bands that are playing in other festivals, selling tickets right now so we're not allowed to announce until June,” she said. “Hopefully we'll do that as soon as we can in a couple weeks.”

New this year is a second stage to showcase more local talent as opening acts, a trial for Peterborough Muiscfest that will span roughly eight to nine shows, according to Randall.

“We just found that a lot of the local bands weren't getting picked up,” she explained. “We're moving ahead with a second stage on some nights. We're going to try it for now.”

The following is this year’s Musicfest schedule:

• June 28: Serena Ryder

• July 1: Neon Nostalgic (Retro Rock Tribute)

• July 2: William Prince

• July 5: TBA

• July 9: TBA

• July 12: Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies)

• July 16: Sloan

• July 19: Gob

• July 23 ABBAMania + Night Fever (Bee Gees)

• July 26: TBA

• July 30: TBA

• Aug. 2: Acrobat (U2 Tribute)

• Aug. 6: Mudmen w/ Irish Millie

• Aug. 9: The Celtic Tenors

• Aug. 13: Choir! Choir! Choir!

• Aug. 16: Kim Mitchell

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Canadian Punk Band Gob Makes Peterborough Musicfest Debut On July 19

Legendary Canadian punk band Gob is making their Peterborough Musicfest debut as they are hitting Del Crary Park’s Fred Anderson Stage on July 19 at 8 p.m., announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.

Formed in 1993, Gob saw early success with albums such as Gob and Too Late... No Friends before releasing How Far Shallow Takes You in 1998. The punk rock band consists of Tom Thacker (vocals), Theo Goutzinakis (guitar/vocals), Gabe Mantle (drums), and Craig Wood (bass).

Their 2001 album, The World According to Gob, earned a JUNO nomination for Best New Group and achieved Gold status, with hits like ‘That’s The Way,’ ‘For The Moment’ and ‘No Regrets.’ The standout single ‘I Hear You Calling’ earned a JUNO nomination for Best Video in 2002.

Gamers may recognize Gob from the video game NHL 2004 as ‘I’ve Been Up These Steps’ was on the in-game soundtrack.

Bassist Steven Fairweather (formerly of By A Thread) was an addition to the band and helped deliver the album ‘Apt. 13.’

Beyond Gob, Thacker has also made his mark as the co-lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist for the multi-platinum rock group Sum 41.

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Canadian Rockstar Bryan Adams Hits the Peterborough Memorial Centre On Oct. 7

Canadian rock icon Bryan Adams is hitting the Peterborough Memorial Centre as part of his ‘Roll With The Punches’ North America 2025 tour on Oct. 7, announced on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

The show will have rock band ‘The Sheepdogs’ as special guest performers for the event.

“I’m so thrilled to be announcing the North American leg of the Roll With The Punches Tour,” said Adams. “We’ll be playing all the classics, some deep cuts, and sharing some brand-new tracks from the forthcoming album.”

Tickets will first be available through an AMEX presale beginning Tuesday at 10 a.m. with additional presales running throughout the week. General on sale begins May 2 at 10 a.m.

The following are the tour dates and locations:

