encoreNOW is a bi-weekly column by Paul Rellinger where he features upcoming music, theatre, film, and performing arts events and news from across the Kawarthas.
This week, Paul highlights Tommy Youngsteen’s tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s iconic 1984 album Born In The U.S.A., “June Jubilee: A Concert of Celebration and Achievement” featuring the Kawartha Youth Orchestra, John Stinson’s remarkable homage to the legendary Gordon Lightfoot, When We Were Young And Unafraid staged by the Northumberland Players, singer Alysha Kyle’s musical return to her hometown of Bancroft, New Stages Theatre Company’s season-ending staged reading of Yellow Face, and a showcase of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s multi award-winning songs.
Dance in the dark Boss-style with Tommy Youngsteen
VIDEO: “Dancing in The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen performed by Tommy Youngsteen
When an album spawns one top 10 single, the sound of popping champagne corks is deafening. What’s the effect when an album brings forth seven top 10 songs?
For American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, such incredible good fortune was the springboard that brought him from here, which was already pretty good, to there, which equated to worldwide superstardom.
Released 40 years ago this June, Born In The U.S.A. was The Boss’s seventh studio album. Featuring a more pop-influenced sound than his prior albums, it was a massive commercial success. On the strength of hit singles “Dancing In The Dark” (yes, that’s Courteney Cox from Friends dancing onstage in the official video), “Cover Me,” “I’m On Fire,” ‘Glory Days,” “I’m Goin’ Down,” “My Hometown,” and the title track, Born In The U.S.A. was the top-selling album of 1985 and has amassed total sales to date in excess of 30 million copies.
On reflection, the album was to the 1980s what Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours was to the 1970s.
For 10-member Tommy Youngsteen, giving Born In The U.S.A. new life was a no-brainer. The band, which formed in Montreal in 2010, has raised to renewed prominence the music of The Band, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and Neil Young. Tackling Springsteen’s iconic album was a very logical step.
Featuring the talents of accomplished musicians who have plied their trade with the likes of The Sam Roberts Band, The Trews, Serena Ryder, Lowest of the Lowm and The Arkells, Tommy Youngsteen brings the aforementioned songs and other Springsteen hits to Peterborough’s Market Hall on Friday (May 31).
Tickets to the 8 p.m. show cost $49.50 at www.markethall.org.
The Kawartha Youth Orchestra has plenty to celebrate indeed
When the Kawartha Youth Orchestra (KYO) formed in 2002, few if any predicted the subsequent erosion of in-school music programs to the point that music education is now a rarity as opposed to the norm.
Having picked up that mantle, the KYO has since provided an outlet for the musical talents of countless elementary through post-secondary school-aged students from across the Kawarthas region.
Under the guidance of accomplished conductors and faculty, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra conductor Michael Newnham among them, the KYO continues to fill a void for those whose school programs have fallen by the wayside, and complements the music education of those who are fortunate to still have music as part of their curriculum.
The KYO currently offers two program streams: a fee-based orchestra training program for instrumentalists aged 8 to 28 years old, and UPBEAT! Downtown, a subsidized after-school program for children facing barriers.
There’s plenty to celebrate here and that the KYO will do on Sunday (June 2) at All Saints Anglican Church in Peterborough via “June Jubilee: A Concert of Celebration and Achievement.” Starting at 6 p.m., performances will be given by the KYO’s junior, intermediate and senior ensembles, and the jazz band and chamber music groups.
Admission is by donation at the door to the not-for-profit KYO.
Gordon Lightfoot’s musical legacy receives its due at Showplace
VIDEO: Classic Lightfoot Live (2016-2020)
When you’re bringing the sound and feel of arguably Canada’s greatest songwriter to the stage, the pressure to deliver must be overwhelming.
Then again, if you’re good at what you do, that’s a non-factor.
Since 2012, John Stinson has been very good at delivering the music of Gordon Lightfoot via stages across the country. It hasn’t hurt matters that Classic Lightfoot Live also features the talents of bassist Bob Doidge — Lightfoot’s record producer — along with Lightfoot’s nephew Steve Eyers and Eric Kidd on lead guitar. And really not hurting matters at all is Stinson’s resemblance to the Orillia-born folk music icon.
A seasoned performer for more than three decades, Stinson, not unlike Lightfoot, is equally adept playing both the six- and 12-string guitar. He was, in fact, taught to play selections from Lightfoot’s huge catalogue by Red Shea, Lightfoot’s longtime lead guitarist.
Just one year removed from Lightfoot’s passing, Classic Lightfoot Live brings “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” and other timeless Lightfoot classics to Showplace Performance Centre on Thursday, June 6th. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert cost $62 at www.showplace.org.
Northumberland Players tackle playwright Sarah Treem’s signature work
For sure, some shows, because of their complexity or the stature of the artists featured, are pricey. But many a great night out isn’t a drain on your ever-opening wallet. A case in point is any production staged by the Northumberland Players.
