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 highlights Goddo’s 50th anniversary stop at Peterborough’s Showplace, the Dine With Jazz restaurant series in downtown Peterborough, a screening of silent film Through The Back Door at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, a new album release from The Weber Brothers with shows in Peterborough and Lindsay, New Stages Theatre’s staged reading of Paul and Linda Plan A Threesome at Peterborough’s Market Hall, and the Kawartha String Orchestra’s spring benefit concert for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Peterborough.
Goddo still bringing it five decades-plus after its debut
VIDEO: Goddo 50th Anniversary Concert Preview
As a huge music fan in Toronto circa the mid 1970s, my fake ID was my passport for weekend bar jaunts to experience the likes of Triumph, Max Webster, Rough Trade and, of course, Goddo.
Be it on Yonge Street or closer to home at Scarborough’s Knob Hill Tavern, that well-crafted document got me in the door, and that was more than good enough. I can’t recall where or how I obtained it but I’m guessing it cost me a good chunk of my weekly Dominion food store pay. It was worth every penny.
I won’t need it, and neither will you, on Friday (April 24) when Goddo makes a 50th anniversary tour stop at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough.
The Knobbie, as we called it, is long gone but Goddo founder, lead singer and guitarist Greg Godovitz is still very much with us, as is original drummer Marty Morin. On this tour, they’re joined by guitarists Steve Jensen and Steve MacPherson, keyboardist Drew Winters, and saxophonist Gene Hardy.
Goddo formed as a trio in Scarborough in 1975 and released its debut self-titled album two years later. Following the release of Pretty Bad Boys in 1981, the band broke up, only to reform in 1989 and subsequently record three more studio albums. Goddo’s last show featuring the original recording lineup of Godovitz, Gino Scarpelli, and Doug Inglis was in October 2018.
While Goddo saw limited commercial success — 1975’s “Louie Louie” and 1981’s “Pretty Bad Boy” saw some chart success — the band’s live shows, driven by high energy from start to finish, drew a loyal following. As the front man, Godovitz captivated with both his vocals and musicianship, and still brings it all these years on.
Tickets to the 7:30 pm concert cost $45 to $60 at showplace.org. As a bonus, the band is planning to host a meet-and-greet in the lobby post-show.
Enjoying some jazz with your dinner is never a bad idea
VIDEO: “Groove Yard” – Curtis Cronkwright Quartet (2025)
There’s a movement afoot in Peterborough, and it’s bringing jazz music fans, both of the longtime and new variety, together with increasing frequency.
Thus, it’s no surprise that UNESCO-declared International Jazz Day on April 30 will be preceded by a celebration of the genre that will provide ample opportunity to take in performances by a number of locals.
While the keynote concert on Sunday (April 26) featuring Juno Award-winning jazz singer Molly Johnson at Peterborough’s Market Hall is sold out, the Dine With Jazz series held that same evening will see eight local jazz musicians do their thing at four downtown restaurants.
From 6 to 8 p.m., Pete Woolidge and Mark Davidson will perform at La Hacienda (190 Hunter Street West), Ginny Simmonds and Craig Paterson will do likewise at Amandala’s (375 Water Street), Michael Morris and Paco Luviano will be featured at Agave (376 George Street North), and The Black Horse Pub welcomes the familiar duo of Rob Phillips and Carling Stephen, who will be followed a jazz concert featuring the Curtis Cronkwright Quartet, with Cronkwright joined by Chris Gale, Nathan Hiltz, and Duncan Hopkins.
While there’s no cover charge for any of these shows, sponsored in part by kawarthaNOW, each of the participating restaurants is encouraging reservations.
American jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock first proposed International Jazz Day in 2011 after he was designated a Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO proclaimed April 30 as International Jazz Day in 2012 and now, 14 years later, more than 200 countries annually participate.
Locally, International Jazz Day was first organized in 2015 by a group of Peterborough jazz musicians and, except for a three-year hiatus during the pandemic, it has been marked every year since.
Classic 1921 silent film returning to Lindsay 104 years later
It took a bit, but Through The Back Door is returning to Lindsay’s FLATO Academy Theatre on Sunday (April 26).
First screened at the historically majestic venue in 1922 — one year after the silent comedy drama’s release — the film will be shown, accompanied live by pianist Paul Mason.
Curated by Ian McKechnie, the event is a throwback to The Roaring Twenties, with guests invited, and encouraged, to dress in 1920s attire to really set the mood (a photobooth will be available). The event also features a special musical feature of 1920s period pieces by Sophia Mackey.
As for the film, it stars legendary Canadian actress Mary Pickford as Jeanne, a nanny-raised young Belgian girl who flees Europe at the dawn of World War One and travels to America to find her real mother. The film was co-directed Jack Pickford, Mary’s younger brother, and produced by Mary herself.
For trivia buffs, here’s a gem: Swedish author Astrid Lindgren saw the film in 1922 at age 15. She later borrowed a few ideas from it for her Pippi Longstocking children’s books, most notably Pippi using scrubs as skates while cleaning the floor.
Tickets to the 6:30 p.m. screening cost $33, $18 for kids 12 and under, at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
More new music from Ryan and Sam Weber set to debut
VIDEO: The Weber Brothers at DocFest 2025
The story is very familiar for those who follow local music, and even to many who don’t.
