Chad Hogan, general manager of Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough, is continuing his trend of bringing unique and exciting performers to the 350-seat venue in 2019.
In January and February alone, the Market Hall is presenting eight concerts that represent a wide range of genres, from Celtic to country to folk to rock and even musical comedy.
These eight shows aren’t the only ones at the Market Hall over the next two months; promoters are also renting the facility for other musical and theatrical performances. But these shows are the ones Market Hall itself is presenting and, as a non-profit organization, the venue relies on the support of audiences so it can continue to attract promoters and musicians.
Here are the eight shows Market Hall is presenting in January and February:
Mudmen
Saturday, January 12 at 8 p.m.
Always entertaining and definitely unique, Mudmen are a blast of rocking Celtic energy whose members are characters both on and off the stage. First formed in 1993 as The Campbell Brothers, the band signed a deal with EMI Records and changed their name to Mudmen in 1998 (they celebrated their 20th anniversary this year).
Featuring the duelling bagpipes of the Campbell brothers, Mudmen’s music has been featured on Xbox and PlayStation games, the NBC television show Black Donnellys, WWE Wrestling, many of Don Cherry’s hockey videos, The Mackenzie Brothers TWO-FOUR Special on CBC, HBO’s series Shameless TV show, and more.
VIDEO: “The Mason’s Apron – Mudmen
With over 2,500 shows to date and nine studio records, Mudmen (brothers and bagpipers Robby Campbell and Sandy Campbell along with Jeremy Burton, Mike Meacher, and Dan Westenenk) believe that nice guys can finish first.
Tickets are $20 general admission or $25 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
The Arrogant Worms
Friday, January 18 at 8 p.m.
Formed in 1991, The Arrogant Worms began as a comedy troupe performing songs and sketches on campus radio in Kingston. They soon dropped the sketches to focus on musical comedy, parodying many musical genres and entertaining audiences with their humorous on-stage banter.
Since 1992, the troupe has released 14 records, including their most recent album The First Farewell Album, released in November 2016. They have toured in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Their shows are fast, furious, and family friendly. In 2003, they were recognized as the Touring Act of the Year by the Canadian Arts Presenters Association.
VIDEO: “Canada’s Really Big” – The Arrogant Worms
The Arrogant Worms — whose current members are Mike McCormick, Chris Patterson, and Trevor Strong — have parodied everything from rock, folk, ballads, country, and children’s music. When not spoofing a particular style of music, they poke fun at various aspects of daily life in Canada with songs like “Canada’s Really Big”, “Me Like Hockey”, “We are the Beaver”, “I Am Not American”, and “Proud to Be Canadian”.
Tickets are $28 general admission or $33 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Doc Walker
Wednesday, February 6 at 8 p.m.
Manitoba’s Doc Walker is one of the most recognized Canadian country acts of the past two decades.
With more than 20 Top 10 singles, the group has received multiple Canadian Country Music Awards, including Fans’ Choice, Group or Duo of the Year, CMT Video of the Year, Single of the Year, and Country Music Program or Special of the Year. The band has also been nominated for several Juno awards for Country Album of the Year, winning in 2009 for the album Beautiful Life.
Since 1997, the group (Chris Thorsteinson on vocals and electric guitar, Dave Wasyliw on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Stephen Broadhurst on drums, Brent Pearen on bass guitar, and David Caissy on electric guitar) has released eight studio records, including their latest, 2017’s Weathervane. That record’s first single, “Heart of the Heartland”, pays homage to small-town pride across the country.
VIDEO: “Get Back on My Horse – Doc Walker
Doc Walker’s Market Hall appearance is part of their cross-Canada “Acoustic Songs & Stories From The Heartland Tour”. According to the band, “We’ll be telling you stories and sharing songs the way we would in your kitchen or around the campfire.”
Tickets are $38 general admission in advance ($43 at the door) and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Tom Wilson’s Lee Harvey Osmond
Friday, February 8 at 8 p.m.
Tom Wilson is certainly no stranger to Peterborough or the Market Hall, having performed here multiple times both as a member of roots super group Blackie & The Rodeo Kings (with Colin Linden and Stephen Fearing) and with his “acid folk” collective Lee Harvey Osmond.
As leader of Lee Harvey Osmond, the former Junkhouse frontman has released three studio records, including the band’s debut A Quiet Evil in 2009 (longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize), The Folk Sinner in 2013 (longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and nominated for a Juno), and Beautiful Scars in 2015 (also longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize).
On January 25th, Lee Harvey Osmond will release its fourth record, Mohawk, featuring Ray Farrugia on percussion, Aaron Goldstein on steel guitar, Jesse Obrien on keyboards, and Anna Reddick on bass, with guests Darcy Hepner (brass and baritone sax), Paul Reddick (harmonica), Wilson’s son Thompson (guitar and vocals), and Suzanna Ungerleider of Oh Suzanna (backing vocals).
VIDEO: “Mohawk” – Lee Harvey Osmond
Mohawk is based on Wilson’s sudden discovery six years ago at the age of 53 of his Mohawk heritage. That discovery led to Wilson writing his acclaimed 2017 memoir Beautiful Scars – Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home. Wilson is also an artist, with his exhibition “Beautiful Scars: Mohawk Warriors, Hunter and Chiefs” currently showing at the Art Gallery of Burlington.
Lee Harvey Osmond’s Market Hall appearance is sponsored by kawarthaNOW.com. Tickets are $33 general admission or $38 for assigned cabaret table seats. For $48 ($53 table seat), you can also get a vinyl copy of Mohawk, autographed by Tom Wilson, with your ticket.
