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 Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell at the Jalynn Bennett Amphitheatre in Peterborough, Mimi O’Bonsawin in concert at Port Hope Memorial Park, Russell deCarle’s appearance at the Minden’s historic Dominion Hotel, Grove Theatre’s welcoming of singer-songwriters Julian Taylor and Logan Staats to Fenelon Falls, the 6th annual Creekside Music Festival in Apsley, and the fusion of classical music and nature at Tecasy Ranch in Trent Hills.
W.O. Mitchell’s storytelling magic returns to Peterborough
What began in early June is winding down towards its conclusion at the lovely Jalynn Bennett Amphitheatre in the courtyard at Trent University’s Catharine Parr Traill College off Dublin Street in Peterborough.
This year’s edition of the William and Nona Heaslip Foundation Summer Festival has seen 10 musical and theatrical performances staged at the venue on Thursday nights during the summer, leading to the season closer on August 28.
Presented in partnership with Peterborough’s New Stages Theatre, Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell is a staged reading that celebrates the storytelling of the late famed Canadian writer William Ormond Mitchell.
Co-written by his son, Trent University professor emeritus Orm Mitchell, and Orm’s wife Barbara, it was first presented by New Stages back in February. Reprising his role as W.O. Mitchell is Canadian stage veteran Martin Julien, with accompanying music by Peterborough-based pianist Rob Phillips.
That this is being staged at Traill College is not without significance. The Saskatchewan-born W.O. Mitchell frequently gave readings and led writing workshops at Trent, and is the holder of an honourary degree from the university.
Mitchell remains best known for his 1947 coming-of-age novel Who Has Seen The Wind. Portraying life on the Prairies from the point of view of a small boy, it sold close to a million copies in Canada. In addition, as a broadcaster, his CBC Radio series Jake And The Kid, also about Prairie life, aired from 1950 to 1956. For his cumulative work of novels, short stories and plays, Mitchell was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1973.
Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell premiered in September 2023 at the Rosebud Theatre near Calgary, breathing new life into Mitchell’s wit, wisdom and belief in the power of storytelling.
The Jalynn Bennett Amphitheatre staging begins at 7 p.m. While admission is free, seating is limited, so plan to get there early or bring some lawn chairs.
Port Hope’s Road To Cultivate wraps up with Mimi O’Bonsawin
VIDEO: “Here’s to the Women” – Mimi O’Bonsawin
Yet another summer-long outdoor music series wraps up August 28 at Memorial Park in Port Hope.
Road To Cultivate has seen free-admission concerts staged Thursday evenings since July 3. Now the concert series, a prelude to the September 26 to 28 Cultivate Festival event featuring live music and food at the Haute Goat Farm near Port Hope, comes to an end with a performance by contemporary roots singer-songwriter Mimi O’Bonsawin.
A member of Odanak First Nation, O’Bonsawin is a prolific songwriter with her two albums to her credit, Willow and Boréale, which were both released in 2023. Weaving rhythm, storytelling, and spirit into her songs, she immerses her audience into a soulful journey.
Cultivate is a charitable organization that advances arts education and public appreciation for music, performance and creativity. The upcoming fall festival is billed as “a big picnic, a music festival, a block party, a playground for all ages, and an arts experience” that leaves attendees feeling “fully connected to the things that matter most.”
More information and updates on the festival can be found at cultivatefestival.ca.
Minden’s historic Dominion Hotel welcomes Russell deCarle
VIDEO: “So Crazy About You” – Russell deCarle
Take a historic venue in Minden and add a top-tier Canadian musician, and you’ve got a can’t-miss recipe for a terrific night out.
On Saturday (August 30) at the Dominion Hotel Pub, former Prairie Oyster frontman Russell deCarle fronts his trio, running through material from four solo albums recorded since 2012, the latest being The End of the Road.
The singer-songwriter remains yet another great example of a musician who has fashioned a very active and successful solo career after enjoying years of success with a band.
It was just more than 50 years ago that the singer and then bass player hooked up with guitarists Keith Glass and Dennis Delorme to form Prairie Oyster, a union that lasted four years before each went their separate ways.
Reunited in 1982 with the addition of fiddler John Allen, keyboardist Joan Besen, and drummer Bruce Moffat, Prairie Oyster subsequently hit its stride commercially, recording eight albums that spawned 10 hit singles, and collecting six Juno Awards and 11 Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs) on its way to its 2008 induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
During a November 2024 interview prior to an appearance at Peterborough’s Gordon Best Theatre, deCarle told kawarthaNOW that he remains thrilled to now be “telling his own story.” He added he’s “singing better, playing better, writing better songs” than he ever has, “and having more fun than I ever had.” No doubt his Dominion Hotel show will provide full evidence of that.
The Russell deCarle Trio takes to the stage at 7:30 p.m. The venue is located at 113 Main Street in the heart of Minden — right where it has been since opening in 1865. Tickets are $35, available in advance online at dominionhotel.gpr.globalpaymentsinc.ca.
Fenelon Falls’ Grove Theatre scores a terrific musical duo
VIDEO: “Seeds” – Julian Taylor
If the Grove Theatre was able to secure just one of Julian Taylor or Logan Staats for a concert, that would have been a treat. To secure a show featuring both together, that’s quite something.
On Wednesday, September 3, the duo will bring their “Songs and Stories” tour to the outdoor amphitheatre in Fenelon Falls, bringing with them their respective huge catalogues of music.
