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 a Peterborough Folk Festival-presented showcase of indie folk music featuring VanCamp at the Gordon Best, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s musical welcoming of spring with violinist Erika Raum at Showplace, The Beach Boys’ Endless Summer Gold Tour concert at Peterborough Memorial Centre, a hometown show by Nicholas Campbell and the New Metre Cheaters at the Market Hall, Chris Hall and the Comic Quartet’s classical music hilarity at Lakefield United Church, and Public Energy’s presentation of the skating spectacular Murmuration by Le Patin Libre at Peterborough Memorial Centre.
Indie folk showcase at the Gordon Best Theatre in Peterborough on March 28
VIDEO: “November” – VanCamp
While its annual August affair in Nicholls Oval Park is its central focus, and rightly so, the Peterborough Folk Festival has done a very good job of ensuring its brand is top of mind throughout the year.
Festival chair Rob Davis et al have done that by creating buzz around the festival’s mandate of fostering the artistic and professional development of local culture. The vehicle for that has been the semi-regular presentation of concerts that encapsulate that mission.
So it is that Calvin Bakelaar, the festival’s 2024 Emerging Artist Award recipient, will headline Friday (March 28) at Peterborough’s Gordon Best Theatre, performing as indie folk act VanCamp.
Billed as “a brilliant evening of indie folk brilliance,” the show also brings alt folk-pop quartet I, The Mountain to the stage, and debuts the talent of singer-songwriter Kay Silver joined by Nathan Truax, the festival’s 2022 Emerging Artist.
Originally a drummer, Bakelaar taught himself to play guitar and write songs as the pandemic lockdown took hold. That was time well spent, as evidenced by his subsequent release of two EPs and, most recently, his debut full-length album Diner Coffee.
I, The Mountain, meanwhile, traces its roots to Trent University where Matt Lamers and Matt Rappolt came together to form the band, which now includes Allison Dyjach and Rory McLachlin.
Since the release of its debut album Little Wild, the Kitchener-based band has brought its four-part harmonies to stages across Canada, with singles such as “Coal Mine” and “The Boat” getting their fair share of Spotify streams.
This promises to be a terrific showcase of well-crafted original music in a venue that’s as intimate as it gets. While advance tickets are sold out, there may be tickets available at the door for the 8:30 p.m. at a cost of $30 ($15 for students).
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra celebrate spring’s arrival at Showplace on March 29
VIDEO: Walter Kaufmann’s Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 44 – Erika Raum and Kevin Ahfat
There’s no shortage of harbingers that spring has finally sprung but, for classical music lovers, the ultimate sign of the season’s arrival is its annual welcoming by the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO)
On Saturday (March 29) at Showplace Performance Centre, the orchestra will present “Spring Sunrise” — the fourth chapter of its five-concert 2024-25 season with, as always, the PSO’s music director Michael Newnham at the conductor’s podium.
Following concert opener “Chase The Sun” by Métis composer T. Patrick Carrabré, the program’s centre piece is Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony, described as ‘a journey in music, starting with a walk in the country, some time spent by the brook, a village dance, a huge storm, and then general rejoicing with the return of the sun.’
Paired with that piece is Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto and, for that, the orchestra has called upon the talent of reknowned Canadian violinist Erika Raum.
Making her second appearance with the PSO, Raum is as big as it gets in classical violin circles. First playing professionally at age 12, Raum has since performed with orchestras across Canada and Europe as well as recorded.
Raum comes by her talent naturally, her composer mother Elizabeth having written a violin concerto for her in 1993. “Faces of Woman” was commissioned by the Regina Symphony Orchestra and broadcasted nationally by CBC. Her sister Jessica produced and directed a documentary chronicling the familial journey, titled “Like Mother, Like Daughter.”
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert are available at thepso.org/spring-sunrise. As usual, Newnham will give a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Life’s a beach with The Beach Boys at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on April 4
VIDEO: “I Get Around” – The Beach Boys (2013)
It’s a long way from Hawthorne, California to Peterborough, but that distance will be bridged on Friday, April 4 when The Beach Boys bring their Endless Summer Gold Tour to the Memorial Centre.
OK, OK, the current edition of the 1961-formed surfing and fast car-crazed quintet features but one original member of the band, in the form of singer Mike Love, but if you’re going to have one original member after all these years, who better than the one whose signature voice was at the heart of countless still-cherished hits?
Love is a cousin to the Wilson brothers — Brian, Carl, and Dennis — who, with school pal Al Jardine, came together to write and perform a number of hit songs brought California’s surf culture to millions worldwide. American institution is not a stretch here.
Inducted into Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and recipients of the Grammy Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award, The Beach Boys’ record sales are in excess of 100 million, with more than 80 songs having charted — 36 of them in the US Top 40.
To this day, a bevy of artists credit 1966’s Pet Sounds as the album that did, and still influences, them the most, with Brian Wilson’s genius as a composer, producer and songwriter at the heart of its 12 tracks, including “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Sloop John B,” and “God Only Knows.”
I caught The Beach Boys in concert a few years back at Casino Rama and Love sounded terrific. For a few hours, the audience was taken back to an innocent time of summer fun in the sun and all that entails. For sure, the melodies and lyrics are pretty simple, but they have well withstood the test of time. This one will be fun.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert are available at the Memorial Centre box office and online at www.memorialcentre.ca.
