Barnyard Sessions Are Back At 4th Line Theatre This September

After a successful run of sold out shows in 2021, 4th Line Theatre is presenting the second presentation of The Barnyard Sessions: All About the Song, in September.

Ben Kunder will perform on September 22. Photo courtesy of 4th Line Theatre.

There will be four musical evenings with some of the region’s most beloved singer-songwriters. The Sessions, produced by local singer-songwriter Kate Suhr, will feature performers such as Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo), Terra Lightfoot, Aphrose, The Weber Brothers, Julian Taylor, Sarah MacDougall, Ben Kunder, James McKenty, Rick Fines, Evangeline Gentle, Melissa Payne, Dylan Ireland, Emily Burgess, Kyler Tapscott, Nicholas Campbell and Kate Suhr.

In an intimate setting, and in true “Writers in the Round” tradition, four artists will share the stage, taking turns as they reveal how their original music is imagined, conceptualized, and crafted. As the curtain is pulled up, audience members will bear witness to the powerful role of songwriting and the process behind the lyrics.

The event will run for four performances, showcasing different artists each evening. The concerts will all take place at The Winslow Farm in Millbrook from 7 p.m. -8:30 p.m. on September 22, 23, 29 and 30.

“When I had the idea for The Barnyard Sessions in 2021, I never imagined how well-received it would be. Those four nights in early fall of 2021, in the barnyard at the Winslow farm, were magical and I know everyone who attended, felt it. We want to capture that magical again this year with the second instalment of The Barnyard Sessions. These intimate concerts are extraordinary interplays between musicians, music and audiences.”

Tickets for The Barnyard Sessions are on sale now and are available for purchase through 4th Line Theatre’s box office. The capacity for each performance is 100 seats to ensure an intimate experience. Purchase tickets in advance to avoid disappointment, as shows often sell out.

Concerts takes place at The Winslow Farm located at 779 Zion Line, Millbrook:

· September 22 at 7 p.m. – Sarah MacDougall, Ben Kunder, Julian Taylor and Evangeline Gentle

· September 23 at 7 p.m. – The Weber Brothers, Aphrose, Rick Fines and Nicholas Campbell

· September 29 at 7 p.m. – Greg Keelor, Terra Lightfoot, James McKenty and Melissa Payne

· September 30 at 7 p.m. – Emily Burgess, Kyler Tapscott, Dylan Ireland and Kate Suhr

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Photos: The Strumbellas perform at Peterborough Musicfest in Del Crary Park.

Juno award-winning band, The Strumbellas, performed at Peterborough Musicfest in Del Crary Park Wednesday night.

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Photos by Luke Best

Attendees were happy to welcome them back to Kawarthas, by filling the park and dancing into the night. The Strumbellas did not disappoint. With a high-energy performance they had the crowd singing along to their hits such as “Spirits,” “We Don’t Know,” and “In This Life.”

The evening was concluded with an encore featuring a cover of Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

Lead singer Jimmy Chauveau described the evening as “all sorts of magic” and that he couldn’t wait to come back.

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The Strumbellas Will Rock Out At Del Crary Park On Wednesday Night

The Strumbellas will take to the stage at Del Crary Park on Wednesday as part of Peterborough Musicfest.

Photo by Luke Best.

Formed in Toronto in 2008, The Strumbellas could easily claim the City of Kawartha Lakes as the place of their birth, with four of its six members – Simon Ward, Jon Hembrey, Darryl James and Jeremy Drury - originally from Lindsay. David Ritter and Isabel Ritchie came into the fold after a Craiglist hunt, and just recently, Jimmy Chauveau was added to the mix after Ward scaled back.

Three years after its debut self-titled EP debuted in 2009, The Strumbellas independently released its debut full-length album My Father And The Hunter, earning a 2013 Juno Award nomination for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year – Group. A year later, The Strumbellas took home a Juno Award in the same category on the strength of its second album We Still Move On Dance Floors.

The Strumbellas’ third studio album, Hope, saw its first single Spirits top the Billboard Alternative Songs chart for two weeks and ultimately win the band its second Juno Award in 2017 for Single of the Year. Spirits has since been certified 3x platinum in Canada and Italy, and gold in the United States, France and Belgium. In 2019, a fourth studio album, Rattlesnake, brought forth the singles Salvation and I’ll Wait, followed last year by the release of the single Greatest Enemy.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at Del Crary Park.

This event is completely free, with first come first served seating. it is suggested that concert goers bring a lawn chair, chairs will be available to rent at the venue.

If a storm occurs during a concert, a cancellation announcement will be made from the stage. Peterborough Musicfest will not issue a cancellation call until 7:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 8 p.m. Rescheduling of cancelled concerts is not guaranteed.

