The annual Peterborough Folk Festival is returning in August to present ‘We Can Do This’, a series of ticketed live music concerts featuring 14 visiting and local musicians, in place of the festival’s traditional free weekend celebration at Nicholls Oval Park.

“We realized early this year that logistically a festival at Nicholls Oval was going to be near impossible,” says festival director Ryan Kemp, who announced the line-up of performers for the concert series on social media on Wednesday (July 28).

Greg Keelor, Terra Lightfoot, Hawksley Workman, AHI, Whitehorse, William Prince, Donovan Woods, and Chantal Kreviazukare the visiting performers, along with local musicians Melissa Payne, Jimmy Bowskill with Toronto’s Brittany Brooks, Evangeline Gentle, and Lauryn Macfarlane. One additional performer is still to be announced.

‘We Can Do This’ features four separate concerts, with the first two on Tuesday, August 17th and Wednesday, August 18th in a transformed Banker’s Commons courtyard in downtown Peterborough (behind St Veronus), and the second two at the Rolling Grape Vineyard in Bailieboro on Friday, August 20th and Saturday, August 21st.

Each concert will follow COVID-19 protocols, with temperature checks for audience members before entry, and face coverings required unless audience members are seated at their tables. Tickets for all concerts are on sale now at peterboroughfolkfest.com, through the non-profit charitable organization’s CanadaHelps page (we’ve provided direct ticket links below for each concert).

The August 17th concert, billed as “an evening of singer-songwriters,” features Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, Terra Lightfoot, Melissa Payne, and Jimmy Bowswill and Brittany Brooks. Tickets are $45 per person (plus taxes and fees) and are sold in tables of two, four, and six. Tickets are available via Canadahelps.org.

VIDEO: “Black Feather” by Greg Keelor (featuring Melissa Payne)

The August 18th show, previously announced, is headlined by Juno award-winner Hawksley Workman (now living in Peterborough) and Toronto-based singer-songwriter and Juno nominee AHI, with 2015 Peterborough Folk Festival Emerging artist Evangeline Gentle. Tickets, which are $45 per person (plus taxes and fees), have been on sale for some time and are almost sold out, with only tables of four still available. Tickets are available via Canadahelps.org.

The August 20th concert features Whitehorse (wife-and-husband duo Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet) and William Prince, with an additional performer to be announced. Tickets are $68 per person (plus taxes and fees) and are sold in seats of two and tables of four and 10. Tickets are available via Canadahelps.org.

The final concert on August 21st features Donovan Woods and Chantal Kreviazuk, along with local musician Lauryn Macfarlane. Tickets are $68 per person (plus taxes and fees) and are sold in tables. Tickets are $68 per person (plus taxes and fees) and are sold in seats of two and tables of four and 10. Tickets are available via Canadahelps.org.

‘We Can Do This’ will also be chronicled by a professional camera crew for a future film and album, recorded by James and Kellie McKenty’s new In Record Time Studio (a mobile recording studio) and produced and directed by longtime festival board chair Malcolm Byard.

A faculty member at Centennial College in Toronto since 2009 now teaching filmmaking and radio production, Byard has a long list of film credits on his resumé, a highlight being his Best Canadian Feature Film wins at both the Calgary and Edmonton international film festivals.

“I hope to premiere the film at the ReFrame Peterborough International Film Festival this coming January but haven’t contacted them yet, so can’t say for sure if that will happen,” says Byard, noting Emmy award-nominated set director Jim Lanbie of Toronto is helping with the film project along with Centennial grad and camera operator/film editor Adrian Mehes. In addition, Byard is involving some of his current students in the film’s production.

VIDEO: “It’s Over Now” by Terra Lightfoot

Putting on his board chair hat, which he has worn since 2014, Byard says he’s thrilled the festival can once again offer “an opportunity to present local talent and touring Canadian musicians, and also present this year’s Emerging Artist.”

The Peterborough Folk Festival will soon be announcing its 2021 Emerging Artist, an award first bestowed on Millbrook native Serena Ryder 20 years ago, as well as confirming a performance by the artist.

“The festival gives local artists opportunities to make connections,” Byard says. “That’s where my excitement lies — seeing those connections being made.”

“Having local artists open for Buffy Sainte-Marie or any of the number of artists that perform, they get to learn from them,” Kemp adds. “They can talk right to them. That’s invaluable for anybody pursuing a career in music.”

