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 the ReFrame Film Festival at Showplace and the Market Hall in Peterborough, Terra Lightfoot in concert at the Market Hall, Stories and Songs of Stompin’ Tom in Lindsay, Billboard In Concert’s performance of Heartbreak Hits at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s ode to Stars of the Silver Screen at Showplace, and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Alex Cuba’s return to the Market Hall.
ReFrame Film Festival returns to downtown Peterborough and online with more than 40 environmental and social justice documentaries
VIDEO: 2026 ReFrame Film Festival trailer
Since 2005, regional film buffs’ thirst has been quenched early each year in the form of the ReFrame Film Festival’s screening of documentaries “that challenge assumptions, reveal urgent truths and spark conversation.”
This Friday (January 30), the festival will open at Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre and continue at both those downtown Peterborough venues until February 1. More than 40 documentaries will be screened, with more than half of those also screened online across Canada from February 3 to 8 as part of the festival’s increasingly popular on-demand virtual program.
The screening schedule, details on each film, and passes and tickets are available at reframefilmfestival.ca, where information on related filmmaker Q&A sessions, workshops, panels, performances and exhibits can also be found.
In terms of admission, the best deal is the $145 hybrid pass, which provides entry to all in-person screenings and events as well as access to the virtual program. An in-person only pass is $120, while a pass for the virtual screenings program is priced at $60.
Meanwhile, tickets for individual films, both in person and online, are available for $15 or pay what you can. They can be purchased in advance online or, for in-person screenings, at the door at Market Hall or Showplace 15 minutes prior to each screening.
Still adhering to its day-one goal of sparking dialogue and positive change while fostering meaningful connections between audiences, filmmakers and artists, community partners, and neighbours, the festival’s brain trust has again delivered. Pulling the festival together is a year-round endeavour for executive director Kait Dueck and creative director Eryn Lidster et al but they have delivered.
In the end, the ReFrame Film Festival has ingrained itself as a premier annual highlight on Peterborough’s cultural landscape — a film showcase that is quite remarkable for a community of our size.
Two-time Juno nominee Terra Lightfoot returns to Market Hall
VIDEO: “A Good Sign” – Terra Lightfoot
When you’ve interviewed thousands of people from all walks of life, what is it about some of those interactions that makes them still memorable years later?
I first met Terra Lightfoot in November 2023. The folk-roots singer-songwriter and guitarist had just released Healing Power, her fifth album, and was gearing up for a concert at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
We chatted virtually as she strolled along a rural road not far from the Haliburton Highlands home where she moved to with her then-fiancé Jon Auer in late 2020. I still recall being immediately struck, and impressed, by her down-to-earthiness; someone who not only provided honest insights into the emotions anchoring her music, but was simply fun to chat with and get to know better.
I imagine not much has changed in that regard, and that’s a very good thing as Lightfoot returns to the Market Hall on Wednesday, February 4, at the tail end of a tour that has seen her promote Home Front, her sixth album. I know her audience will be as impressed with the person as they are with her talent and music.
A native of Waterdown in Hamilton, Lightfoot released her debut self-titled album in 2011. However, 2017’s New Mistakes brought much-deserved her wider attention via a 2018 Juno Award nomination as Adult Alternative Album of the Year. In 2025, the aforementioned Healing Power was nominated in the same Juno category as well as shortlisted for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.
Outside of the studio, Lightfoot has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and has shared stages with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Blue Rodeo, and the late Gordon Lightfoot (no, they’re not related).
Tickets to her 8 p.m. performance cost $40 at www.markethall.org.
Whiskey Jack’s tribute to Stompin’ Tom bound for Lindsay’s Academy Theatre
VIDEO: “The Hockey Song” by Stompin’ Tom Connors (1993)
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching 13 years since the emotional public memorial to Stompin’ Tom Connors was held at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.
Organized by his friend and longtime promoter Brian Edwards, that moving celebration of the legendary singer’s life featured tributes by likes of Ken Dryden and Adrienne Clarkson as well as performances of his music by Dave Bidini, Sylvia Tyson, and others.
Connors’ connections to Peterborough ran deep, dating back to July 1, 1967 when, prior to a performance at the long-gone King George Tavern, waiter Boyd MacDonald introduced him as Stompin’ Tom — a reference to his trademark habit of stomping his left boot heel to keep rhythm. This city was nothing short of a second home for the St. John-born Connors.
Had he lived, Connors would be celebrating 90 years come February 9. To honour him, his former band Whiskey Jack has been on the road with its Canada Believe In Your Country Tour, featuring The Stories and Songs of Stompin’ Tom. On Friday, February 6, that tour will come to Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, with Peterborough-born comedian Seán Cullen in tow as a special guest.
Hosted by Duncan Fremlin, Whiskey Jack’s front man since 1977, the show will also feature the talents of Juno Award-nominated musician Douglas John Cameron and Billy MacInnis, Connors’ long-time fiddler. Expect popular Conners’ songs such as “Bud The Spud,” “Sudbury Saturday Night,” and “The Hockey Song,” along with some of his tunes that sing the praises of Canada and of being Canadian.
That’s just what the doctor ordered during these times.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. cost $48 and are available at www.flatoacademytheatre.com. Feel free to bring a Canadian flag and wave it with abandon. Stompin’ Tom would love that.