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Peterborough Musicfest Announces Shawn Austin And Elyse Saunders Will Close The 2022 Season

Peterborough Musicfest have announced Shawn Austin and Elyse Saunders as the closing act for the 2022 concert series. They will appear on stage at Del Crary Park on August 20.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.

Saunders, a Peterborough local, will open the night with many of her award winning hits.

Her 2021 single, “Sunshine State of Mind”, was one of the year’s Top 50 most played country songs on Amazon Music with over 600K plays. This accompanied Elyse’s Top 5 finish in the CBC Music Toyota Searchlight competition and finalist spot in the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase.

Included in Saunders accolades is a CMAOntario Award nomination for 2021’s Female Artist of the Year and Rising Star and a 2022 nomination for CMAOntario’s Album of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

Austin will grace the stage at Del Crary Park to close the 35th season of peterborough Musicfest.

The Vancouver county artist was a season two finalist on NBC’s Songland. He was nominated for CCMA “Rising Star” Award in 2021 and 2019.

His top hits include “Tailgate To Heaven” feat. Chris Lane, “Planes Don’t Wait,” and newest single to Canadian country radio, “Get You.”

This event is completely free, with first come first served seating. it is suggested that concert goers bring a lawn chair, chairs will be available to rent at the venue.

If a storm occurs during a concert, a cancellation announcement will be made from the stage. Peterborough Musicfest will not issue a cancellation call until 7:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 8 p.m. Rescheduling of cancelled concerts is not guaranteed.

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Peterborough Musicfest Welcomes Alyssa Reid And Valley On Saturday

Valley and Alyssa Reid will hit the stage at Del Crary Park on Saturday as part of the Peterborough Musicfest Summer Concert Series.

Photo by Luke Best.

Alyssa Reid’s single ‘Alone Again’ topped charts in 2011 and she hasn’t stopped climbing since.

Her latest album, “ASHS” with over 10 million streams so far, is a testament to her artistic growth and evolution.

JUNO Award-nominated Valley is an alternative pop group based out of Toronto. The group picked up a 2020 JUNO Award nomination in the category of “Breakthrough Group of the Year’.

This event is completely free, with first come first served seating. it is suggested that concert goers bring a lawn chair, chairs will be available to rent at the venue.

If a storm occurs during a concert, a cancellation announcement will be made from the stage. Peterborough Musicfest will not issue a cancellation call until 7:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 8 p.m. Rescheduling of cancelled concerts is not guaranteed.

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Peterborough Folk Festival Seeking Volunteers For Children's Village

The Peterborough Folk Festival is looking for volunteers to help with the Children’s Village taking place from Aug. 19 to 21 at Nicholls Oval.

Photo courtesy of Nicholls Oval.

All volunteers receive a limited-edition volunteer T-shirt, complimentary food and drinks during the event and first access to their year-round programming according to their website.

The Children’s Village operates from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has tasks such as face painting, running craft tables, helping children with their art projects and hauling water for the water wall. High school students seeking volunteer hours can get their hours through this event. Anyone 18 or older requires a police record check for the Children’s Village.

The music and art festival is also accepting volunteers for other positions such as setup and cleaning.

Anyone looking to volunteer can visit the festival’s volunteer website.

The Trews Acoustic is one of the headlining acts for this year’s festival.

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Let's Dance As Bowie Tribute Hits Del Crary Park Stage On Saturday

The Bowie Lives featuring Peterborough’s own Michael Bell will hit the stage at Del Crary Park on Saturday.

Photo by Luke Best.

In collaboration with musical director Michael Beauclerc, Bell debuted The Bowie Lives in 2017 and has since fronted the tribute to the late singer, songwriter and actor, performing at venues across Ontario and beyond. In bringing Bowie back to life, Bell et al perform a long list of hit songs that dominated the charts over five decades – Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City, Fame, Golden Years, Let’s Dance, Modern Love and many more.

The Bowie Lives is actually Bell’s second homage to the singer. In the late ‘80s, he toured ChangesAllBowie but eventually turned his attention full-­‐time to The Wire MEGAzine, the Peterborough-­‐based tabloid that he founded, and raising his family. Following Bowie’s death in 2016, Bell’s passion for the singer’s music and legacy picked up right where it left off, fueled by heightened music industry and public interest.

This event is completely free, with first come first served seating. It is suggested that concert goers bring a lawn chair or chairs will be available to rent at the venue.

If a storm occurs during a concert, a cancellation announcement will be made from the stage. Peterborough Musicfest will not issue a cancellation call until 7:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 8 p.m. Rescheduling of cancelled concerts is not guaranteed.