Tickets are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Matt Mays
Friday, February 15 at 8 p.m.
Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter Matt Mays is coming to the Market Hall for an intimate concert in support of his latest album Twice Upon a Hell of a Time.
The Juno award-winning musician, who was born in Hamilton but grew up in Nova Scotia, began his musical career as a member of the Halifax country rock band The Guthries and then became lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, which performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2006.
In 2012, Mays released his record Coyote, which went on to win the 2014 Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year. In 2017, he released Once Upon a Hell of a Time, inspired in part by the death of his bandmate Jay Smith in 2013 during the tour to support Coyote.
VIDEO: “Ola Volo” (Acoustic) – Matt Mays
This past October, Mays released an acoustic re-recording of Once Upon a Hell of a Time, entitled Twice Upon a Hell of a Time, and announced a 2019 tour to promote the acoustic record.
The tour will feature Mays, accompanied by his bandmates Adam Baldwin and Ryan Stanley (also known as The Dark Promises), performing tunes from the acoustic record as well as selections from his back catalogue. Baldwin will open the show with an acoustic set of his own songs.
Tickets are $35 general admission or $40 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Whitehorse
Thursday, February 21 at 8 p.m.
If you missed Whitehorse at the Market Hall this past April, you have another chance to catch the husband-and-wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.
Since their debut in 2011, Whitehorse has evolved from a folk duo to a full-blown rock band, with a unique sound that includes elements of folk, country, and blues.
The group has released three full-length studio albums and three EPs on Six Shooter Records. Their 2015 record, Leave No Bridge Unburned, won the 2016 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, and they released their fourth studio album, Panther in the Dollhouse, in 2017.
VIDEO: “Who’s Been Talkin'” – Whitehorse
The duo just released a Christmas album, A Whitehorse Winter Classic, and a new EP, The Northern South Vol. 2, drops on January 18, 2019. The six-track EP features covers of traditional and classic blues tunes, including the first single, Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talkin'”, which is available now for streaming or download.
Tickets are $38 general admission or $43 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Russell deCarle
Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m.
Best known as the lead singer, bassist, and one of the founding members of multi-platinum country-roots group Prairie Oyster, Russell deCarle has spent the last decade carving out his own solo career, concentrating on songwriting and rhythm guitar.
deCarle co-founded Prairie Oyster with Keith Glass in 1975. Over the next few decades, it became one of Canada’s most-loved, best-selling, and most-decorated country bands. The band played from 1974 to 1978 and, after a four-year hiatus, reunited in 1982. Between 1986 and 1996, Prairie Oyster garnered six Juno Awards and 11 Canadian Country Music Awards. In 2006, they released their final album, the self-produced One Kiss.
As a solo artist, deCarle released his debut record Under The Big Big Sky in 2010. He then formed the Russell deCarle Trio, with Steve Briggs on guitar and Denis Keldie on accordion, performing an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, country & western, Latin music, R&B, and western swing. Live at Loud Mouse Studios, released in 2014, is a professional recording of one of the trio’s concerts.
VIDEO: “Shooting Star” – Russell deCarle
deCarle’s most recent effort is 2017’s Alone In This Crowd, a collection of songs that mixes southern soul and restrained balladry, with obvious touches of jazz, blues, old-school country, and western swing. Steve Briggs and Denis Keldie again appear on this record, along with several other musicians including vocal support from Erin Costelo, Cindy Church, Karla Crawford, and Michelle Willis.
For his Market Hall show, deCarle will be joined by guitarist Steve Briggs (Bebop Cowboys, Sylvia Tyson, Murray McLauchlan, Carroll Baker, Leon Redbone), pianist John Sheard (Vinyl Cafe, Rita MacNeil, Ian & Sylvia Tyson, Rita Coolidge, Olivia Newton-John, Celine Dion), and bassist John Dymond (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Bruce Cockburn, Lindi Ortega, k.d. lang, Colin Linden).
Tickets are $30 general admission or $35 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
The Outside Track
Wednesday, February 27 at 8 p.m.
One of the top Celtic acts in the world, The Outside Track features five musicians from Canada, Ireland, and Scotland who are united by a love of traditional music and a commitment to creating new music using this as a foundation.
Blending fiddle, accordion, harp, guitar, flute, whistle, step dance, and vocals with boundless energy and unmistakable joie de vivre, the group has won a large following around the globe. They’ve been named “Best Group” in both the Live Ireland awards and the Tradition In Review awards and were nominated as “Best Live Act” at the MG Alba Scots Traditional Music Awards.
The band has released six records, with their self-titled debut in 2007, followed by Curious Things Given Wings in 2010, The Mountain Road in 2012, Flash Company in 2013 (which won the German Radio Critics Prize), Light up the Dark in 2015, and Rise Up in 2018.
VIDEO: “Dark Reels” – The Outside Track
The band — the current lineup is Ailie Robertson (harp, electro harp), Cillian O’Dalaigh (guitar, vocals), Fiona Black (accordian), Mairi Rankin (fiddle, vocals, step dance), and Teresa Horgan (vocals, flute) — is embarking on a 2019 tour of the UK, the U.S., Canada, and Germany in support of Rise Up, which Folk Radio UK calls “a magnificent album that puts The Outside Track firmly back in the spotlight, as one of the most accomplished bands on the international folk scene.”
Tickets are $25 general admission or $30 for assigned cabaret table seats, and are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough), by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
Peterborough’s own singer-songwriter Melissa Payne will be opening the Market Hall show.
VIDEO: “September Skies” – Melissa Payne