• Thu Sep 11 – Kamloops, BC – Sandman Centre* 

• Fri Sep 12 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena*

• Sat Sep 13 – Victoria, BC – Save On Foods Memorial Centre* 

• Tue Sep 23 – Prince George, BC – CN Centre* 

• Wed Sep 24 – Kelowna, BC – Prospera Place+ 

• Fri Sep 26 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome+ 

• Sat Sep 27 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place* 

• Sun Sep 28 – Regina, SK – Brandt Centre* 

• Mon Sep 29 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre* 

• Thu Oct 2 – St. Catharines, ON – Meridian Centre* 

• Fri Oct 3 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena* 

• Sat Oct 4 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre* 

• Sun Oct 5 – Windsor, ON – Caesars*

• Tue Oct 7 – Peterborough, ON – Peterborough Memorial Centre* 

• Wed Oct 8 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre* 

• Thu Oct 9 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre* 

• Sat Oct 11 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre* 

• Sun Oct 12 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre* 

• Wed Oct 15 – St. John's, NL – Mary Brown’s Centre*

• Sat Oct 25 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena^

• Sun Oct 26 – Boston, MA – TD Garden^

• Wed Oct 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center^

• Thu Oct 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden^

• Sat Nov 1 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena^

• Sun Nov 2 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena^

• Mon Nov 3 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena^

• Wed Nov 5 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center^

• Thu Nov 6 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena^

• Fri Nov 7 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena^

• Sun Nov 9 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live^

• Mon Nov 10 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena^

• Thu Nov 13 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center^

• Sat Nov 15 – Phoenix, AZ – PHX Arena^

• Sun Nov 16 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena^

• Tue Nov 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum^

• Wed Nov 19 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center^

• Fri Nov 21 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena^

• Sat Nov 22 – Portland, OR – Moda Center^

• Mon Nov 24 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena^

• Wed Nov 26 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center^

*With The Sheepdogs

^With Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo

+With Amanda Marshall

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Sarah McLachlan Returns to Peterborough Memorial Centre On Nov. 9

Grammy and Juno-award winning artist Sarah McLachlan is returning to Peterborough and the Memorial Centre as part of her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary 2025 Canadian tour on Nov. 9.

Photo courtesy of Live Nation Entertainment.

Joining her is the acoustic harmony trio Tiny Habits for all listed dates.

“I’m really excited to bring the tour across Canada, it was so disappointing to have to cancel the 2024 tour due to my vocal health, and I’m grateful that we were able to reschedule,” said McLachlan. “I’m fully recovered and recharged and can’t wait to share the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary tour with my home country, and maybe a few new songs as well. This tour is a real walk down memory lane as Fumbling is a very special record for me... I’m hoping that the songs will bring back a lot of good memories for everybody.”

The tour celebrates McLachlan’s third studio album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, first released Oct. 22, 1993.

One dollar per ticket sale will be donated to the non-profit Sarah McLachlan School of Music which provides music education and mentorship free to children and youth facing barriers to access.

PMC Scoop Ticket presales start Thursday at 10 a.m. with the apporpriate promo code.

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Canadian Rocker Kim Mitchell to Close Out Peterborough Musicfest On Aug. 16

Canadian rock icon Kim Mitchell returns to Peterborough Musicfest as the closer for the 2025 season, taking the stage on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. at Del Crary Park, announced on Thursday.

Mitchell was known as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before pursuing a solo music career. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.

This is Mitchell’s fifth appearance on the Fred Anderson Stage for Musicfest. He made appearances in 1997, 2002, 2012 and a special 2017 performance celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday.

“I’m all about customer service. People are coming out to hear certain songs and hear me playing them,” said Mitchell. “But they have been morphing and going through some changes. So ‘Go For A Soda’ sounds a little different the way we play it on a given night. And we will start to jam out on some of the songs and be a little freer with the arrangements. I like to give people what they want.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Kim Mitchell back to Musicfest for our closing night, said Tracey Randall, Musicfest executive director. “He’s a Canadian rock legend, and we know this will be an incredible show. In times when the news is often heavy, it’s great to have something like Musicfest to look forward to. Being able to offer world-class live music to our community—completely free of charge thanks to our sponsors—is something we are incredibly proud of.”

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United Way Brings Fifth-Annual Homelessness Benefit Concert With 'Peterborough Performs' For United Way at Showplace On March 26

Showplace Performance Centre is hosting United Way’s fifth-annual ‘Peterborough Performs, Musicians United to End Homelessness’ fundraiser for homelessness initiatives announced Wednesday morning.

Singer-Songwriter Georgia Rose is one of 14 acts joining ‘Peterborough Performs."‘ In 2024, United Way partner agencies served 742 people in finding housing, and another 1,754 people were supported to prevent losing their housing and becoming homeless. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The one-night event takes place on March 26 at Showplace (290 George St. N.) at 7 p.m. with tickets for $50 or two for $80.

In September, United Way had a goal of raising $1.5 million. They are $27,000 away from hitting their mark as this event could put them over the top, according to Jim Russell, United Way CEO.

