Whether you’re looking for a night out of Juno-winning music, intriguing conversation, or hilarious comedy, Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough has you covered.
Here’s are highlights of some of the Market Hall shows coming up in November you won’t want to miss.
The East Pointers with Lindsay Lou – Wednesday, November 13th at 8 p.m.
Coming from Prince Edward Island, The East Pointers (Tim Chaisson, Koady Chaisson, Jake Charron) are a trio rooted in Celtic folk music who use contemporary approaches and instruments to expand well beyond the traditional genre.
Their 2015 debut album Secret Victory won the Traditional Roots Album of the Year award at the 2017 Junos, and the band also won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Ensemble of the Year at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2016 (they were nominated again for the same award in 2018).
Their 2017 album What We Leave Behind was nominated for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the 2018 JUNO Awards and had more than four million streams on Spotify. Since releasing their first record, the band has performed over 450 shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.K., Europe, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.
VIDEO: “Woodfordia” – The East Pointers
With Tim on vocals, fiddle, and drum machine, Koady on banjo, tenor guitar, and synthesizer, and Jake on guitar and keyboards, The East Pointers redefine modern folk even more with their latest album, Yours To Break, just released this fall.
While the traditional Celtic influence is still there, the songs on the new album — produced by award-winning songwriter and producer, Gordie Sampson (LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts) — reflect a wide range of musical influences from pop to dance to flamenco.
VIDEO: “Wintergreen” – The East Pointers
VIDEO: “Halfway Tree” – The East Pointers
“I feel like this album is the best expression to date of the band’s appreciation for so many different types of music and the fact that we as a band are comfortable enough in our own musical voice to start expressing those influences and loves.” Koady explains.
“We’re passionate about tradition, yes, but it doesn’t belong in a box in the attic, getting dusted off for special occasions and boring the pants off kids. Traditions belong to the people who shepherd them into the next generation.”
Opener: Lindsay Lou
Joining The East Pointers as part of their cross-Canada tour to promote the new record, American roots singer-songwriter Lindsay Lou and her band The Flatbellys (Joshua Rilko and PJ George) will be opening.
Born the daughter of a coal miner in middle Missouri, Lou’s family moved to Michigan shortly after she was born. Growing up in a close-knit musical family, Lou began performing bluegrass music in Michigan before moving to Nashville, where she developed her own musical voice, combining bluegrass, Americana, and Motown soul.
Her albums include Release Your Shrouds (2012), Ionia (2015), and Southland (2018). She recently released her OurVinyl Sessions EP.
VIDEO: “Southland” – Lindsay Lou
“Lindsay sings the way you would want to if’n you could,” says famed bluegrass musician David Grier. “Phrasing, tone, emotion, it’s all there. Effortless seemingly. Simply mesmerizing. Riveting! Don’t miss the musical force that is Lindsay Lou.”
Tickets for The East Pointers with Lindsay Lou are $38 for assigned cabaret table seats and $33 for general admission (ticket prices include all fees), available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Colin Linden – Wednesday, November 20th at 8 p.m.
Guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer Colin Linden is a familiar name to kawarthaNOW readers, having performed regularly in Peterborough with roots supergroup Blackie and The Rodeo Kings — the band he formed in 1996 with Tom Wilson and Stephen Fearing as a one-time tribute to the late Peterborough singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett, which then continued with Juno award-winning success and is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020.
Born in Toronto, Linden was still an infant when his family move to White Plains in New York. As a child in New York, Linden was exposed to musicians such as Van Morrison, James Taylor, John Mayall, and Johnny Winter. When his family moved back to Toronto around 10 years later, Linden became interested in blues musicians including Howlin’ Wolf — with whom he had a chance to speak for three hours when he was only 11 years old.
A musical prodigy, Linden began performing on acoustic guitar at a local coffee house, learning to finger pick at the age of 13 and subsequently learning how to play slide guitar with the help of rock musician David Wilcox. When Linden was only 16, Wilcox asked him to join his band, prompting Linden to learn electric guitar as well.
VIDEO: “Smoke ‘Em All” – Colin Linden
VIDEO: “Rich in Love” – Colin Linden
From there, Linden’s musical career accelerated, forming his own group, writing his own songs, recording his own records, and producing for other musicians. He played as a side man for musicians including Joe Mendelson, Willie P. Bennett, Gwen Swick, and Amos Garrett and, in 1991, joined Bruce Cockburn’s band as a guitarist for more than three years, subsequently became Cockburn’s co-producer.