“But it’s really about bringing people together,” he says. “Artists have been at home — they haven’t been able to work. That’s the biggest thing: getting back to some kind of normalcy. Just being able to pay artists is huge. They’ve missed that for so long.”

Byard notes the February 2021 virtual presentation of Guelph’s Hillside Festival was a turning point, after Hillside contacted the Peterborough Folk Festival in January and asked for some videos of local artists.

VIDEO: “Until You” – AHI

“We filmed performances by Greg Keelor, Melissa Payne, and Jimmy Bowskill (performing together as the trio Black Feather) and Benj Rowland, quickly edited them and sent them off,” Byard says. “In the midst of the dark days of January, the excitement of those musicians to actually get to play, even if just by themselves in an empty room … well, they were just happy to play again.”

When the pandemic caused the cancellation of the Peterborough Folk Festival last summer, for the first time in 30 years, festival organizers were at a loss for how to proceed in 2021.

“Last year on the festival weekend, I was beside myself,” Byard recalls. “I was so depressed, I drew a blank from about August to January. I couldn’t even think about it. And then I got that phone call from Hillside. I thought, ‘You know what? We’ve got to get off our asses and get going here and do something.'”

After applying for and receiving funding from Heritage Canada, earmarked for helping not just musicians but all arts workers regain employment, plans for We Can Do This started to take shape.

“At that point, I wasn’t expecting that we could have an audience,” says Byard. “It was just bringing in an artist for one song, siting them down in the middle of a forest or something, and recording with James (McKenty) and his mobile recording unit.”

“As things sort of started changing and we found that we had received funding, in late June we had to scramble to come up with something. It was like ‘Wow, we had a plan to do (recording) but now we have to do (live performance).'”

VIDEO: “Am I Just Gonna Stand Here (While You Take My Girl Away)” – Whitehorse

While stressing the festival is alive and well and will return to Nicholls Oval in August 2022 as the free weekend event it’s so well known for, Byard says there remains a lingering pandemic effect that’s cause for concern — one that means the festival has no choice but to charge for performances this year.

“We’ve lost a lot of volunteers. We’ve lost board members. We’ve lost sponsors. We need to rebuild for 2022. This film and album is sort of like a calling card to Peterborough that says ‘Hey Peterborough, we’re volunteers. We don’t have a paid staff. We need your help to do what we do.'”

Byard has nothing but praise for festival director Ryan Kemp. Without him, “this festival doesn’t work,” Byard says, adding Kemp has an “understanding of Peterborough audiences and what will appeal to them.”

VIDEO: “Spark” by William Prince (with Serena Ryder)

Byard also stresses the value of the Peterborough Folk Festival for both local and visiting musicians, as well as the festival’s efforts to promote diversity and gender equality.

“We bring in an artist like Donovan Woods three or four times and then the fifth time he performs at Market Hall and sells out. That’s kind of what we do. We bring in an artist, we build an audience for them in the Peterborough area, and then they get to go to Showplace or Market Hall. There were a lot of years where they were passing right by us, but not anymore.”

“We have Indigenous artists every year. We have a 50-50 split of female and male performers. These are things that are really important to us.”

VIDEO: “Being Together” – Donovan Woods

For more information about the Peterborough Folk Festival, visit peterboroughfolkfest.com.

A Peterborough porch has been transformed into a centre for music, art, and community throughout the pandemic. This summer, housemates Rosemary MacAdam and Tiphaine Lenaik are continuing to host a series of porch concerts at their Bonaccord Street home in Peterborough.

The idea for the series, which they’ve called “Waiting for the right porch”, was hatched during a conversation last spring between Tiphaine and former housemate Andy. According to Tiphaine, she and Andy were sitting on their front porch discussing how they would entertain themselves over the summer with COVID-19 restricting their options.

“We have this beautiful home with a huge front porch, so we thought maybe we could host something socially distanced from the porch,” Tiphaine recalls. “We then heard live music happening on our street, so we walked over to it. It was these teenagers practising their instruments. So we asked them if they wanted to play our first porch concert.”

That first concert was small and intimate, with an audience of fewer than 10 people. Tiphaine and Rosemary began garnering a larger audience through email invites to friends and family and by inviting their immediate neighbours.

As the series continued throughout last summer, audiences grew through word of mouth while maintaining an intimate neighbourhood vibe. Up to 25 people brought their lawn chairs and sat physically distanced on the property. Beyond that then-permitted audience size, passersby were invited to watch from the sidewalk.

The variety of performers grew along with audience size. With their connections to the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts, Rosemary and Tiphaine invited some circus performer friends — such as fire performers and clowns — to perform.