Classic songs about falling out of love coming to Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre
VIDEO: “You’re So Vain” – Carly Simon (2005)
To answer Tina Turner’s musical question of “What’s love got to do with it?”, apparently not a whole lot when “Heartbreak Hits: Billboard In Concert” comes to Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre for a four-performance run from Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 8.
Created and performed by local and regional artists, the tribute concert is billed as “an anti-Valentine’s celebration of the darker side of love.” Featured are songs about falling out of love, such as “U Been Gone,” “Jolene,” “I Will Survive,” “You Oughta Know,” and “You’re So Vain,” to mention but a few.
No doubt many in the audience have experienced both the ups and downs of love. This concert will focus on the latter via songs we know (and, ironically, love) by a variety of artists from different time periods. Yup, it’s a little different from your typical Valentine’s Day themed show, but different is good.
Conceived by Jeff Newberry and Rob Kempson and directed by Margot Greve, the show will see host Will Parry bring singers Belinda Corpuz, Kaylee Harwood, and Krystle Chance to the stage. They’ll be joined by musicians Nicholas Campbell and Jeanne Truax, the latter being the Peterborough Folk Festival’s reigning Emerging Artist, a distinction she shares with Campbell, who claimed that same honour in 2023 along with Irish Millie.
Performances are February 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on February 7 and 8. Tickets cost $55 ($45 for those under 30) and are available at capitoltheatre.com.
Peterborough Symphony Orchestra celebrates iconic film music of the ’60s at Showplace
VIDEO: “The Magnificent Seven” theme by Elmer Bernstein – Orchestra at Temple Square
When it comes to 1960s film music, Elmer Bernstein’s score for 1963’s The Great Escape did it for me then and still does. For sure, John Sturges’ war adventure was, and remains, a cinematic masterpiece, but take away that score and it’s just another film.
My choice notwithstanding, there were a number of terrific scores composed for a bevy of terrific 1960s films. The music score for any one of the number of James Bond films of that decade is yet another great example. There’s a good chance you’ll shaken and stirred.
So it is that on February 7 and 8, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) returns to Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough to present “Stars of the Silver Screen,” the third concert of its 2025-26 season.
Along with music from the James Bond franchise, you’ll hear the PSO perform Bernstein’s theme for the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and his iconic theme from The Pink Panther (1963), Bernard Herrmann’s theme from Psycho (1960), Lalo Schifrin’s theme from the TV series Mission: Impossible (1966), Johnny Mandel’s “The Shadow of Your Smile” from The Sandpiper (1965), and Francis Lai’s theme from Love Story (1970), as well as music from the soundtracks of West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965).
At the helm as always will be conductor Michael Newnham and, as is often the case, he’ll give a pre-concert talk prior to taking up his baton. Those planning to attend are encouraged to dress with 1960s fashion in mind. Fun, but not mandatory.
In a nod to the continuing popularity of the PSO’s film concerts, there will be two performances: one at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 7 followed by a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, February 8. Tickets are $36, $50, or $57, depending on the seat you choose, with student tickets costing $15 for all seats. Tickets are available in person at the Showplace Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, and one hour before the concert, or online anytime at showplace.org.
Grammy Award-winning Alex Cuba makes a Market Hall stop
VIDEO: “Palabras Vacías” – Alex Cuba
When a multi-Grammy Award recipient comes to town, that’s worthy of our attention.
Born and raised in Cuba, Alexis Puentes — better known by his stage name Alex Cuba — moved to Canada in 1999 where he performed as a duo with his brother Adonis as The Puentes Brothers, and earned a 2001 Juno Award nomination for Best Global Album.
In 2004, Cuba launched his solo career. That move paid a huge dividend as he won two Juno Awards for World Music Album of the Year — in 2006 for his debut album Humo de Tabaco and, in 2008, for Agua del Pozo.
But Cuba didn’t stop there. In 2010, he won a Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist, followed in 2015 by a Latin Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album for Healer and, in 2022, a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for Mendó.
Cuba’s mix of funk, jazz, and pop reflecting Latin and African influences has earned him accolades from music industry insiders and audiences alike. His newest album, Índole, is surely destined for yet more like praise.
On Sunday, February 8, Cuba’s immense talent will be on full display when he takes to the stage at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. Tickets to the 7 p.m. concert cost $44 at www.markethall.org.
Encore
- From the New Local Music File — a file getting thicker with each passing week it seems — we have People Like To Talk, the newest album from singer-songwriter and guitarist Ncholas Campbell. Produced by James McKenty, the album features a number of very familiar collaborators, including Melissa Payne, Jeanne Truax, Caitlin O’Connor, and Rico Browne. That’s how it goes in these parts, and has gone for some time. When one hits the studio to record a new album, many step up to help. That, perhaps more than anything, makes the local music community as special as it is. Egos are left at the door where they belong and a shared love of music takes precedent.
- Those suffering through what has been a very cold and snowy winter will find some warmth in Peterborough Musicfest’s announcement that its 39th summer season will start June 27 and continue until August 19 with free-admission outdoor concerts at Del Crary Park every Saturday and Wednesday night. No details yet on who’s performing when — the full lineup is typically announced in May — but expect some teaser announcements before then, along with a few surprises.
