Tag Archives: Drew Wright
The Thursday Update – Oct. 12 to 16, 2017
Two new open stages are starting up in our area this weekend. On Saturday afternoon, Amanda Dorey will be hosting an open stage at the Riverside Community Centre, and at Bridges Tavern in Thornbury, Josh Fletcher will be hosting an open stage on Friday starting at 8 pm. These additions mean that aspiring performers and fans of the surprising grab bag that an open stage can be now have the opportunity to enjoy one every night of the week except Saturday and Monday.
In chronological order, the open stages nearby are The Barn Coop on Sunday at noon; Heartwood’s bi-monthly open mic Tuesday at 8; The granddaddy of all open jams at Ted’s Range Road Diner, and Bruce Wine Bar with Drew McIvor both on Wednesdays at 8; Chris Scerri at The Leeky Canoe Thursdays at nine; also on Thursdays, Dave Russell at The Corner Café and Craig Smith at CROW; Friday afternoon, at the Bleeding Carrot, Kelly Babcock hosts the open stage, and now on Friday evening there is Josh at Bridges and on Saturday afternoon Amanda at Riverside. That adds up to a lot of free entertainment that mixes the best musicians in the area with undiscovered talents.
Jayden Grahlman Kicks Off CROW Residency With A Benefit
Tonight (Oct. 4), Jayden Grahlman kicks off his month-long residency at CROW Bar and Variety in a very special way, raising funds for Josh Noronha, the young Collingwood man who broke his neck in a trampoline accident and is paralysed from the chest down. For this special event he has enlisted the aid of other local talents Romney Getty, Drew Wright and Coming of Age.
This is the third such residency since CROW opened its doors this summer. The first one featured Austin McCarthy and the second one presented the duo Hunnay, with Dave Russell. The feature has been well received by both audiences and the players who have welcomed this opportunity to build an audience at the same time as they build their chops.
Normally there is no cover for these nights. Tonight is an exception. They are asking for $20 at the door because it is a fundraiser for a very special young man. In addition to the door receipts, further funds will be raised through a 50/50 draw and a Silent Auction. On top of that, CROW Bar and Variety will be generously donating a percentage of food sales.
The fundraiser is necessary because the lifelong costs resulting from an accident of this kind can be as challenging as the recovery process. In addition to the costs of meals, traveling and parking for Josh’s immediate family while he undergoes physio, occupational and recreational therapies at the Lyndhurst rehab centre, the family is looking at ongoing costs that include mobility, housing renovations, training, living expenses, caregivers, physical therapy and psychotherapy.
The Thursday Lookout – August 3 to 6, 2017
Friday night is music night in Meaford again this week, starting at 5 pm with Victoria Yeh at The Red Door Pub on the patio. When she winds up at 7 pm, Sequioa Koop will be taking the stage at the Market Square, followed by a repeat appearance from Eden Young. It’s part of the third in the Meaford Summer Concert Series rocking downtown Meaford. The celebrated duo Hunnay, comes after that and then Amanda Dorey, who will be carrying on the music afterwards at The Leeky Canoe. The headliner at Market Square will be Jenie Thai, whose combination of outstanding keyboard chops and soaring vocals will have the audience spellbound by a set that includes blues and R & B favourites as well as her original songs.
Bookmarking the Friday night music offerings in Meaford this week are two Drews. That’s the exceptionally talented Drew McIvor doing one of Meaford Hall’s Terrace Thursdays, paired with food from Bruce Wine Bar (where he hosts an open stage on Wednesdays) and then certified Canadian Idol finalist Drew Wright on Saturday night at The Leeky.
So if your car breaks down in Meaford this weekend, you won’t be short of top-notch entertainment.
Music Always Within Earshot This Week
The summer music season kicks off this week with the annual Peak To Shore music festival, with forty concerts squeezed into one week, spread through venues at Blue Mountain Village, Collingwood, Meaford and Thornbury. This year it is better than ever thanks to the organizing efforts of Chris Scerri Presents. There are some great headliners that include Irish Mythen at Meaford Hall on Wednesday, Sean McCann at Blue Mountain on Saturday and The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer at Blue Mountain on Friday.
If you are visiting the area and want a real taste of the local music scene which is vibrant here all year round, Peak To Shore gives you a chance to see some of the artists who perform consistently in the neighbourhood, rotating around the many great local venues. They include Karla Crawford, Drew McIvor, Winnie Brave, Tamica Herod, Jason Redman, Craig Smith, Drew Wright, Winnie Brave, Jayden Grahlman, and Bored of Education. Bambalamb Kid will be spreading the joy of music with his uplifting enthusiasm that brings the audience into his drumming display a couple of times during the series. Chris Scerri with his Summit Band begins a summer long residency at the Coca-Cola stage in the Village at Blue on Sunday and he’ll be joining the wrap party at Blue on Sunday night which features the Ted’s Range Road Band. Ted’s Range Road Diner in Meaford is without doubt the most important influence on local music with their weekly Wednesday jams that have been responsible for developing a lot of the local talent for a quarter of a century. It is a place every visitor to the area should visit, not only on Wednesdays for the rocking jams but any evening to check out the unique wild game cuisine.
Peak To Shore also brings in a couple of venues that you may not have been to before to enjoy live music. The most highly anticipated is the soft opening of Crow Bar and Variety in Collingwood. This is a brand new venue in the area created by Steven Vipond, whose love of original music has made Bruce Wine Bar in Thornbury a favoured destination for fans and for touring artists alike. Bridges Tavern in Thornbury is presenting live music again, this week featuring the celebrated local songwriter Larry Jensen as well as Jayden Grahlman. The Corner Café in Thornbury is famous for the open stage on Thursdays hosted by Dave Russell and this week it is also featuring live music on Friday night. The Northwinds Brewhouse in Collingwood is also featuring live music on Thursday with Winnie Brave. There are also shows at The Simcoe Street Theatre, The Shipyards Amphitheatre, MJ Byrne’s Irish Pub, and The Leeky Canoe.
A variety of music genres are represented in the Peak To Shore series. Blues is prevalent, starting with the local home of the blues, The Harbour Street Fish Bar, where Tamica Herod duets with Jerome Godboo, but also offering Grace at the Collingwood Museum, Jenie Thai and Al Lerman in separate shows at the Village at Blue. A great reggae band, Too Nice, plays The Corner Café on Friday and there’s jazz from the William Sperandei Trio at Bayview Park on Saturday.
But Peak To Shore is not the only music happening this week. Owen Sound will be running a street festival from Wednesday to Friday with music that includes Amanda Dorey, the Matrix Steel Drum band, and the excellent Kreuger Band. Meaford Hall presents the first in its Terrace Thursdays with Franny Wisp and Her Washboard. And the second annual Meaford Summer Concert Series begins on Friday night with Tomi Swick and The Strummers’ Union, Scott Almond and Eden Young.
There are two tributes to the famous Canadian painter Tom Thompson happening this week. One will be on Friday with the Shipyard Kitchen Party at the Simcoe Street Theatre, with a Celtic flavour, and the other will be at the Historic Leith Church, Thompson’s birthplace, on Saturday, billed as a wake on the 100th anniversary of his death with David Sereda and Anne Michaels.
And it doesn’t end there, with concerts happening next weekend in Desboro and Durham.
This week the hills are truly alive with the sound of music.
