Peterborough Musicfest has announced another free-admission concert for its 36th summer season, with Canadian rockers Big Wreck performing on Wednesday, August 16th at Del Crary Park.
Originally formed in Boston in 1992 by Toronto native Ian Thornley along with Brian Doherty, Dave Henning, and Forest Williams while they were students at the Berklee College of Music, Big Wreck first performed under the name Still Waters. Unsatisfied with that name, they became Big Wreck in 1994 after something went wrong during a rehearsal session and Doherty called the session a “big wreck.”
After a few years performing in the Boston area and in Toronto, the band signed with Atlantic Records and released their debut album In Loving Memory Of… in 1997, with the singles “The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted)” reaching the top 10 on Billboard’s mainstream rock chart and “That Song” reaching the top 40. The band had even great success in Canada, with four top 40 hits on the Canadian singles chart.
Two years after releasing their second album, 2001’s The Pleasure and the Greed, the band broke up, with guitarist and lead singer Ian Thornley moving back to Toronto where he formed the band Thornley and Brian Doherty moving to Camlachie, a small community outside of Sarnia, where he taught guitar.
In 2010, Doherty joined the band Thornley and, after a successful tour, Thornley was renamed Big Wreck — but without founding members Dave Henning and and Forest Williams — and released Albatross in 2012, with the title track becoming the band’s first number one hit.
Big Wreck’s fourth album, 2014’s Ghosts, reached number five on the Canadian albums chart and number four on the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers album chart, and was nominated for album of the year at the 2015 Juno awards. That album was followed by Grace Street in 2017, recorded with then-guitarist Paulo Neta who left the band before its release.
VIDEO: “That Song” – Big Wreck
On June 5, 2019, two months before the release of the band’s sixth album …But For the Sun, rhythm guitarist Brian Doherty died of lung cancer at the age of 51.
Big Wreck performed their previously scheduled shows as a trio, with Canadian guitarist Chris Caddell of The Wreckage joining the band as their new rhythm guitarist later that year. Long-time drummer Chuck Keeping left the band in 2021, and was replaced by Canadian session drummer and former Thornley drummer Sekou Lumumba.
In 2023, Big Wreck released their seventh studio album, called 7, a compilation of three five-song EPs the band had released over the previous 16 months and the first album recorded without Doherty. The band announced a 2023 tour in support of the new record, with more than 40 dates across the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s an updated list of all the upcoming concerts at Peterborough Musicfest. Still to be announced are the performers for the concerts on July 22 and August 12.
- Wednesday, July 5 – Dwayne Gretzky (pop rock)
- Saturday, July 8 – Matt Anderson & The Big Bottle of Joy (blues rock)
- Wednesday, July 12 – Five Alarm Funk (funk rock)
- Saturday, July 15 – Shawn Desman (R&B dance pop)
- Wednesday, July 19 – Jesse Cook (world music)
- Saturday, July 22 – To be announced
- Wednesday, July 26 – Little River Band (rock)
- Saturday, July 29 – Melissa Payne and Friends (folk country)
- Wednesday, August 2 – Honeymoon Suite (rock)
- Saturday, August 5 – British Legends Tribute – Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Freddy Mercury (classic rock)
- Wednesday, August 9 – Glass Tiger (pop rock)
- Saturday, August 12 – To be announced
- Wednesday, August 16 – Big Wreck (rock)
- Saturday, August 19 – Tim & the Glory Boys with special guest (country)
VIDEO: “Albatross” – Big Wreck
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2023 season.