“We are at 98 per cent of our goal of $1.5 million,” he explained. “We are so proud of how our community has shown up to support our most vulnerable neighbours. Peterborough Performs marks the end of our annual campaign, and we believe that the community’s support will make it possible to achieve our goal for the first time in many years.”

The event has generated over $100,000 since its establishment in 2021. This funding goes towards United Way’s 20 partner agencies, specifically those who provide services to people experiencing homelessness or in immediate need of support in their housing situations.

Event coordinator Paul Rellinger is back for the event. He has been a longtime member of the United Way’s Campaign Cabinet and looks forward to help the show running smoothly as United Way is at the homestretch of its $1.5 million goal.

“I have never not been in awe of the power of people united behind a common cause, project or initiative,” he said. “Therein lies my delight to again be entrusted with organizing Peterborough Performs. Besides speaking to my love of locally presented music and those who bring it to us, the fundraiser inspires and energizes me, reminding me of what I love most about this place I call home. It’s the people I’m fortunate to work with on projects such as this, specifically their unselfish willingness to roll up their sleeves and get busy when an identified need deserves our full attention.”

“Great music and a great cause,” said David Goyette, Peterborough Performs founder. “With Peterborough Performs, we are building a terrific tradition that continues to prove its value to the community. Thanks to all who make it happen.”

The following are the acts performing at this year’s concert:

• The Spades

• The Weber Brothers Band

• Rick ‘n’ Gallies Peterborough All-Star Band

• Little Fire Collective

• Kate Suhr & Melissa Payne with Nicholas Campbell, Kate Brioux, Paul Craough & Brandon Monroe

• Michael Bell & Lizeh Basciano (Michael Bublé & Adele Tribute)

• The Hippie Chicks

• Dan Hick

• Bread & Soul

• Phil Stephenson & Glen Caradus

• Jacques Graveline

• Alyssa Morrisey & Kyler Tapscott

• Georgia Rose

• Danny & Joanna Bronson

An online virtual auction with roughly 40 items runs until March 6 at 10 p.m. Local businesses, sponsors and organizations have donated all the lots for the auction. Winners who are in attendance can pick up their prizes at Showplace on March 26. Otherwise, they can pick up their prize from the United Way Peterborough & District office at 277 Stewart St.

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Miskin Law Donates $10,000 Towards Peterborough Folk Festival; Also Named Main Stage Sponsor

Peterborough Folk Festival (PFF) has received a $10,000 cheque from Miskin Law who has been named the 2025 main stage sponsor, announced on Tuesday.

(From left to right) Murray Miskin and Chris Goddard present Rob Davis and Calvin Bakelaar with a cheque of $10,000 to confirm their place as the 2025 Peterborough Folk Festival Main Stage Sponsor. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Folk Festival.

The money was donated during a cheque presentation held at Miskin Law Offices on Wednesday.

“Miskin Law is proud to be a supporter of Peterborough Folk Festival, showcase well-known artists, promote local and emerging artists and help bring them to the forefront," said Murray Miskin.

“The values of Peterborough Folk Festival and Miskin Law align. We are here to help and build community,” said Chris Goddard, Miskin Law partner. Peterborough Folk Festival brings people together in a way that we value and support.”

As a volunteer-run registered charity, Peterborough Folk Festival relies on community leadership and support from sponsors like Miskin Law. Their generous sponsorship is vital to the success of promoting and preserving this cultural gem that is inclusive, welcoming, and accessible to everyone.

“The festival deeply appreciates Miskin Law for their unwavering support and commitment to fostering a vibrant cultural scene in Peterborough. Their partnership ensures that Peterborough Folk Festival continues to thrive and bring joy to our community year after year.” said Rob Davis, PFF Chair.

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Millbrook's Serena Ryder to Headline 2025 Musicfest Opening Night

Millbrook-born Serena Ryder has been named to headline Peterborough Musicfest’s opening night for its 38th season scheduled for June 28 at Del Crary Park, announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.

The singer-songwriter has headlined the opening night of Peterborough Musicfest in 2016. This is her fifth appearance on the Fred Anderson stage and her seventh performance for Peterborough Musicfest.