In 1993, Linden’s blues album South at Eight, North at Nine won the blues and gospel Juno award, followed by another Juno in the same category in 1996 for producing Lennie Gallant’s The Open Window. Linden won an inaugural Maple Blues Award in 1997 as Producer of the Year (he’s since received that award six more times) followed by Songwriter of the Year in 1998.
Linden’s musical success as a singer-songwriter and producer continued in the first decade of the 21st century, when he earned three more Junos in 2000 alone (including Roots and Traditional Group for his work with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings). More Junos and Maple Blues Awards followed and, in 2013, he joined Bob Dylan’s band as a guitarist.
VIDEO: “Sometimes It Comes So Easy” – Colin Linden with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
The year before, Linden became the music producer and director — as well as a songwriter and musician — for the hit ABC television show Nashville. Following the end of Nashville, he has been a member of Nashville star Charles Esten’s band and has toured both the U.S. and the U.K. with him.
Living in Nashville since the late 1990s, Linden is married to Peterborough native Janice Powers, who played bass for The CeeDees, a new wave band formed in 1979 in Peterborough by Curtis Driedger, Nick Kent, and Doug Cameron.
While Linden will be performing at the Market Hall with Blackie and The Rodeo Kings next February, this is a rare opportunity to see him perform solo with his own band.
Tickets for Colin Linden are $33 for assigned cabaret table seats and $28 for general admission (ticket prices include all fees), and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Fortunate Ones with Sherman Downey – Saturday, November 23rd at 8 p.m.
From St. John’s in Newfoundland, Fortune Ones is the indie folk-pop duo of singer/pianist/accordionist Catherine Allan and singer/guitarist Andrew James O’Brien.
Allan and O’Brien, who are also romantic partners, are known for their dynamic live performances, beautiful harmonies, and anthemic melodies.
Their 2015 debut album, The Bliss, was nominated for a 2016 Juno award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, with both the title song and “Lay Me Down” reaching #1 on CBC Radio 2’s The Radio 2 Top 20 in 2015.
VIDEO: “The Bliss” – Fortunate Ones
The Bliss also won the 2016 East Coast Music Association (ECMA) award for Rising Star Recording of the Year, the 2015 “Vocal Group” Canadian Folk Music Award, and four 2015 Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards.
In 2016, Fortunate Ones released the Christmas EP All Will Be Well, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau singling out a track as one of his favourite listens for the holidays.
In 2018, the duo released their sophomore album Hold Fast, with the title rack hitting #1 on the CBC Music Top 20 Chart and remained in the Top 20 for 10 weeks.
VIDEO: “Northern Star” – Fortunate Ones
The album won three Music NL Awards in 2018 (Album of the Year, Pop Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year for “Northern Star”), and has been nominated for four East Coast Music Awards (Album, Group Recording, Songwriter, and Fans’ Choice Entertainer of the Year).
Over the last five years, Fortunate Ones have played over 300 shows together, most recently touring the U.K. supporting Good Lovelies (who also sang on a few of the songs on Hold Fast).
Opener: Sherman Downey
As part of the Fortunate Ones’ cross-Canada tour, Newfoundland and Labrador singer-songwriter Sherman Downey will be opening with a solo performance.
Grounded in folk and country, Downey’s sound also flirts with other genres including pop, rock, and even bossa nova. His 2010 debut album Honey For Bees, which earned him MusicNL’s Male Artist of the Year.
VIDEO: “Honey for Bees” – Sherman Downey
It was followed by 2013’s The Sun In Your Eyes, which earned MusicNL’s Pop/Rock Recording of the Year, Newfoundland and Labrador’s SOCAN Songwriter of the Year awardn, as well as an ECMA nomination for Group Recording of the Year with his band The Ambiguous Case.
The album’s first single “Thick as Thieves” went on to win Downey CBC Music’s inaugural Searchlight Prize as Canada’s Best New Artist, with other singles including “Annalee” and “The Right Idea” in regular rotation on CBC and on campus radio stations across Canada, as well as garnering attention internationally with airplay on stations in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.
Tickets for Fortunate Ones with Sherman Downey are $30 for both general admission and assigned cabaret table seats (the ticket price include all fees), and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
“Murdoch and Beyond” with author Maureen Jennings – Tuesday, November 26th at 8 p.m.