Nicholas Campbell and his New Metre Cheaters perform at the Market Hall on April 5
VIDEO: Nicholas Campbell at The Duncan Showroom
Although Peterborough musician Nicholas Campbell recently rebranded his band from The Two Metre Cheaters to The New Metre Cheaters, my choice for best local band name still hasn’t changed.
Nicholas Campbell and the Two Metre Cheaters evoked memories of a time when music artists, worldwide and here at home, faced down the pandemic lockdown by remaining creative as ever, via virtual concerts, or by simpler pursuits such as hunkering down to write and record.
It was back in April 2020 that Campbell got together with Rob Foreman, Matt Greco, and Brandon Humphreys in his folks’ driveway to play, all why adhering to public health’s two-metre distancing guideline. When Foreman pointed out “We’re the two-metre cheaters,” well, the boys chuckled and Nicholas Campbell the Two Metre Cheaters was born.
Five years later, Campbell continues to hit the road to promote Gonna Have A Ball Tonight, the follow-up to his debut album, Livin’ and Other Western Ideas. The sophomore album was launched a year ago at Toronto’s hallowed Dakota Tavern, and has since been showcased by Campbell at clubs near and far.
Near comes into play on Saturday, April 5 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre when Campbell, backed by what is now The New Metre Cheaters, headlines what’s billed as his Second Annual Hometown Concert. Blue Hazel is among the musical guests also taking to the stage.
A rockabilly-style singer and guitarist at his heart, Campbell has taken a decidedly more-rockier turn, which is reflected in the new album’s sound. Having picked up a guitar at age 10, Campbell has mastered his craft in a hurry. At the end of the day, this gathering is a celebration of a local kid who’s done real good. That’s never not worthy of our attention.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. show cost $35 at www.markethall.org.
Chris Hall finds the funny in classical music at Lakefield United Church on April 6
VIDEO: Christopher Hall and The Comic Quartet
With apologies to the above-noted Michael Newnham, reverence of classical music isn’t for everyone. Take Chris Hall, for example.
A classically training clarinetist, he found the formal orchestra setting too serious for his liking. A stand-up comic who has enjoyed considerable success, he has, for some 10 years now, pursued the brilliant idea of combining classical music with comedy, joined by the string sounds of The Comic Quartet.
On April 6 at Lakefield United Church on Regent Street in the village, Hall will do what he does so very well: poke fun at the musicians, the music, and especially the rituals surrounding classical music.
That said, there is musical substance here, with works by Brahms, Mozart, and Weber on the program, as Chris takes time between the performance of each piece to remind us that classical music is for everyone, and you don’t need a PhD to enjoy it. That’s something I know Newnham would wholly agree with.
Tickets to the 3 p.m. performance presented by Performing Arts Lakefield cost $40 ($15 for students) and are available at performingartslakefield.org.
Le Patin Libre’s skating spectacular Murmuration at Peterborough Memorial Centre on April 8
VIDEO: Murmuration by Le Patin Libre
If going out with a big splash was the goal when Bill Kimball et al put together Public Energy Performing Arts’ 2024-25 season, well, a tip of the hat to them.
On Tuesday, April 8 at the Peterborough Memorial Centre, internationally acclaimed dance company Le Patin Libre will present a company of 15 virtuoso skaters for Murmuration.
Based on the aerial ballets of swarms of birds, the dancing skaters (or skating dancers if you prefer) will move at great speed around the ice, nearly careening into each other before coming together as one, only to split off in different directions and form separate flocks.
The result will no doubt be one of the most dramatic dance productions ever presented by Public Energy, which has the wonderful habit of habitually bringing cutting-edge performance art to Peterborough.
Le Patin Libre is quite a story in itself.
Formed in Montreal in 2005 by figure skater Alexandre Hamel, it introduced a new performance genre — contemporary skating — inspired by circus art and contemporary dance movements. The result proved nothing short of striking, leading to performance invites from Europe and across Canada.
Whether you’re a longtime performance art supporter or a newbie to the genre, or just love figure skating, Murmuration promises a spectacle the likes of which you’ll remember for a long time to come.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show cost $10 to $50 on a sliding scale, with a suggested price of $30, and are available at the Memorial Centre box office and online at www.memorialcentre.ca.
Encore
- It’s a ways off, but May 24 is shaping up to be huge for Peterborough singer-songwriter Dan Hick. As recently announced, Hick is nominated for not one, not two, not even three or four, but five New Music Awards (NMAs) from Peterborough’s Pet Rock Radio. Hick is shortlisted for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (Musicians and UFO’s), Song of the Year and Folk Song of the Year (Villains and Heroes), and the Corey Merritt Award. Winners in these and other categories will be determined by online voting. The NMAs awards will be handed out at the 100 Acre Brewing Co. on Saturday, May 24, with the 4 p.m. “red carpet” followed by the presentations.
- We’ll learn more details soon enough, but Milbrook’s 4th Line Theatre will present two world premieres this summer at its pretty Winslow Farm venue. First up, from July 1 to 19, is The Housekeeper, written Ian McLachlan and theatre founder Robert Winslow. Then, the incomparable Megan Murphy stars in Wild Irish Geese from July 29 to August 30. Murphy also penned the story about the Peter Robinson-led journey of around 2,000 Irish settlers to the Peterborough region in 1825. Tickets are on sale now for both productions at www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca.
