A free-admission tribute to country pop superstars Garth Brooks and Shania Twain will anchor a full evening of music and family activities at Peterborough Musicfest on Saturday (August 1), ending with the city’s rescheduled Canada Day fireworks display over Little Lake.
Before tribute artists Les Smith and Amberley Beatty take the Fred Anderson Stage at Del Crary Park at 8 p.m., Musicfest will launch First Note, a new program that gives children and teens the opportunity to try a variety of musical instruments for free.
Following the concert, the fireworks display will begin at around 9:30 p.m.
The added activities bookend a concert celebrating two performers who helped define the 1990s as a golden era for country music: Tulsa-born Brooks and Timmins-raised Twain. Their pop-infused country sound brought the pair combined album sales of more than 270 million, Grammy Awards, and millions of fans, not just across North America but abroad.
For sure, enthusiasts of traditional country music weren’t all that enthused by the two “new country” artists who brought pop and rock sensibilities to the genre. However, in 1989, when Brooks performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and Twain followed suit in 1996, their anointment at the cathedral of country music went a long way toward establishing the pair as ambassadors of their music genre, however that genre was defined.
Brooks and Twain weren’t the only artists to epitomize the catchy country pop sound that dominated the decade — Martina McBride, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, and Faith Hill were among many who did their part — but their music anchored a fandom that few artists, in any genre, could lay claim to. They were in a league of their own.
VIDEO: Les Smith as Garth Brooks
Tribute artists Les Smith and Amberley Beatty aim to recreate that new country magic for the Peterborough Musicfest audience when they perform Brooks’ and Twain’s biggest hits on Saturday night.
Smith is the longtime leader and lead singer of Fresh Horses, which takes its name from Brooks’ sixth album. A native of Mitchell, Ontario, Smith’s resemblance to Brooks, and his possession of the singer’s trademark stage energy, aim to make his audience forget they’re not watching and hearing the real deal.
A while back, during a 2018 interview with the Wellington Advertiser, Smith said he “got into” country music some 10 years earlier.
“I cut my hair and put a cowboy hat on, and what started happening was people came up to me and told me how much I looked like Garth Brooks. I started thinking, ‘Well, maybe I should try something that involves Garth Brooks.'”
After performing Brooks’ songs on a casual basis, he honed his act and took it on the road, following the advice of his agent, adding “Everything’s authentic to Garth Brooks — the hat right down to the Wrangler jeans.”
Noting he’s sometimes approached for an autograph by those who think he is actually Brooks, Smith resists the temptation to fuel their fantasy encounter.
“I always let people know who I am. There are a lot of people in the (tribute) business who take it too far.”
Smith’s Musicfest audience won’t be disappointed as he runs through the singer’s biggest hits. “Friends In Low Places,” “The Dance,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” and “Two Piña Coladas” are just a few of the hit singles that brought Brooks nine diamond-certified albums (breaking The Beatles’ record of six), two Grammy Awards, 17 American Music Awards and, in 2020, recognition as the youngest recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
VIDEO: Amberley Beatty as Shania Twain
St. Jacobs-raised Beatty, meanwhile, is no one-trick pony in the tribute artist realm, also performing over the years as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Gretchen Wilson, and Connie Francis.
Last July at Musicfest, Beatty performed as one of the two female lead singers of Abbamania, an energetic and spot-on tribute to Swedish pop sensation ABBA.
In a 2011 chat with Steve Kannon of Elmira’s The Observer, Beatty said her first exposure to singing before an audience came via karaoke. She has since headlined festivals and fairs, and performed at casinos and on cruises.
“I sing everything. I like all kinds of music. I sing around the house. I sing all the time. My mother told me I used to sing along with all the jingles on TV.”
As Twain, Beatty will deliver the songs that made her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and earned her the moniker Queen of Country Pop.
Her Musicfest audience can expect the hits they well remember and still connect to — “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?,” “Any Man of Mine,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “You’re Still the One,” and “The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)” will no doubt lead to some very serious toe-tapping and hand-clapping.
Prior to the Brooks and Twain tributes taking the stage, the Cogeco-sponsored Future Sound Series will see Peterborough singer-songwriter Georgia Rose perform from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. near the food trucks at the George Street entrance to Del Crary Park.
Also prior to the concert, Peterborough Musicfest will be launching its new First Note program.
Running from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., First Note will invite children and teens to explore and play a variety of instruments in a welcoming environment, with no registration, lessons, or previous musical experience required.
The program is supported by the Peterborough Foundation, with instruments provided by Long & McQuade Musical Instruments. Following its August 1 launch, First Note will return before Musicfest concerts on Wednesday, August 5, Saturday, August 8, and Wednesday, August 12.
“One of the things we’ve talked about for years is finding more ways to put instruments into children’s hands,” says Musicfest executive director Tracey Randall in a media release.
“Not every young person has the opportunity to explore music at school or at home, and sometimes all it takes is one experience to spark a lifelong passion. We often ask, ‘Where’s our next Serena Ryder?’ Maybe First Note is where that journey begins.”
After Saturday night’s concert concludes, the City of Peterborough will stage the Canada Day fireworks display that had originally been scheduled to follow Musicfest’s July 1 Neon Nostalgic concert. Both the concert and fireworks were cancelled because of the threat of severe thunderstorms.
To accommodate the rescheduled display, temporary road closures will be in effect from noon to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Perry and Lake streets will be closed between George and Crescent streets. Crescent Street will be closed from the north side of Romaine Street to the south side of Perry Street, while Lock Street will be closed from the north side of Romaine Street to the south side of Crescent Street. Local traffic will still be permitted within the affected areas.
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 16 free-admission concerts during its 39th season, staged in Del Crary Park on Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 19.
Overseen by executive director Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert or the 2026 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or call the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2026 season.
