Photos: Big Wreck Returns to Peterborough Musicfest To Rock Del Crary Park

After five years since their last performance at Peterborough Musicfest, Big Wreck returned to town to rock a full Del Crary Park on Wednesday night.

Big Wreck frontman and guitarist Ian Thornley joked with the audience after their opening song about rocking and seating preference.

“These people want to rock and the rest want to just… Chill. And if I had the choice, I would pick… The chair. But I respect your choice,” joked Thornley.

The band played fan favourites such as That Song, Ghosts and Bombs Away. They even played Come Again from other band ‘Thornley’ after the Big Wreck split up in 2003. The band returned after receiving chants of an encore from the elated crowd and finished off their set with The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted).

An autographed acoustic guitar by Ian Thornley was put up for raffle during the concert and was given to a lucky winner at the end of the night.

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Peterborough Concert Band To Give Free Performance On Big Band Day For Sept. 16

The Peterborough Concert Band is taking the stage for Big Band Day set for Sept. 16 from noon - 12:45 p.m. at Millennium Park.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Concert Band.

This concert celebrates the music of the Big Band era according to a press release.

It is conducted by Saman Shahi who will play as part of a multi-band event. The Concert Band plans to open the event with a program that showcases the band's broad repertoire, including but not limited to the ‘big band’ genre.

This event is subject to change due to being an outdoor event however there is no rain date issued.

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Hometown PTBO: Michael Bell Taking His 'The Bowie Lives' Act To Showplace Theatre On Oct. 21

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks to Michael Bell about his magazine 'The Wire,' Peterborough generating world-class musicians, his past 'The Bowie Lives' shows and the next one at Showplace Theatre on Oct. 21.

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Peterborough Musicfest Presents Jesse Cook July 19

Peterborough Musicfest continues its 36th summer season on Wednesday, July 19, welcoming internationally acclaimed Canadian acoustic guitarist Jesse Cook to Del Crary Park.

photo courtesy of peterborough musicfest.

Cook has a resumé of musical milestones and achievements that includes the coveted Acoustic Guitar Magazine Player’s Choice Silver Award, 11 Juno Award nominations and win for 2001’s Free Fall, a Gemini Awar and ten platinum and gold studio albums. 

Born in Paris and educated at Toronto’s Eli Kassner Guitar Academy, the Royal Conservatory of Music, York University and the esteemed Berklee College in Boston, Cook’s critically heralded 1995 Billboard charting debut album, Tempest, set him on a trajectory that continues to climb. 

Having last appeared at Peterborough Musicfest in 2017, Cook has most recently toured Europe.  

For more information on Peterborough Musicfest visit the website.

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Kate Suhr Presents ‘Backstage Diary’ at Market Hall This October

Local talent Kate Suhr is returning to the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre on October 12 to share her Backstage Diary Cabaret.

photo courtesy of kate suhr, facebook.

Suhr will share a delicious mix of folk, pop and show tunes from her favourite shows and composers. The evening will feature Musical Director Anthony Bastianon as well as Victoria Yeh, Sam Quinn, Curtis Conkwright and a few other special guests such as Linda Kash, Jonathan Cullen, Megan Murphy, Shannon McCracken, Indigo Chesser, Melissa Payne and Kate Brioux.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 12 at Market Hall. Tickets are $40 for general seating, $55 for cabaret seating and $25 for youths. Tickets can be purchased online.

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Folk Under The Clock Presents Adventure Stories and Songs with Adam Shoalts and Ian Tamblyn

Folk Under The Clock is bringing Adam Shoalts and Ian Tamblyn to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre for an evening of adventure stories and songs Nov. 25.

photo courtesy of folk under the clock.

Adam Shoalts has been declared one of the ‘greatest living explorers’ by Canadian Geographic. He is a professional adventurer and the author of four national best-selling books. ‘A History of Canada in Ten Maps’, ‘Alone Against the North’, ‘Beyond The Trees’, ‘The Whisper On The Night Wind’.

