Growing from a seed planted just before the pandemic into a perennial show of empathy and support for people who are unhoused, “Peterborough Performs VI: Musicians United To End Homelessness” is returning to Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough on Thursday, February 26.
From 7 to 11 p.m., 14 local music acts will donate their time and talent to help raise funds for the United Way Peterborough & District, with six acts performing on the David Goyette Stage in the Erica Cherney Theatre and eight in the venue’s intimate lower-level Cogeco Studio.
As has been the case since the inaugural event was held in early March 2020, proceeds from ticket sales and a related virtual auction will go to United Way-supported shelters and partner agencies serving on the front lines of homelessness relief.
During a media event on Thursday (February 12) at Showplace to promote the sixth annual benefit concert, event co-founder and organizer Paul Rellinger marvelled at the growth of what was originally intended as a one-time event.
“That first event raised $23,669 … not bad,” said Rellinger. “The lights went dark for 2021 (because of the pandemic) but we returned in 2022, and came back in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Including the 2026 event, 44 local music acts — bands, trios, duos, and singles — have been featured. That’s close to 100 performers in total.”
“Last year, we raised $36,375, bringing the five-event total to just under $150,000. We’ve done pretty remarkably from what was a one-off back in 2020.”
AUDIO: “Where Do You Lay Down?” – Mark Beatty
Rellinger noted that four acts are making their Peterborough Performs debut this time around: VANCAMP (aka Calvin Bakelaar), The Detention Club, Maggie Sabyan with Mike MacCurdy, and Mark Beatty.
At the media event, Beatty performed his song “Where Do You Lay Down?” The final track on his 2025-released album Audiodacity, it speaks to homelessness and the importance of home.
Meanwhile, returning once again to gift their talent and time are The Weber Brothers Band, Sarah Jayne Riley, Rick ‘n’ Gailie’s Peterborough All-Star Band (featuring Rick and Gailie Young), Tom Eastland, Georgia Rose, Alyssa Morrissey and Kyler Tapscott, Dan Hick, Lagan & Derelict (Phil Stephenson and Glen Caradus with Ron Kervin), Jacques Graveline, and, performing as a full band after five previous turns in the Cogeco Studio, The Hippie Chicks and Company.
General admission tickets, which allow holders to seamlessly go between the main theatre and the lower-level lounge as they please, cost $50 each, but a two-tickets-for-$80 deal is in place. Tickets are available online at www.showplace.org or drop by the Showplace box office at 290 George Street North in downtown Peterborough Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Along with proceeds from ticket sales, funds for the United Way will also be raised through a virtual auction, again sponsored by LLF Lawyers. On now with close to 60 items up for grabs, the auction catalogue can be viewed at events.readysetauction.com/unitedwaypeterboroughdistrict/ppvi, where bids can be placed until the auction closes at 9:30 p.m. on the night of the concert.
Financial sponsors for Peterborough Performs VI are Cogeco, Twohey Home, Lancer Electric, Peterborough County, Herod Financial Services, Billyard Insurance Group, Rellinger Writing Services, MicroAge, Dr. Stephan Ragaz, V.K. Patel and Associates, the Glenn family, McDougall Insurance and Financial, Shirley Turner, Kyle Harrington of Desjardins Insurance, the Peterborough and District Labour Council, and Junior Achievement Northern and Eastern Ontario.
Meanwhile, in-kind sponsors are We Design, Long and McQuade, Commercial Press and Design, and kawarthaNOW, back for a sixth time as digital media sponsor.
Rellinger, who is also chair of the current United Way campaign, expressed his gratitude to the sponsors and also thanked the United Way for staying with the fundraiser for the sixth time.
“I have a whole new appreciation for fundraising — it’s hard work,” he said, adding “I tip my hat to those who do it every day. It’s not easy.”
Taking place in the late winter months, the benefit concert provides a late boost to the United Way’s annual fundraising campaign, which for 2025-26 has a goal of $1.6 million.
“We’re about $90,000 away from our campaign goal,” Rellinger said, noting the campaign comes to an end on March 31.
“Peterborough Performs VI is one way we’re going to get there. We hope to make a whack of money that night. I’m confident that will happen. I’m equally confident we’re going to hit the $1.6 million mark.”
Also taking to the podium was United Way CEO Jim Russell, who described Peterborough Performs as “a singular marquee event in our community.”
“When I look at each of the events we’ve had, I’m so filled with pride,” he said.
“You often don’t pause in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of trying to get things done, in the midst of trying to hit a campaign goal, to savour. This is a chance for us to acknowledge the issue of homelessness, for us to be part of giving back to the community, and for us to be in the space of being joyful through art. And art heals.”
Equally enthused is Joe Grant, an associate with LLF Lawyers, returning as the virtual auction sponsor for a sixth time.
“One of the things that I enjoy most about winter in Canada is the feeling I get when I walk into a warm house, work, or a restaurant from the bitter cold. The light and warmth envelops you as the blood rushes to your skin. A smile magically appears on your face. There is really no feeling like it.”
“Now more than ever, it’s apparent that for so many of us — people we see every day — that feeling, if it exists at all, is an aspiration, a dream, or perhaps a memory,” Grant said, referring to people who are unhoused.
“In addition to the incredible music on February 26th, please check out the virtual auction. Bid what you can, and if you’re able, bid often, and support the United Way for the work they do to warm and brighten the faces of people in our community.”
Main stage emcee Ella Bates, who owns and operates Ella Bates Corporate Training, echoed that sentiment.
“I only moved here last summer. Everyone kept telling me about this amazing event. I’m very much of the thought that you need to give where you live. I really saw the challenges that were seen here with the homeless,” Bates said.
“Then on came Paul and he’s telling me about United Way. I was like, ‘What can I do to help? Do you need an emcee?’ Now my mission is to bring the energy and the interaction of the audience. When we do things together as a community, we grow together as a community.”
For more information about Peterborough Performs VI, visit www.uwpeterborough.ca. There you will also find a link to purchase tickets for the monthly United Way raffle which, as of February 13, stood at $2,700 — with half of that amount going to the winner. The winning ticket will be drawn February 27.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be exclusive digital media sponsor for Peterborough Performs VI.
