The summer festival of music is underway at Westben in Northumberland County.
The not-for-profit arts organization in Campbellford kicked off its summer season on July 2 with a concert by Grammy award-nominated soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee. The season continues from July 7 to 9 with a weekend of Liszt, fiddle, and country music performed by Brian Finley, Morgan Toney, Sacha, and The Fretless.
At 2 p.m. on Friday (July 7) in The Barn, acclaimed pianist Brian Finley will present an afternoon of favourite piano music by the 19th-century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt.
Finley, who is also Westben’s co-founder and its artistic and managing director, will perform Un sospiro, Consolation No. 3, Second Hungarian Rhapsodie, and more.
VIDEO: Brian Finley performs “Mount Carmel” from his album Preludes To Canada
At 7 p.m. on Friday, Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney will perform a concert on Willow Hill, bringing together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq people.
Toney, who began his musical career as a drummer, began learning the fiddle in the late 2010s. He released his debut album First Flight in 2021, receiving a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the 17th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2022 and taking home the East Coast Music Awards for Indigenous Artist of the Year and Inspirational Performance of the Year in 2022.
VIDEO: Morgan Toney performs with Keith Mullins
At 7 p.m. on Saturday (July 8), country music singer-songwriter Sacha makes her Westben debut with an intimate concert on Willow Hill.
Born and raised in Warkworth in Northumberland County, Sacha grew up in a household of musicians and was introduced to a wide range of music, but was especially taken with her mother’s Patsy Cline records. Inspired by the success of Taylor Swift, Sacha’s musical success began after she entered and won a singing competition called “Canada’s Next Country Music Star” in 2016. She released her debut EP The Best Thing, featuring her hit “Standards,” in 2020, was been named as a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country 2021 class, and earning her first platinum single with “What The Truck,” her musical collaboration with he Reklaww.
VIDEO: “Confident” by Sacha featuring Tyler Shaw
Westben caps off the weekend at 2 p.m. on Sunday (July 9) with a concert in The Barn featuring the Juno award-winning string quartet The Fretless.
The supergroup of celebrated solo artists — Trent Freeman, Karrnnel Sawitsky, and Ben Plotnick on fiddle/viola and Eric Wright on cello — have come together to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be by transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate and beautiful high-energy arrangements.
Their debut album Waterbound in 2012 earned them Instrumental Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and Instrumental Group of the Year and Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, with their 2014 self-titled follow-up album taking home Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and 2016’s Bird’s Nest winning them the 2017 Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
VIDEO: “My Moon My Man” by The Fretless featuring Madeleine Roger
Tickets for Brian Finley are $55 for adults, $53 for seniors, $30 for adults under 30, and $5 for youth under 18.
Tickets for each of the other three concerts are $45 for adults, $43 for seniors, $30 for adults under 30, and $5 for youth under 18.
You can get tickets online at tickets.westben.ca, by calling Westben at 705-653-5508 (toll-free at 1-877-883-5777), by emailing westben@westben.ca, or in person at The West Schoolhouse (6788 County Road 30, Campbellford) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.
Here’s the full line-up for Westben’s 2023 season along with dates and ticket prices (which do not include tax and fees):
- Brian Finley – Friday, July 7 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Morgan Toney – Friday, July 7 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Sacha – Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- The Fretless – Sunday, July 9 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Sounds of Silence – Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $35 adults, $33 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Ben Heppner with the Elmer Iseler Singers – Friday, July 14 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Mozart in the Meadow – Saturday, July 15 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Del Barber – Saturday, July 15 at 8 p.m. – The Campfire – Tickets $50 adults, $48 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Dan Hill – Sunday, July 16 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Natural Balance – Thursday, July 20 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Emilie-Claire Barlow – Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Janina Fialkowska – Saturday, July 22 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Ben Caplan – Saturday, July 22 at 8 p.m. – The Campfire – Tickets $50 adults, $48 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Chantal Kreviazuk – Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Les Mis in Concert – Thursday, July 25 to Wednesday, August 3 at 2 p.m., with 7 p.m. performance on Friday, July 28 – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Lennie Gallant – Friday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- Jill Barber – Saturday, Aug 5 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
- The Music of Joni Mitchell & More – Sunday, Aug 6 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