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54-40 Fills Del Crary Park With Biggest Show Of the Season For Peterborough Musicfest

It was a packed house at Del Crary Park as rock band 54-40 had the city on their feet at Peterborough Musicfest on Wednesday night.

54-40 frontman Neil Osbourne (left) with bassist Brad Merrit (right). Both men are founding members of 54-40 and have been with the band since its inception in 1980. All photos by David Tuan Bui.

The band wasted no time in getting the crowd pumped, opening with their hit song ‘Nice to Luv You.’ They followed their act with several more fan favourites such as She La, Ocean Pearl and I Go Blind. During their encore, the band slipped in a cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the middle of their set.

This concert had the biggest attendance of the season according to Tracey Randall, Musicfest general manager.

“There are over 8,000 or 9,000 people here, she said. “This is more than the Sam Roberts band.”

The band’s last appearance in Peterborough was at Musicfest on July 31, 2019.

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54-40 Returns To Del Crary Park For Wednesday Night Musicfest

54-40, multi Juno Award-­‐nominated Canadian alternative rock band, will perform at Del Crary Park on Wednesday at Peterborough Musicfest.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.

Formed in 1980 by high school pals Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt, 54-­‐40 was featured heavily on Canadian rock charts from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s on the strength of hit songs such as She-­‐La, Ocean Pearl, Luv You, Baby Ran and I Go Blind – the latter inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.

In addition, three 54-­‐40 albums – Dear Dear (1992), Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret (1994) and Trusted By Millions (1996) were certified platinum while 1998’s Since When earned gold status. 2018’s Keep On Walking was the band’s 14th album.

Having headlined Peterborough Musicfest in late July 2019, 54-­‐40 returns to Del Crary Park with Osborne (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Merritt (bass) joined by Dave Genn (lead guitar), Matt Johnson (drums) and David Osborne (organ/saxophone).

This event is completely free, with first come first served seating. It is suggested that concert goers bring a lawn chair or chairs will be available to rent at the venue.

If a storm occurs during a concert, a cancellation announcement will be made from the stage. Peterborough Musicfest will not issue a cancellation call until 7:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the scheduled start of 8 p.m. Rescheduling of cancelled concerts is not guaranteed.

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Beau Dixon To Celebrate Black Music On Emancipation Day With Free Concert

In recognition of Emancipation Day, Beau Dixon will be putting on a show of a lifetime for the Peterborough community with a one-night performance of his Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music on August 2.

Beau Dixon and the cast of the Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music performing at the Stratford Festival in 2021, photo by David Hou.

Originally presented as part of the Stratford Festival, Dixon’s Freedom Cabaret will be traveling to Peterborough. The all-Black cast is slated to deliver a heart pumping musical history of black culture at the Peterborough Square Courtyard located on the corner of Charlotte and Water Streets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 2. Audience members will be able to experience the show free of charge.

Dixon’s Freedom Cabaret will offer audience goers an emotional exploration of Black music from the moment Black people landed on North American soil, to present day- in celebration of Black culture from church hymnals to the blues, from jazz to rock ’n’ roll, R&B and rap. The Freedom Cabaret: Spirit and Legacy of Black Music will open with local artist Niambi Tree who will deliver a deeply moving spoken word performance before the headlining cabaret show.

The Freedom Cabaret performance in Peterborough is part of a larger music project that spans across Canada and the US, funded by Music Performance Trust Fund. The music fund (MPTF) evolved from a landmark collective bargaining agreement between the American Federation of Musicians and the major recording companies as of 1948. MPTF has special funding this year for Juneteenth and Emancipation Day which will employ hundreds of Black performance artists to commemorate and recognize the abolition of slavery.

“What a privilege to be performing Freedom in my hometown. This is a deeply personal project for me. It's going to be an intense 90-minute show that will educate, entertain, and inform audience members. Our cabaret show celebrates the unsung heroes who paved the way for Black music today. I can’t wait to see the Peterborough community come out in solidarity for Emancipation Day as we collectively reflect on our shared history together,” said Dixon, award-winning actor, musician, playwright, director of Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music.

Last year, the Canadian government unanimously voted to mark August 1 as a civic holiday for Emancipation Day to honour people of African descent for their courage, their determination, and their resilience in the face of the transatlantic slave trade’s devastating effects on their individual freedoms, families, and cultures.

Concert goers are asked to bring their own chair or blanket for the performance. The Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music is sponsored by The Downtown Business Improvement Area, Peterborough Square, Union of Professional Musicians L518, Holiday Inn, and Black Honey.

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