Of Caribbean and Mohawk ancestry, Toronto-raised Taylor began his music career as a co-founder and member of the alt-rock band Staggered Crossing in the late 1990s before establishing himself as a solo artist. Come 2020, with five albums under his belt, The Ridge proved to be his breakthrough album. It earned two Juno Award nominations, a Polaris Prize nomination, and, for its creator, a Canadian Folk Music Award as Solo Artist of the Year.
Taylor’s 2022 follow-up, Beyond The Reservoir, received equal critical acclaim, bringing him another Juno Award nomination, and Roots Artist of the Year honours from the Country Music Association of Ontario. Two more albums have followed, and with them, continued acclaim.
VIDEO: “Deadman” – Logan Staats
Staats, meanwhile, has two studio albums to his credit, 2015’s Goodbye Goldia and 2023’s A Light In The Attic.
Raised in Brantford of Mohawk descent (he was born on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory), Staats really his stride in 2018, winning the first season of CTV’s reality TV music competition The Launch. His performance of “The Lucky Ones” sealed the deal, that song going on to hit number one on the Canadian iTunes chart and winning a 2019 Indigenous Music Award as Best Radio Single.
Tickets to the duo’s Grove Theatre show are $68.50 including fees and are available online at www.grovetheatre.ca.
Apsley’s Creekside Music Festival returns for its sixth year
VIDEO: “Steady The Wheel” – The Redhill Valleys
What began as one-off in 2018 has evolved into a highly anticipated multi-act outdoor musical festival in North Kawartha Township that returns for its sixth year from Friday, September 5 to Sunday, September 7.
Held on an Eels Creek-hugging property just off Highway 28 in Apsley, the Creekside Music Festival will see multiple music acts take to the stage, with event proceeds benefiting a select organization or cause. Past beneficiaries have included JumpStart, Apsley minor hockey and, last year, Roter’s Reach Mental Health Awareness.
This year’s stage lineup is as varied as it is long: Tommy Youngsteen, The Redhill Valleys, Epic Eagles, Melissa Payne’s Super Band, Mudmen, Russell deCarle, VANCAMP, David Celia, Caitlin O’Connor’s Detention Club, Gordie Tentrees, Montana Sky, KYRA, Alycia Hebert, Mason Moxley, Georgia Rose, Ebonie Kauffeldt, Alex McMann, Still Picking Country Band, Nephton Ridge Runners, and The Ross Singers.
Weekend and day passes are available now, but don’t delay as the audience will be limited to around 600 people. Weekend passes are $145 ($115 for seniors or students), with day passes $65 for Friday and $95 for Saturday, available at www.creeksidemusicfestival.ca. Performances on Sunday are open to the public by donation.
Gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday. Artisans and food vendors will be on site. On-site parking is available only to bands and campers (all campsites are sold out); all others must park at the North Kawartha Community Centre where a shuttle bus will be running every 10 minutes to the festival site.
Classical music meets nature at Tecasy Ranch
From the Something Different File, let me serve up the Musical Nature Walk set for Saturday, September 6 at Tecasy Ranch off Bolton’s Road in Trent Hills.
Last year, a collaboration between the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and the Peterborough Field Naturalists saw the inaugural event held. Guests were divided into small groups, assigned a guide and naturalists team, and led on a hike along walking trails where, at four stops, small orchestra ensembles performed.
It proved immensely popular, hence the decision to not only bring it back, but to expand it with more musicians and two walking tour sessions, one at 12:30 p.m. and another at 4 p.m.
Attendees will be organized into small groups who will be guided by a Tecasy Ranch staff member and a field naturalist along the trail, with stops along the way to rest and listen to musicians performing classical ensemble compositions of their choice.
PSO solo harpist Liane James will welcome guests at the pavilion as they begin the walk that features six different musical stations along the trail: Bryan Allen will perform on solo marimba, Victoria Yeh will perform on the violin with PSO principal bassist Fil Stasiak, PSO principal violinist Jennifer Burford will perform with principal cellist Zuzanna Chomicka-Newnham, PSO principal violist Adriana Arcila Tascón will perform with oboist Nancy Vanderslice, and PSO maestro Michael Newnham will perform trombone duets with David Archer.
Tickets are $70 for adults and $16.50 for children 12 and under (the walk is not recommended for children under six) and are available at thepso.org, where information about the PSO’s upcoming 2025-26 season is also available. Note that dogs are not permitted and the event rain date is September 7.
Encore
- Let me add myself to the many who are congratulating longtime local musicians Rick and Gaile Young on their achievement of a remarkable milestone, namely their having performed for 20 years at the Black Horse Pub in downtown Peterborough. In a word, wow. It was back in 2005 that former pub owner Ray Kapoor brought the pair on for a regular gig. Subsequent owners Desmond Vandenberg and Sajen Ganeshalingam kept Rick and Gailie on, with their Monday night Crash & Burn event since bringing countless local performers, new and old, to the stage. On Monday (August 25), a celebration of the milestone was held at the pub; an event that, as always, had community at its centre. Here’s to many more years for what is nothing short of a unique-to-Peterborough live music tradition.
- The Electric City Culture Council (EC3), Peterborough’s arms-length not-for-profit municipal arts council, has brought on a new programming director. An artist with a strong background in arts administration and research, Alexandra Box most recently worked at the Art Gallery of Peterborough. Originally from London, Ontario, she has called Peterborough home for more than two years now. Her new role will see her support EC3’s programs, research and operations, strengthening the creative ecology of the city and the surrounding area.