Back around the arrival of the new millennium, teens Ryan and Sam Weber left their Maryland childhood home and headed to our neck of the woods with one clear goal front of mind: to meet and learn music at the knee of rockabilly music legend Ronnie Hawkins. In return, they offered to help The Hawk with the many chores his sprawling Stoney Lake property called for.
Since then, the brothers have provided countless memorable live music moments, their talent and songwriting on the same level as their selfless giving of themselves for any cause calling for a hand up. And then there’s the brothers’ relentless studio work that, to date, has produced 17 independent albums that showcase their ability to tackle multiple music genres and make them their own.
It matter of when, not if, a new album would be forthcoming from two huge talents who have performed not only as members of Hawkin’s famed band The Hawks, but also alongside the likes of Kris Kristofferson, the late Jeff Healey and Gordon Lughtfoot, and The Tragically Hip.
On Friday, May 1 at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough, that new album will be released on the cusp of a tour that will see brothers also take to the FLATO Academy Theatre stage in Linday on Thursday, May 14. Go to one, go to both, but go and learn (or re-learn) why the moniker “The Baddest Band in the Land” still fits after so many years.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. Market Hall album release cost $40 for cabaret seating or $35 for regular seating at a href=”https://www.markethall.org/” rel=”noopener” title=”Market Hall website” target=”_blank”>www.markethall.org. Meanwhile, tickets for the subsequent Academy Theatre show cost $43 and can be ordered at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
Paul and Linda’s marriage is about to take a different turn
VIDEO: “Paul and Linda Plan A Threesome” teaser with Megan Murphy and Kerry Griffin
Don’t tell Peterborough’s New Stages Theatre that two’s company but three’s a crowd — the latter can indeed be a very good thing, especially when it arrives in the form of Jane Cooper Ford’s hit comedy.
On Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough, New Stages presents a staged reading of Paul and Linda Plan A Threesome, sponsored in part by kawarthaNOW.
Directed by New Stages artistic director Mark Wallace, it relates the story of a successful middle-aged couple Paul and Linda, played by Kerry Griffin and Megan Murphy, who decide it’s time to spice up their marriage. Their salvation, they decide, lies in the planning of a threesome. Enter Sienna, played by Kate Suhr, who the couple has sourced online to help them realize their naughty ambition. All is good until Paul’s sister Gwen, portrayed by Linda Kash, throws a wrench in the threesome plan.
All four actors are New Stages veterans, with Murphy and Griffin having worked together most recently for the theatre company’s staged reading of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play last December.
Despite the play’s suggestive title, we’re assured there nothing more risqué than suggestive language and perhaps a kiss on stage will take place.
That said, there is a content advisory for strong and explicit language and mature themes, the result being the show is recommended for audience members 16 years of age and older. If you’re on the fence in terms of checking out the show, you should know its 2024 premiere in Stratford was sold out and the staging was held over as a result.
Curtain is 7 p.m. on May 2 and 2 p.m. on May 3. Tickets cost $30 at www.markethall.org, with an offered $20 “welcome rate” that’s covered by a $40 pay-it-forward ticket price for those who want to help out.
Kawartha String Orchestra helps Big Brothers Big Sisters
Since its inception, the Kawartha String Orchestra has had one simple but very sincere goal: sharing members’ love of music with the community.
To that end, the orchestra, comprised of string musicians of all ages and backgrounds, has done just that, habitually performing two free concerts annually as fundraisers for local non-profits.
On Sunday, May 3 at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School on Armour Road, “Pulse and Precision” will feature the performance of selections from Mozart and Bach, with a side order of Celtic music courtesy of Foley’s Celtic Pub Band. Meanwhile, conductor Tak Kwan will be a busy man, also performing on violin as the featured soloist.
With Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough the beneficiary, admission to the 2 p.m. concert is via a donation to the agency via cash, cheque, or credit card Doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Encore
- We all had a lot of energy to burn off during the dark COVID pandemic years but few places where we could do just that. Local musicians got a break when Andy and Linda Tough launched a YouTube series of concerts recorded in the isolation of their Norwood property’s barn. Four series were shot under the title Live! At The Barn, with yours truly delighted to serve as emcee for each series. For context, they were shot in the same barn the Toughs habitually invited anyone and everyone to enjoy live music jams over a number of years. On Monday night (April 20) at the Black Horse Pub in downtown Peterborough, Andy and Linda — who are moving well out of the area — will be feted by appreciative musicians and their supporters. Billed as “A Tough Goodbye,” bet on there being more than a few tears.
- The 2026 New Music Awards, presented by Sparq and Pet Rock Radio, will again celebrate the best in local independent music on Saturday, May 23 at the Market Hall in downtown Peterborough. Awards will be presented in 17 categories and performances by nominees will be featured. While I wish all nominees the best, my fingers are particularly crossed for singer-songwriter Georgia Rose, who’s nominated for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. The teen has stepped up to gift her time and talent for Peterborough Performs, and her genuine excitement over that opportunity lifted the hearts of many. Georgia works hard at her craft, playing everywhere and anywhere she can. It’s hard, if not impossible, to root for her, never mind acknowledge her big talent.
