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 Tommy Youngsteen’s CCR tribute shows in Bancroft and Peterborough, Public Energy’s presentation of the family-friendly play Finding Home: A Salmon Journey Upstream on stage at the Peterborough Theatre Guild, Juno award-winning singer-songwriter Ian Thomas at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Creation featuring the Peterborough Singers, the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s staged reading of the award-winning historical drama Quiet in the Land, and the Capitol Theatre’s staging of the family musical You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Catch Tommy Youngsteen’s CCR tribute in Bancroft and Peterborough
VIDEO: Tommy Youngsteen performing CCR
For all the large venues in big cities that Tommy Youngsteen has performed at over 16 years, the classic rock tribute supergroup has found a most welcoming home in Bancroft.
Back in January, it was announced the band would headline one show of its Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute at the Bancroft Village Playhouse in May, but the promoter discovered quite an appetite for the band and the iconic music it covers. The result? Now three shows will be staged — one on Thursday (May 7) and two on Friday (May 8) — at the Tweed & Company Theatre-operated venue.
If that’s not enough, following the Bancroft shows, the band will be heading to downtown Peterborough to perform at the Market Hall on Saturday (May 9).
Tommy Youngsteen has two things going for it. First, its stage lineup is comprised of multiple Juno Award-winning musicians who have performed with the likes of The Sam Roberts Band, The Arkells, Serena Ryder and The Trews.
And then there’s the music for the band’s latest tribute show. Originally formed under a different name in 1959, Creedence Clearwater Revival — lead singer, lead guitarist, and chief songwriter John Fogerty along with his brother Tom Fogerty and Doug Clifford and Stu Cook — recorded a staggering 14 consecutive Top 10 singles from 1969 to 1971, and was, in fact, the first major act signed to appear at the Woodstock festival.
It was impossible during that period to not hear a CCR song coming over the radio at any given time. The list of singles is endless, with a number of those so-called “swamp rock” songs, such as “Fortunate Son,” adopted as a part of the rebellious soundtrack of the turbulent Vietnam War protest years that defined the era.
Add to that such classics like “Suzie Q,” “Proud Mary,” “Lodi,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Bad Moon Rising” and it’s there’s little wonder as to why CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, or that the 1976 compilation album Chronicle remains entrenched on the Billboard 200 listing 50 years after its debut.
Tommy Youngsteen takes to the Bancroft Village Playhouse stage at 7:30 p.m. on May 7, and at 3 and 7:30 pm on May 8, with tickets $46.50 plus tax at www.villageplayhouse.ca. The Market Hall show, meanwhile, is an 8 p.m. start with $59 tickets available at www.markethall.org.
Beagle and Sojo taking the kids on a enlightening trek upstream at the Peterborough Theatre Guild
On Saturday (May 9), the Peterborough Theatre Guild on Rogers Street in East City welcomes an original work for children by Alexandra Simpson and Morgan Brie Johnson of Toronto’s Animacy Theatre Collective, produced by Theatre Direct.
A five-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee which won a coveted statue for Outstanding New Play – Theatre for Young Audiences, Finding Home: A Salmon Journey Upstream is a rare family-oriented offering from Public Energy Performing Arts, and a last-minute addition to their 2025-26 season courtesy of a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough.
Featuring puppetry, clown, dance and live music, the funny and heartwarming play explores friendship, growing up, and the annual Lake Ontario salmon run. At its centre are salmon besties Beagle and Sojo, played by Simpson and Johnson.
All is fine in their world until Beagle gets the urge to set off on an upstream adventure, with or without Sojo. Together, the pair discover it’s tough to swim against the current of the Humber River as they face a variety of challenges together, from fishermen and pollution to rocks and rapids. Along the way, Beagle and Sojo learn what it means to be a real friend, how beautiful it is to complete your life cycle, and just why salmon really are the rock stars of the fish world.
There aren’t nearly enough shows geared toward kids aged five to 12. This is a good one that promises wonderful memories that will linger long after the curtain falls.
