For its fall season, Market Hall Performing Arts Centre is bringing an eclectic lineup of musical events to the 350-seat venue in downtown Peterborough.
This October sees award-winning Johannes Linstead performing virtuoso Spanish-style guitar, as well as Brian Risk presenting his “Heart of Gold” tribute to musical icon Neil Young.
In November, Jeremy Wright brings Paul McCartney’s music to the stage in “Here Today”, a tribute to the Beatles’ songwriter and bassist and Wings frontman.
In December, the “In From the Cold” Christmas concert returns for its 17th year, once again raising funds for Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families.
Details about each of these shows are provided below:
Market Hall is also upping its game this season by presenting its own concerts, including two this November.
“Traditionally, we’ve been a rental facility but I’ve taken on about seven shows this season on behalf of Market Hall,” explains Chad Hogan, Market Hall’s general manager. “We have our own set of shows that we’re doing. We’ve never really done that before.”
One example is the November 17 concert featuring Welsh-born blues guitarist extraordinaire Philip Sayce. Meanwhile, another “Market Hall presents” show will see former Great Big Sea member Séan McCann take to the stage November 26.
“That’s going to be a really special one,” says Hogan. “He’s a recovering addict, so we’ve partnered with the CMHA. He’s going to do a private one-hour session ahead of the show with people in the community who are struggling with recovery.”
Hogan is mindful that Market Hall has a number of “loyal groups” that regularly stage performances in the venue: Folk Under The Clock, Public Energy, and New Stages Theatre Company have called Market Hall home for years now.
“The acts that I’m booking are not going to compete with what we already have,” he says.
In fact, come November, the upper windows of the hall where it intersects at Charlotte and George streets will see permanent graphics added to them with some of that artwork paying homage to its long-term user groups.
“Market Hall remains kind of hidden in plain sight for many,” says Hogan. “We want to change that.”
As a non-profit organization, Market Hall relies on the support of audiences so it can continue to attract promoters and musicians to the heritage venue. You can help support Market Hall while enjoying a musical night out by buying tickets to the shows below.
Johannes Linstead: Guitar Of Fire (Friday, October 14th at 8 p.m.)
Named World Artist of the Year at the Ontario Music Awards, Johannas Linstead is an award-winning guitarist who fuses virtuoso Spanish-style guitar with Afro-Cuban, Middle Eastern and Latin American percussion and instrumentation.
Nominated in 2007 for a Juno Award for the album Café Tropical and named Guitarist of the Year by the Canadian Smooth Jazz Award, Linstead has nine studio albums to his credit, the most recent being 2014’s Midnight Rhumba.
Having first picked up the guitar at age eight upon receiving the instrument as a birthday present, Linstead didn’t put it down, expanding on his early love of classical music to later include rock, flamenco, and jazz.
“I use music as a way to express what words cannot say,” says Linstead on his website at www.johanneslinstead.com.
“Every note contains a part of me, and all the love, joy, hope and compassion in my heart. I believe that music has the power to uplift humanity — I see it all the time at every one of my concerts. To be able to bring happiness to so many people is a true blessing.”
Deeply spiritual, Linstead is a certified yoga instructor, conducting yoga and music retreats when his touring schedule allows. In 2006, he founded Divine Earth, a humanitarian organization that promotes meditation, yoga, holistic living and the healing power of music.
Advance tickets for Johannes Linstead are $32 for adults ($37 for table seating) and $23 for students ($28 for table seating) and are available at the Market Hall Box Office at 140 Charlotte St., by calling 705-742-9425, or online at www.markethall.org. Tickets are also available (cash only) at Moondance (425 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-9425).
Tickets will also be available at the door for $37 ($42 for table seating).
Heart Of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young (Saturday, October 22nd at 8 p.m.)
Presented by Brian Risk Music Productions, this widely acclaimed tribute show pays homage to the life and music Omemee-raised singer/songwriter Neil Young.
The tribute will cover all facets of his legendary career spanning 50-plus years, including his solo career, his collaboration with Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and his work with Crazy Horse. Fans of Young can expect to hear all his classics, such as “After The Gold Rush”, “Cinnamon Girl”, “Rocking In The Free World”, and “Old Man”.
Featuring Brian Risk (guitar/harmonica/vocals), Peggy Miller (violin/hand percussion/vocals), Chris Clarke (drums/vocals) and Daniel Perreault (bass), Heart of Gold is broken into two parts: solo acoustic and soft rock numbers are featured first and, after the break, Young’s hard-driving rock classics take things home.
“Neil Young’s music is as relevant today as it ever was,” says Risk at www.brianriskmusic.com
“This show attracts concert goers from a young age well into the baby boomer bracket. His work is acclaimed, loved and revered around the world.”
Advance tickets cost $28 for general admission or $33 for assigned cabaret table seating and are available at the Market Hall Box Office at 140 Charlotte St., by calling 705-742-9425, or online at www.markethall.org. Tickets are also available (cash only) at Moondance (425 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-9425).
Tickets will also be available for $5 more at the door.
Here Today: Paul McCartney Tribute (Friday, November 25th at 8 p.m.)
Billed as Canada’s Paul McCartney tribute show, “Here Today” features Jeremy Wright recreating note for note the famed musician’s tunes, both as a member of the groundbreaking British band and as the lead singer of Wings.
Backed by a stellar band, Wright runs through a number of signature McCartney-performed hits, from “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude” to “Band On The Run” and “Jet”.
“Here Today” is being presented by Impress Productions (www.impressproductions.ca), which also produces other tribute shows including “Bangladesh: Canada’s George Harrison Tribute”, “The McCartney Experience”, and “Summon The Beatles One More Time”.
Ticekts are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, and $35 for students and are available at the Market Hall Box Office at 140 Charlotte St., by calling 705-742-9425, or online at www.markethall.org. Tickets for Row C are also available (cash only) at Moondance (425 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-9425).
In From The Cold Christmas Concert (Friday, December 9th and Saturday, December 10th at 8 p.m.)
Billed as “the heart of a Peterborough Christmas,” In From The Cold returns to Market Hall for its 17th year.
Produced locally, the annual concert features Celtic and contemporary carols and seasonal songs served up by Carried Away, The Convivio Chorus, Curtis Driedger, Michael Ketemer, and Tanah Haney.
In From The Cold was launched in 2000 by John Hoffman, Susan Newman, Rob Fortin and Driedger, a group of accomplished Peterborough roots musicians who came together to form an annual local Christmas concert that would be unlike any other being offered.
In a few short years, In From the Cold has become the hottest ticket of the Peterborough Christmas season, selling out the Market Hall for two nights every December while raising thousands of dollars for Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families.
Tickets for In From The Cold cost $20 ($15 for students and children) and are available at the Market Hall Box Office at 140 Charlotte St., by calling 705-742-9425, or online at www.markethall.org. Tickets are also available (cash only) at Moondance (425 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-9425).
Market Hall Performing Arts Centre Inc. is a not-for-profit charitable organization overseen by a board and a small staff.
Its mandate is to establish, operate and maintain a facility or facilities for performing and/or visual arts in the City of Peterborough as well as provide for the hosting of theatre productions, music concerts, art exhibitions, and education and informational programs relating to the arts for the general benefit of the public.
For more information on the 2016-17 season at Market Hall, including what shows are being presented and ticket details for each, visit www.markethall.org.
