Meaford Live Music

This website was launched on Canada Day in 2016, and in the half year since then more than 7,500 visitors like you have made more than 12,500 visits to find out what’s going on with live music here in Meaford.  In the 264 posts archived here since then you can read about our local musicians and remember summer nights of music here in town. (Try the search engine on the right).

The kickoff on Canada Day had a whole day of music arranged by Johnny Roy, with the evening to kick off the Meaford Summer Concert Series that Chris Scerri had arranged.  It turned out to be a rainy day so the Market Square had to be abandoned.  A stage was set up in the Rotary tent and an afternoon of evening led to a great evening concert with Tyler Yarema and his Rhythm.  Following rock bands River and Rock and the Shane Coulter band, Emma Wright was the first of Meaford’s young people to participate in the summer concert series.

The rain couldn’t dampen Canada Day

Shane Cloutier Band

Beaker Granger with River and Rock

As the Summer Concert Series continued through several summer Fridays the young performers were consistently impressive.  Two high school bands, The Ted Brownlow Band and Cry For Ophelia, played to enthusiastic crowds and singers Abby Woodhouse and Max Breadner took some impressive solo turns.  The visiting bands that came to play at those events fell in love with Meaford and returned later in the summer to play a night at The Leeky Canoe.

Cry For Ophelia

The Ted Brownlow Band

Max Breadner with a little help from his friends, performs at the Meaford Summer Series

Open stages at various venues around town kept a steady stream of local talent before Meaford audiences.  The long standing Wednesday jam at Ted’s Range Road Diner rocked on but now other times were available for fresh talent to take the stage.

Chris Scerri had established his Tuesday night open stage at The Leeky by bringing in a different guest host each week, allowing him to introduce audiences to the best local players including Rich Fletcher, Jayden Grahlman, David J. Russell, John Marshall, Paul Armstrong and Pete Devlin.  He often included out of town friends like Victoria Yeh and Tyler Yarema.  Knowing that among these players, they’d have a chance to see Larry Quinton, James McLaughlin, Bill Monahan, Diana Young, Scott Almond, Amanda Dorey, Ian Harker or other regular open mic players has created a steady crowd for this Tuesday night event. (photos courtesy of Marissa Dolotalas)

Chris Scerri points out the talent of David J. Russell

Rich Fletcher and Chris Scerri on a Tuesday night

Larry Quinton and Paul Armstrong play the blues

Bill Monahan sings his original songs

The Barn Cooperative out on Highway 26 has a special vibe that emanates from its holistic embrace of its environment and when they started having Sunday open mic jams it became a performance  venue that has no equal.  There is a relaxed and attentive audience that includes kids and babies and the daylight shines in the windows on organic brunch snacks, soups and salads.  A new host each week sets the musical bar high, rotating between Jayden Grahlman, Luke Martin and Dave Russell.  Spoken word artists like Richard Sitovsky create amazing word pictures and players young and old take turns in a few hours that pass too fast.

Jayden Grahlman and Bambalamb make magic at The Barn on Sunday

The Bambamalb Kid and David J. Russell

Captains Corner had the only open air open stage this summer on their patio, hosted originally by Eric MacCauley and then by Amanda Dorey.  It moved indoors when the weather became cold and evolved into a homey friendly supper-hour jam.

Amanda Dorey hosted an open air open stage at Captains Corner

The Brown’s, Heather and Doug were like bright blooms everywhere this summer playing their music and organizing events that included The Meaford Stomp and Lovin’ Meaford, both day-long programs of local talent staged in the Rotary pavilion down at the harbour.  On The Bay magazine featured them as home town heroes for their Johnny Appleseed approach to music.

Love and Peace from Doug and Heather Brown

The outdoor Terrace Thursdays series at Meaford Hall, which paired local talent with local restaurants, sold out early and Friday nights in the Market Square drew increasing crowds for the Summer Music Series.  Meaford Hall brought in a series of outstanding artists, each it seemed eager to take advantage of an excellent concert hall.

Afie Jurvanen, Bahamas

Donovan Woods

Corb Lund

Jeff Martin achieved a great big sound with just guitar and voice

Jeff Martin, after a resounding performance at Meaford Hall, went across the street to the Leeky afterward and ended up jamming on the little stage by the window.  Other visiting bands did the same through the summer when The Leeky began to make a point of booking live bands the nights of big concerts at the hall.  Nothing matches a performance in Meaford Hall but the opportunity to hang out and even jam with the performers afterward added something special to Meaford night life.

Chuck, Donny and Pat from Downchild join Pete Devlin and Tyler Yarema at The Leeky Canoe

Meaford offered an array of talent through the past six months, people to keep an eye on in 2016.  Amanda Dorey, Jayden Grahlman, David J. Russell, the Bambalamb Kid are not new to our area but with this blog we can keep up with them now as they share their music every week.  Young Emma Wright is a blooming talent before our eyes and Chris Scerri has evolved from a great organizer and host to an excellent singer.

Amanda Dorey is growing as a country singer

Jayden Grahlman is a young talent headed for stardom

Dave Russell

Emma Wright

Bored of Education played most weekends through the summer with their wide ranging pop and rock repertoire and they are capping off the year with a party Saturday night at The Leeky.

Bring in a new year of great Meaford music tonight with Bored of Education.

Happy New Year!

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