Tickets to the 4 p.m. show are priced right at $15 for adults and just $5 for children, plus fees, available through publicenergy.ca. And if there are worries the little ones will grow restless, well, no worries — you’re looking at 50 minutes, start to finish.
Ian Thomas hasn’t gone anywhere, as Lindsay-bound tour proves
VIDEO: Ian Thomas “Not Gone Yet” Tour Promo
When you want to tell the world you’re still here and relevant as a singer and songwriter, naming your tour “Not Gone Yet” is a pretty good start.
More than 55 years after Ian Thomas launched his music career, the Hamilton native is very much still here, this tour heralding that pronouncement. In fact, the tour, which makes a stop at Lindsay’s FLATO Academy Theatre on Saturday (May 9), is Thomas’ first with a full band since way back in 1981.
That’s good news for the nostalgic many who still recall Thomas’ hit songs such as “Painted Ladies,” “Liars,” “Right Before Your Eyes,” “Pilot,” and “Hold On.” And there are many, as evidenced by the grand reception many a Canadian artist of years gone by has received at events such as Peterborough Musicfest and at theatre shows right across the country.
There’s much to like about Thomas, and has been since he won a 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year. In addition to his songwriting and performing, he portrayed Dougie Franklin on The Red Green Show and even did a guest turn for an episode of SCTV, appearing alongside his brother, comedian Dave Thomas.
But make no mistake: it’s the music that has brought Thomas to this point, still touring after all the years. That journey has not only included his own work but also his 2016 to 2018 collaboration with Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church, and Marc Jordan for the “Lunch at Allen’s” concert series that toured Ontario.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert cost $73.50 (plus taxes and fees) at flatoacademytheatre.com.
Peterborough Symphony Orchestra and Peterborough Singers unite to present Haydn masterpiece
VIDEO: “The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God” (Haydn) – Peterborough Singers (2025)
When two Peterborough cultural institutions come together to present an evening of music, that’s more than deserving of our attention.
On Saturday and Sunday (May 9 and 10) at Emmanuel United Church in Peterborough — the concert home of the Peterborough Singers — the choral group will collaborate with the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) to present composer Joseph Haydn’s widely hailed masterpiece The Creation.
Written in 1797-98, the oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as narrated in the Book of Genesis. As such, it’s most fitting that a sacred place is the setting for this concert, with the acoustics of the church making it an ideal setting for the vocal portions of the composition.
The Creation is structured in three parts, and scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloist, chorus, and symphonic music. For both performances, sopranos Karoline Podolak and Shannon McCracken, tenor Jacob Abrahamse, baritone Alexander Dobson, and bass William Kraushaar will be front-and centre, as will be longtime PSO conductor Michael Newnham.
In fact, Newnham will give his usual pre-concert talk prior to both concerts, enlightening his audience on the background of the piece they’re about to experience.
Saturday’s concert is a 7:30 p.m. start, with Sunday’s matinee performance beginning at 3 p.m. Tickets cost $53 and are available at thepso.org.
Anne Chislett’s “Quiet in the Land” garners a staged reading at Peterborough Theatre Guild
While the Peterborough Theatre Guild has put a bow on its 2025-26 six-play season, there remains one final piece of business on the Guild Hall stage.
On Sunday (May 10), a staged reading of Anne Chislett’s historical drama Quiet in the Land will be held at the Rogers Street venue in East City.
In an Amish community in Ontario during World War One, Yock Bauman (Travis Edge) struggles against his family’s pacifist beliefs and the expectations of his faith. As war rages abroad, he is drawn toward a path that could change his life forever, testing his loyalty, love, and place in the world.
Set against a time when many Canadian men answered the call to serve, the play explores the deep divisions that arise when personal conviction collides with tradition. At its heart is Bauman’s search for identity, and the cost of choosing between the life he has always known and the one that he feels compelled to pursue.