The troupe is staging Sarah Treem’s 2014 play When We Were Young And Unafraid at the Firehall Theatre in Cobourg. Performances continue May 31 and June 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. on June 2 and 9. Tickets are just $25 at northumberlandplayers.ca.
Directed by Anne-Marie Bouthilette, the story is set in the U.S. in the 1972 two decades before President Bill Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act. Agnes (Linda Armstrong) has converted her quiet bed-and-breakfast into a refuge for victims of domestic violence. She is soon dismayed when her daughter falls under the influence of the home’s newest arrival. Agnes is subsequently forced to confront her presumptions about the women she has spent her life trying to help.
When We Were Young And Unafraid promised to resonate with those seeking theatre that challenges and provokes. Not bad at all for $25.
Bancroft native Alysha Kyle returns to her hometown to perform
VIDEO: “Look to Me” – Alysha Kyle
Ah yes, there’s no place like home — especially when you’re a musician who has a gig back where it all started.
On Saturday, June 8th, Bancroft-born and raised singer-songwriter Alysha Kyle headlines at the Bancroft Village Playhouse. Tickets to her 7 p.m. performance cost $25 plus tax at www.villageplayhouse.ca.
Kyle began singing with her family at age two. As a teenager, she learned to play both piano and guitar by ear. Fast forward to 2020 when she began writing and producing original songs, releasing her first EP in September 2021, and then her first full-length album Wildflowers in September 2023.
From that album, the song “Look To Me” was nominated for a 2023 Canada GMA Covenant Award as Canadian Christian Song of the Year. Kyle has also been part of Disciple A City Music in Peterborough, writing songs for local churches and occasionally leading worship with those songs across Canada.
According to her website bio, Kyle’s hope for her songs is that they lead people to a place of deep, personal encounter with God. Based on her considerable success to date, it would seem He is definitely in her corner.
An end-of-season staged reading from New Stages Theatre Company
Back to theatre of sorts with the final New Stages Theatre Company presentation of its 2023-24 season — a staged reading, sans sets or costumes, of American playwright David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face on Sunday, June 9th.
A Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist and recipient of an Obie Award for playwriting, Yellow Face, penned by Hwang in 2007, takes a satirical look at the once-common practice of casting white actors for Asian roles on stage and screen.
It’s based on the true story of what occurred when Hwang, an outspoken opponent of yellow face casting, unwittingly tabbed a white actor to play the Asian lead in his Broadway-bound play Miss Saigon. The play also explores the real-life investigation of Hwang’s father, the first Asian American to own a federally chartered bank, and the espionage charges against physicist Wen Ho Lee. There’s clearly a lot going on here.
According to highly respected Variety magazine, Yellow Face “brings to the national discussion about race a sense of humor a mile wide, an even-handed treatment, and a hopeful, healing vision of a world that could be.” That’s a pretty good endorsement.
Tickets to the 7 p.m. staged reading at Peterborough’s Market Hall cost $22 ($11 for arts workers, students and the underwaged) at www.markethall.org.
Lindsay’s Academy Theatre to resonate with Webber’s iconic songs
VIDEO: “Music of the Night: The Concert Tour” teaser
Billed as a continued celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 75th birthday, which was actually marked more than a year ago, “Music of the Night: The Concert Tour” comes to Lindsay’s FLATO Academy Theatre on Monday, June 10th.
An English composer, Webber is the undisputed champ where live theatre soundtracks are concerned. Think Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Evita … well, you get the idea. He is just one of a very few to have been awarded an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. Add a Golden Globe and a Brit Award for good measure.
Doing the honours at the Academy is a wholly professional cast of singers who have performed across Canada, in London’s West End, and down under in Australia. If big show-stopping live theatre tunes are your thing, this is a must-go event.
Tickets for “Music of the Night” cost $57 to $71 and can be ordered online at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
Encore
- One of those live music venues that gets overlooked, but definitely shouldn’t, is the Riverside Grill and Gazebo tucked in back of the Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront overlooking the Otonabee River. There’s always a great vibe there regardless of who is playing what but, because it’s off the beaten path, it kind of remains a secret known to only those who have been. Upcoming dates to consider include June 8 with The Donny Woods Band, June 9 with Chad Driscoll and, a personal favourite, Caitlin O’Connor of Blue Hazel fame on June 14. Visit www.riversidegrillptbo.ca/special-events-2 for the entertainment schedule into early July.
- It feels like Jazz and Blues Night each Thursday at the Black Horse Pub has been a Peterborough live music staple since Dizzy Gillespie lost his balance. No empty venue here as Rob Phillips on piano and singer Carling Stephens are consistently joined by some terrific local players. If you’re a fan of either genre, or if you’re looking for something a little less mainstream, this is the place to be, every Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m.
- Peterborough singer-songwriter Matthew Holtby is offering a great opportunity for aspiring songwriters to take the next step. Regardless of your age or skill level, the Trent Hills Song Workshop has a place for you. Full details are available at www.facebook.com/trenthillssongworkshop.