His career has included mapping rivers, leading expeditions for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Mountain Equipment Co-op, archaeological digs, tracking endangered species and completing a 4,000 kilometre solo journey across Canada’s Arctic.

In 2022, Shoalts canoed and hiked a 3,400 kilometre solo journey from Lake Erie to the Arctic and his story is featured in his upcoming book, ‘Where the Falcon Flies’ to be released in October.

Ian Tamblyn is a musician, adventurer and playwright. He has been a working musician since 1972 and has released over 34 albums as well as acting as producer for many other artists. He has also written fourteen plays and over one hundred theatre soundtracks.

In 2012 he was made a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his guiding and creative work in the Canadian Arctic. He has worked with many Adventure Tour companies where he guided, sang and studied wildlife from Scotland to the Arctic and Antarctic. In 2022, Tamblyn was appointed an Officer of The Order of Canada.

His songs have been covered by numerous artists and there is a tribute album of his work entitled, ‘Coastline of our Dreams’ featuring artists like Lynn Miles, Susan Crowe, Hart Rouge and Valdy. His song ‘Woodsmoke and Oranges’ is a Canadian classic known by most canoers.

Tickets are $45 incl. HST and fees and the show begins at 8 p.m. For more information, visit the website.

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The Big Bottle of Joy and Five Alarm Funk To Join the Peterborough Musicfest Concert Line Up

Peterborough Musicfest announces that the 36th summer season of music will include Matt Andersen, fronting his band The Big Bottle of Joy, and Five alarm Funk taking the stage on July 8 and 12 at Del Crary Park.

Multi award-winning Canadian blues guitarist and singer/songwriter Matt Andersen will take the Musicfest stage with his band The Big Bottle of Joy.

The New Brunswick native embarked on his music career more than 20 years ago and has since headlined at major festivals, clubs and theatres across North America, and in Europe and Australia. Along the way, he has shared the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Greg Allman, Serena Ryder and more.

Since self-­releasing his debut album One Size Never Fits in 2004, Andersen hasn’t stopped writing and recording new music, amassing more 26 million YouTube streams and more than 23 million Spotify listens. His latest album, The Big Bottle of Joy, which he’s touring extensively across North American this year, features songs “infused with raw blues-­‐rock, rollicking Americana, thoughtful folk and ecstatic gospel.”

Described as a “sonic and visual assault,” Five Alarm Funk will be coming to Del Crary Park.  

Horn powered and percussion fuelled, the two-time Juno Award nominated band is led by singer and drummer Tayo Branston. Five Alarm Funk brings to its live audiences what he terms ‘punk funk’ – a raucous sound accompanied by an equally frenetic stage presence that is near impossible to somehow sit still to. 

Dozens of North American tours and hundreds of festival appearances stand as a testament to Five Alarm Funk’s enduring appeal as it marks two decades doing what it does uniquely and so very well.

Check out Matt Andersen and The Big Bottle of Joy and Five Alarm Funk for free on July 8 and July 12 at 8 p.m. at Del Crary Park.

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Hometown PTBO: Dwayne Gretzky's Nick Rose and Tyler Kyte About Performing and Growing Up With Musicfest and Their Notable Television Appearences

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks to Nick Rose and Tyler Kyte of Dwayne Gretzky about becoming staple performers at Peterborough Musicfest, their memories of the free-concert series growing up and their filmography that you may recognize from the late 90s.

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Peterborough Musicfest Adds Shawn Desman and Honeymoon Suite to the Summer Concert Lineup

Peterborough Musicfest has announced that Shawn Desman and Honeymoon Suite will be joining the lineup of free concerts at Del Crary Park this summer.

Shawn Desman, the chart-topping, multi-platinum selling, award winning artist will be coming to Peterborough Musicfest Saturday, July 15 Del Crary Park. His hit single ‘Maniac’ marked his return to the charts last October.