Quiet in the Land has been with us for quite some time, having premiered in 1981 at the Blyth Festival in Blyth, Ontario. It was subsequently remounted over a number of years at such venues as the Toronto Free Theatre and the Stratford Festival, the fact that it won a Governor General’s Award in 1983 creating the subsequent demand.
Directed by Beau Quarrie and stage managed by Lynn Braun and Sharon McLeod, the Peterborough Theatre Guild production also features Joe Bezubiak, Mary Delaney, David Geene, Theo Geisman-Blank, Tristina Haines, Cheryl Lyon, Chancellor McGuigan, Natalie Melendro, Darragh O’Connel, Kevin O’Neill, Tom Quinn, Mark Scanlon, Kalla Tahon, Gail Woodhouse, and Lauren Yandt.
Ticket to the 1:30 p.m. staged reading cost $15 at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com
Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre is reminding us Charlie Brown is still a good man
I wore out the pages of a lot of books when I was kid, but few were as tattered as my Peanuts paperbacks. I just couldn’t get enough of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and all the rest of Charles M. Schulz’s quirky kid characters — and Snoopy, of course.
Add to that yearning my infatuation with the TV specials based on the books. There was something about hearing jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts theme song that captured my attention and kept it.
All these years later, good on Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre for staging You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown — the opening production of what is a very busy 2026 at the historic venue.
Opening with a pay-what-you-can preview performance on Friday, May 15, the Tony Award-winning musical with book, music, and lyrics by Clark Gesner details the adventures of Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang as they explore life’s big questions, all while playing baseball (another love of mine that fuelled my love affair with the series), struggling with homework, swooning over crushes, and celebrating their friendship.
A big plus is this production is directed and choreographed by Capitol artistic director Rob Kempson, who has a fine reputation for bringing the goods when it comes to musical theatre productions. Shane O’Regan, meanwhile, is handling the music direction. The show features Amir Haidar in the title role, with Jillian Mitsuko Cooper as Sally Brown, AP Bautista as Lucy Van Pelt, Matt Pilipiak as Snoopy, Kyle Golemba as Schroeder, and Ben Kopp as Linus Van Pelt.
This promises to be a lot of fun, both for longtime Peanuts fans and kids primed to discover the gang for the first time.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. from May 15 and 16, 21 to 23, and 28 to 30, with 2 p.m. matinee performance on May 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31. Tickets, at $50 for adults, $40 for ages 13 to 30 and $22 for kids 12 and under — all plus fees — are available at capitoltheatre.com.
Encore
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One of the great mysteries in my world is how Peterborough native Elyse Saunders isn’t the country music superstar she deserves to be. Don’t get me wrong — Saunders is doing incredibly well, her clear talent only exceeded by a fierce work ethic. But much more should be coming her way and soon. It’s time.
Meanwhile, Saunders is nominated for two CMAOntario Awards — Female Artist of the Year and Video of the Year. Better still, Saunders has been pegged to perform at the May 31 awards show in Port Credit. Bet on her performing “Cowboy Up,” her latest single.
Years ago, when she was a teen, I first interviewed Saunders. I can say, with no shortage of admiration for all she’s accomplished since, that I knew her when. It’s time more hopped on board.
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Peterborough’s surest sign of summer’s imminent arrival has been made clearer recently, with Musicfest’s recent releasing of the details of three concerts to be held at Del Crary Park in 2026.
On June 27, Canadian rocker Gowan — a Scarborough high school pal of mine back in the day — will open the 39th free concert series, followed by rising Canadian country music artist Tyler Joe Miller on July 15 and, on July 29, by cover band extraordinaire Dwayne Gretzy, which is making its sixth Musicfest appearance.
The full concert schedule will be announced very soon. That’s exciting, but what really has me smiling is Musicfest is bringing back it’s pre-concert Future Sounds series that will again give young and up-and-coming musicians a stage at the park. Better still, word is that will be featured on every concert night, not just on a select few.