Ryder graduated from Peterborough Collegiate’s Integrated Arts Program She gained national acclaim with her ballad Weak in the Knees in 2007. She won the first of her seven Juno Awards the following year, taking home Best New Artist of the Year in April 2008. By July 2010, she was performing at the Lilith Fair. In February 2011, she toured across Canada with none other than Melissa Etheridge.

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Beach Boys Bringing Their "Endless Summer Gold" Tour To Peterborough Memorial Centre On April 4

The last stop of the The Beach Boys ‘Endless Summer Gold’ tour hits the Peterborough Memorial Centre as the last stop set for April 4.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

The announcement was made on Monday by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy® winner, New York Times best-selling author, co-founder, lead singer and chief lyricist of The Beach Boys, Mike Love.

Love has written or co-written the lyrics and hooks to some of the band’s most popular songs, such as California Girls, I Get Around, Fun, Fun, Fun, Good Vibrations and Kokomo.

The current lineup, including musical director Brian Eichenberger, Christian Love, Tim Bonhomme, Jon Bolton, Keith Hubacher, Randy Leago and John Wedemeyer.

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The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Michael Jackson are the only artists to produce twelve Top 10 Singles within five years. The Songwriters Hall of Fame will induct its new members at the 2025 Induction & Awards Gala on June 12, 2025, in New York City.

The band also released their only official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys, in collaboration with Genesis Publications. This hardcover edition chronicles their meteoric rise, from their first single, “Surfin’,” to their 1980 Independence Day concert. The book is available nationwide at thebeachboysbook.com.

Venue presale tickets are available on Thursday starting at 10 a.m., with general public tickets on Friday at 10 a.m.

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Harmony for Healing Announces Second Benefit Concert ‘Wish You Were Here' For Suicide and Mental Health Awareness

Harmony for Healing has announced the return of its annual event, ‘Wish You Were Here,’ a benefit concert dedicated to mental health awareness and suicide prevention, announced at The El(P) on Wednesday morning.

(From left to right) Wade Hamblin; ReMax Hallmark Eastern Realty; Ellen Watkins CMHA HKPR CEO; Phillip Jolicoeur, Harmony for Healing Founder and Tracy Graham, CMHA HKPR Director of Programs and Services. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The concert is part of Harmony for Healing’s goal of raising $50,000 over five years to provide critical mental health resources. It will be held on Feb. 20 at Market Hall Performing Centre and is meant to transport people back to the sounds of the 1970s.

The goal is to raise at least $10,000 to support the life-saving Assertive Outreach Suicide Prevention program.

“I've ran hundreds of events and there's always community support on some level but for Harmony for Healing last year and then again this year, the amount of people that jump on (not just the support, the cause and the initiative) have their own stories to share is really what thrives an event like this,” said Phillip Jolicouer, Harmony for Healing founder. “Businesses and supports can align themselves with mental health because we're all dealing with it so it means a lot to me more than just the financial aspect.”

Last year's sold-out concert, ‘Spirit In the Sky’ raised $13,500 on Feb. 22 at Market Hall Performing Centre.

Joilcouer says this year, he wanted to amplify his mission through a four-pillar approach.

His four pillars of impact approach are as follows:

1. Awareness: Shedding light on mental health challenges and suicide prevention through personal stories and signs to watch for.

2. Prevention: Empowering our community with tools to foster mental resilience, strengthen support networks, and promote access to mental health resources.

3. Intervention: Sharing guidance on what to do when someone is in immediate crisis, including local support options and crisis hotlines.

4. Post-Vention: Supporting survivors and those impacted by suicide through grief counselling, support groups, and outreach.

Jolicouer’s mother had unexpectedly taken her own life on Nov. 30 and the series of shows is a tribute to her memory.

“My mom loved people. She loved local music and music in general,” explained Jolicouer. “You could see her front row in any of the local venues around town so my connection to her with this was to make a local event to hire local musicians, put on a phenomenal rock concert that I could picture my mom where I could picture her up front dancing and enjoying herself and bringing a message that you're not alone. I want to spread that as loud as possible and through music.”

Registration for the event can be found online.

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