In 2019/20, Market Hall is presenting “Artist Life Stories”, a series of in-depth conversations between selected artists and Brantford’s Cameron Smillie (co-founder of Live at the Hippo Events Inc. and director of touring for Canada’s Ballet Jorgen), followed by a question-and-answer-session and an up-close-and-personal meet and greet.
The first event in the series features author Maureen Jennings, best known for her Murdoch Mysteries series of books that have been adapted to film and television and translated into eight languages. A talented writer with a keen eye for setting, character, and dialogue, the 80-year-old Jennings has helped put historical crime fiction on the Canadian literary map.
Born in the U.K., she emigrated to Canada as a teenager and had a long career as a psychotherapist before turning to writing fiction full time. She has since published one novella, 13 novels of crime fiction, one book of non-fiction, and four professionally produced plays.
VIDEO: Maureen Jennings – Author Q & A (2014)
Now a multiple award-winning author, Jennings made her writing debut in 1997 with Except the Dying, a historical detective novel featuring Toronto Police Detective William Murdoch, who was inspired by the real-life John Wilson Murray, a pioneer of forensic science who served as Ontario’s first provincial detective in the late 1800s.
Her Murdoch books were first adapted for television as three movies of the week, before forming the basis for the hit CBC television series The Murdoch Mysteries, now in its 13th season (Yannick Bisson, the actor who plays Murdoch, owns a cottage and marina on Chandos Lake with his wife Shantille).
Jennings’ other works of fiction include a contemporary crime series featuring forensic profiler Christine Morris, a series set during World War II featuring Detective Chief Inspector Tom Tyler, and a series set in 1936 Toronto featuring private investigator Charlotte Frayne.
Jennings lives in Toronto with her husband, photographer Iden Ford, and her dog named — you guessed it — Murdoch.
Tickets for “Murdoch and Beyond” with author Maureen Jennings are $30 for for general admission (the ticket price include all fees), and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Future artists in the Artist Life Stories series include musicians Valdy on January 21st and Murray McLauchlan on May 5th. Tickets for all three events in the series are available for $75 online at markethall.org.
Seán Cullen “Hometown Boy” – Thursday, November 28th at 8 p.m.
Popular Canadian actor, voice artist, and stand-up comedian Seán Cullen returns to his Peterborough roots with a special comedy show called, appropriately enough, “Hometown Boy”.
Cullen was born and raised in Peterborough, living in the downtown area and attending the former Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School. He became interested in theatre as a teenager, participating in the school drama club and then in community theatre. After graduating high school, he left Peterborough to study acting at the University of Windsor.
That was where, in 1987, he met the other members of musical comedy group Corky and the Juice Pigs, which won awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, performed at Just for Laughs in Montreal eight times, and appeared on Fox Television’s MADtv. The group released two comedy albums before breaking up in 1998.
VIDEO: Seán Cullen – Winnipeg Comedy Festival (2017)
VIDEO: Seán Cullen – Melbourne Comedy Festival All Stars (2014)
Cullen then began performing on his own, achieving much success as both a comedian and an actor. He has frequently appeared on Canadian television and radio, including on CBC’s Royal Canadian Air Farce and with his own short-lived series for CBC Television called The Seán Cullen Show, and as a regular on CBC Radio’s The Debaters.
In the U.S., he performed on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. He has also appeared on American sitcoms such as The Ellen Show and Payne.
Cullen has also performed at national and international comedy festivals including as Montreal’s Just For Laughs, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Halifax Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Most recently, he performed at JFL42 in Toronto.
As a voice actor, he has appeared in Seven Little Monsters, Jimmy Two-Shoes, Cloudy WIth A Chance of Meatballs, Rocket Monkeys, and many more. Cullen will also be the voice of Barnaby Twins in the upcoming animated Netflix film The Willoughbys along with Ricky Gervais, Martin Short, and Maya Rudolph.
Come to this. pic.twitter.com/EfpP5pfHVy
— Sean Cullen (@MrSeanCullen) November 2, 2019
Now 54 years old, Cullen has earned three Gemini Awards, three Canadian Comedy Awards, an ACTRA Award, and was twice nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. He’s also the author of several young adult novels, including his Hamish X series which earned him both an Arthur Ellis Book Award and a Rocky Mountain Book Award.
At “Hometown Boy”, the Market Hall audience can expect to hear a lot of funny about Cullen’s time growing up in Peterborough.
Tickets for Seán Cullen “Hometown Boy” are $33 for both general admission and assigned cabaret table seats (the ticket price include all fees), and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