The Canadian Classic Rock band Honeymoon Suite began performing together in 1982, releasing chart topping hits New Girl Now, Stay In The Light and Feel It Again. Their most recent album Hands Up came out in 2017.

Musicfest will host Honeymoon Suite on Wednesday, August 2. Both shows are set to begin at 8 p.m.

For more information and full lineup details, visit the website.

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Peterborough Folk Festival Announces Irish Millie and Nicholas Campbell as 2023 Emerging Artist Award Winners

The Peterborough Folk Festival has announced that local talents Irish Millie and Nicholas Campbell are the winners of the 2023 Emerging Artist Award.

Peterborough Folk Festival believes in investing in young local performers to encourage and support their careers. To that end, PFF created an annual award in 2001 to recognize emerging local talent that we think deserves the attention and support of the community. For the list of previous winners, visit the website.

Applicants may be solo artists, groups or bands and must live in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, including Hiawatha, Curve Lake and Alderville First Nations, and be under the age of 30. A committee assesses applicants on skill, dedication and artistic merit.

Irish Millie is a 16-year-old fiddle player who loves to play East Coast, Bluegrass and Contemporary Trad styles – especially driving, up-beat tunes that get the crowd up on their feet. As a youngster, Millie (whose real name is Amelia “Millie” Shadgett) busked every Saturday along with her Dad at the local farmers’ market to gain experience and help pay for music camp.

Millie has already received nominations for two Canadian Folk Music Awards as Young Performer of the Year – in 2022 for her first album, ‘Thirteen’, and in 2023 for her work with The Receivers, a collaboration between Millie and sisters Willow and Fern Marwood. In addition to regularly playing in the Peterborough area, Millie has toured in Denmark and is touring Canada’s east coast of Canada this summer, and toured in Vermont with The Receivers this past spring.

“It is truly an incredible feeling to be recognized for my art in this beautiful city that I call home. I am grateful and honoured to be receiving Peterborough Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Award alongside the very talented Nicholas Campbell,” said Millie. “I have been very lucky to have the full force of the Peterborough community behind me from a very young age. I can not wait to get up on that stage and make you proud – see you there!”

From slick hot-rod rockabilly to smooth crooning honky tonk, Nicholas Campbell is the real deal. Inspired by some of the last century’s most iconic country sounds, Campbell first picked up the guitar at age 10 and was gigging by 11. Campbell began playing consistently with his band, The Two-Metre Cheaters, during the early months of the pandemic, and the band quickly found their groove as live shows became an option once again. Campbell’s 2021 debut album, ‘Livin’ and Other Western Ideas’, combines elements of rockabilly, western swing, and old-fashioned honky tonk. The band has enjoyed worldwide coverage and airplay since, spanning from western Canada to Spain, Italy and beyond. Nicholas has also played lead guitar for Melissa Payne, Pat Temple, Jane Archer and other artists.

With Campbell’s new singles and the album to come, ‘Gonna Have A Ball Tonight’, the group has embraced a more rock n’ roll-centric sound, adding renewed energy to Campbell’s signature country sensibilities.

“I’m very grateful to be part of such a supportive music scene and I feel very fortunate to be recognized as Emerging Artist,” said Nicholas Campbell. “It’s very humbling to be recognized on a list with so many other great artists.”

Recipients of the Emerging Artist Award are provided showcase performance spots during the festival weekend and a trip to the Folk Music Ontario Conference where they have the opportunity to meet artistic directors, festival organizers, other musicians, agents and publicists. Peterborough Folk Festival would like to thank our Emerging Artist Sponsors: Cambium Consulting and Engineering; Engage Engineering Ltd. & Part Time CFO Services.

Peterborough Folk Festival 2023 kicks off with ticketed concerts on Thursday, August 17th at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre and Friday, August 18 at the Gordon Best Theatre, followed by a free-admission weekend of music, food and culture on August 19 and 20 at Nicholls Oval Park. Recent announcement of headliners Broken Social Scene and Loreena McKennitt will be followed soon with the complete line-up of performers.

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