On September 16th 2023 We are pleased to kick off our 2023-24 season with Juno Award winner, Order of Canada recipient, and Saturday Night Special Club favourite… Valdy!
Valdy is in much demand on the touring circuit and on any given night, is playing to a packed concert house somewhere - performing some 250 to 300 show dates a year - while he continues writing and recording. We are so pleased that is able to return once again for what is sure to be an incredible evening with one of Canada's most distinctive and successful minstrels.
October 14th 2023 we are pleased to present welcome The Shari Ulrich Trio!
Shari is a Juno and Genie award winning talented multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, mandolin, guitar, piano, and dulcimer. An accomplished and dynamic performer, Shari makes any size audience feel they are in her living room – drawn in by her insightful lyrics, and her engaging warmth and humour. The Shari Ulrich Trio together will deliver a triple dose of stunning harmonies that you won’t want to miss!
November 4, 2023 we welcome Canadian Contemporary Folk/Americana artist and veteran soldier Tim Isberg to our Saturday Night Special stage!
Tim is gifted storyteller who will bring his array of well-crafted songs to our stage with his appealing vocal timbre. He’ll share an endearing and engaging range of life experiences in a way that makes every listener feel connected. With a genuineness to his stories, and a natural sense of humour carefully woven through a fabric of story and song, this is a show not to be missed!
November 25, 2023 hoist a jar and get ready for Rum Ragged!
Rum Ragged takes a bold approach to the distinct folk music of their home in Newfoundland. Boasting bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music will enliven and enlighten with both songs and tune sets which they’ll deliver with an honest swagger that is far beyond their years. With reverence for their roots and a creative, contemporary edge, this young band have quickly become known as the finest purveyors of their great living musical tradition. Rum Ragged is not your run-of-the-mill folk band, they are the genuine article! They bring the good tunes and the good times back together!
January 13, 2024 we are pleased to present Jack Semple!
Jack hails from Regina and writes and performs "Modern Blues" without forgetting where he came from. He is an epic guitarist and a soulful singer. His music is like Stevie Ray Vaughn meets James Brown meets Robben Ford. He is both a Juno and Western Canadian Music Award winner. It will be a hot night in January!
February 3, 2024 we are pleased to present a double header welcoming both Jenn Beaupre and Son of Town Hall to our stage!
Jenn Beaupre is a powerful vocalist and entertainer as well as a skilled and dynamic voice coach based in Calgary. She’s appeared on Canadian Idol and Stampede City Sessions, performed at the Vancouver Olympics, opened for the Moscow Ballet, and won the Calgary Stampede’s Most Promising Young Artist Award. Jenn’s vocal style is bold, agile, and eclectic -think Bette Midler meets Norah Jones with a splash of Katy Perry.
Son of Town Hall are Josiah Chester Jones from Lexington Kentucky, and George Ulysses Brown from the south of England. They create seamless vocal harmonies telling stories of sea voyages, betrayal and desolation. Part balladry, part performance art, and totally cool…complete with Victorian-era costumes, sing-alongs, and meditations about the seafaring life. This musical duo are not to be missed!
On February 24th, 2024 we are delighted to present Alberta’s own: The Wardens!
The Rocky Mountain-based band’s stories and songs rise from the very land they’ve protected as Canadian national park wardens. Scott Ward, Ray Schmidt & Scott Duncan deliver haunting three-part harmonies and chilling tales. The band’s mountain music, blending folk, roots and western styles, reflects Alberta & Canada's protected wilderness areas. Celebrating the return of wild buffalo, wrangling grizzly bears, lonely nights on the pack trail, and reflecting on an environment in crisis, a performance by The Wardens has been dubbed “the quintessential mountain-culture concert experience."
Saturday, March 16th it is our pleasure to present The Small Glories!
Hailing from Winnipeg, the Juno and International Folk Music Award winning duo of Cara Luft and JD Edwards duplicate and reinforce each other’s many strengths, create vocal harmonies second to none, and yet allow their distinct personalities to shine through.
With a stage banter striking a unique balance between slapstick and sermon, these veteran singer-songwriters have a way of making time disappear, rooms shrink, and audiences feel as though they are right there on the stage with the band. This is a live show that is as heartwarming as it is hilarious, as finger-picking proficient as it is relatable, and as Canadian as, well... it’s very Canadian!
Saturday, April 6th 2024 we wrap up our season with the exceptional Canadian folk string quartet, The Fretless!
A super group of celebrated solo artists, The Fretless has been creating a singular and signature sound that dares to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be; transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements that have quickly gained a dedicated following and accolades from around the world. Within what appears to be a simple and classical construct: two fiddles, a viola, and a cello, The Fretless has created a sound that is distinctly rich, multi-layered, and uniquely percussive. This tonal quality is pushing traditional music to new heights, producing a completely fresh approach to folk music and will be an evening that you will long recall. \