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A post shared by Rosemary and Tiph ?? (@ptbonaccord)

“We had such an awesome time last year, and it snowballed into something that we got really excited about,” Tiphaine reflects. “We got a lot of new performers and connections through people who were already performing.”

In addition to being a fun and entertaining project for Tiphaine and Rosemary throughout the summer months, the porch concert series supports local performing artists during the pandemic. At each concert, a donation bucket is circulated, with all proceeds going directly to the artists.

Tiphaine and Rosemary also post performers’ emails on a poster board so audience members can e-transfer donations to them after the concert.

“The performers seem really grateful and happy to have a place to perform,” says Tiphaine. “It’s nice because they pull in everything that comes their way in donations, since we’re not an actual venue taking a cut.”

Since indoor performance venues have been closed for most of the past 16 months of the pandemic, those in the performing arts industry have been especially hard hit. Tiphaine and Rosemary feel passionate about ensuring artists are sustained throughout this challenging time.

Tiphaine, a teacher, has a passion for the arts due to her background in visual arts and painting.

“I was involved in a lot of community art and music events in Toronto in my 20s,” Tiphaine explains. “I would volunteer at music festivals and have my own art shows for painting. Lately, I’ve been doing murals with Love for the Boro with the DBIA.”

Although she is not an artist herself, Rosemary also has a passion for art. As a social worker, she thinks art is vital for mental well-being, especially during the pandemic.

“Even though I work in a different career path, I want art around me,” Rosemary says. “I think art makes a community beautiful, and I want to support the people who create that for me. The performances, art, and festivals make a community vibrant, and we need that in Peterborough. Arts and artists need our support.”

“As we’re recovering from this time, I just want to share how important the arts are for people’s mental health,” Rosemary adds. “Many folks have been isolated, and it’s been an anxious time — I just want to share how important I think the arts are to recovery.”

The two housemates are excited to launch their second season of porch concerts this summer. The concerts are organized by Tiphaine and emceed by Rosemary and run every second Friday this summer.

Tiphaine and Rosemary held their first summer concerts on July 9 and 23 and have three more scheduled for the Fridays of August 6, August 20, and September 3. Each show will start at 7 p.m. and run until about 10:30 p.m.

Step three of Ontario’s reopening plan means outdoor gathering limits have increased far beyond the capacity of their yard. Nevertheless, Tiphaine and Rosemary hope to keep audience sizes relatively small and always physically distanced.

This summer’s porch concert series is also exciting for Tiphaine and Rosemary’s Bonaccord street neighbours, who loved the series last year and have been inquiring about its return ever since.

“The neighbourhood seems really supportive,” Tiphaine remarks. “A lot of neighbours have been asking when we’re doing it again, saying it really brought them a lot of joy last year.”

Both Tiphaine and Rosemary’s favourite part of the concert series is how it brings people together.

Tiphaine says she loves it when performers call for audience participation. At one concert featuring Indigenous drummer Janet McCue, children were called on stage to act out animals during the performance.

“It’s been a really wonderful touchstone to connection and community during the pandemic,” Rosemary says. “We have fewer opportunities to connect to people — especially to people who aren’t our immediate friends and family and aren’t the immediate bubble we might be in. Connecting to the wider community has been really important to my mental health.”

The housemates also love how the concerts provide a safe place for amateur performers to share their talents for the first time.

As well as professional musicians (such as 14-year-old fiddling sensation Amelia Shadgett, known by her stage name Irish Millie, who recently released her first record), the series has featured retirees who’ve never performed outside of their own homes, and children performing in public for the first time.

“Porch concerts are open to everyone,” Rosemary notes. “You can come up and sing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ or you could be the most accomplished musician who has travelled around the world.”

VIDEO: Irish Millie performs “Trundles” at Bonaccord Street

Tiphaine is inviting anyone who has something to share to come out and try it at a ‘Waiting for the next porch’ concert.

“We want to encourage people to keep creating because we need them,” she says. “We are encouraging anyone, even if they don’t think they’re ready — because maybe they are.”

If you are interested in performing at a ‘Waiting for the next porch” concert, Tiphaine and Rosemary ask you to follow and message them on Instagram @ptbonaccord, where you’ll also find information about attending a concert.

If you plan to attend one of the upcoming porch concerts, Rosemary and Tiphaine ask that you bring your own chair — and make sure to use your own bathroom before you come since none are available during the concert. You can find free parking on Bonaccord Street.