Festival of Small Halls Ontario Comes to Spencerville, Elgin, Chaffey’s Lock & Burritts Rapids This Weekend

Eastern Ontario – The 2024 Festival of Small Halls Ontario began last weekend in Eastern Ontario. This weekend the festival comes to Spencerville, Elgin, Chaffey’s Lock and Burritts Rapids.

For more information on Festival of Small Halls please visit: https://ontariosmallhalls.com/

This Saturday, October 5th, Ron Sexsmith is at the Spencerville United Church, 16 Centre Street in Spencerville.

Tickets for Ron Sexsmith are Tickets are $40.00 plus HST and Service Fee and can be purchased here: https://festivalofsmallhalls.frontgatetickets.com/

The critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning singer-songwriter from St. Catharines will perform starting at 7:30 pm with the doors opening at 7 pm.

He has won 3 Juno Awards, having been nominated 15 times, including eight nods for Songwriter of the Year. Sexsmith’s songwriting is a timeless blend of classic pop, contemporary folk, and roots-rock idioms. He has built a steadfast reputation with critics and with some of his own songwriting hero’s (Elton John, Ray Davies, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen) for his characteristically honest, sensitive, and enduring approach to the songwriting craft.

His extensive album catalogue is filled with catchy but graceful melodies, drawing on love, and the trials of everyday life and has garnered a substantive cult following and an international touring career. His songs as well, have been covered by the likes of Rod Stewart, Emmylou Harris, Nick Lowe, Feist and Michael Bublé to name a few. Ron has released albums on a consistent basis since 1995 and is set to record his eighteenth studio album this winter 2024/25.

Jeff Rogers is performing in Elgin on Saturday, October 5th at the Elgin United Church 77 Main Street starting at 7:00 pm.

Tickets for Jeff Rogers are $25.00 + $4.00 HST & Service Fees and available here: https://festivalofsmallhalls.frontgatetickets.com/

Jeff’s new album Dream Job was recorded in the revered music mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he was accompanied by some legendary musicians, including Kelvin Holly (Little Richard, Bobby Bland etc.), Clayton Ivey (The Staple Sisters, Thelma Houston), Justin Holder (Keb Mo’, Delbert McClinton) and Shonna Tucker (Booker T. Jones, Drive-By-Truckers). Dream Job features special guest appearances by Grammy Award winner, Colin Linden, Juno Award winning singer, Kellylee Evans and is co-produced by Dick Cooper of The Cooper Brothers.

On Sunday, October 6th, Kellylee Evans is performing at the Chaffey’s Lock Community Hall, 1661 Chaffeys Lock Road at 2:30 pm.

Tickets for Kellylee Evans are $30.00 + $4.80 HST & Service Fee and available at: https://festivalofsmallhalls.frontgatetickets.com/

Kellylee Evans Story and Song: 2018 JUNO nominee Kellylee Evans is a high-octane, chameleon-like performer whose natural charm and improvisational vocal style embody jazz, soul, pop, and hip-hop. The singer-songwriter won a 2011 JUNO Award and has been captivating audiences along the way, opening for stars such as John Legend, George Benson and Willie Nelson.

After facing life-altering challenges, including a lightning strike in 2013 and numerous concussions in 2015 and 2022, Evans had to pause her relentless touring schedule before making a triumphant comeback to the stage. Evans’ performance takes listeners on the journey of her physical and mental recovery through the moving sharing of her compelling story intertwined with her joyous award-winning songs.

Listeners will be captivated by her ability to touch their hearts with her message which is universal while still being very personal. This is a must see performance which reinforces the message of the importance of resilience and persevering through life’s challenges.

Also on Sunday, October 6th, Harry Manx will be performing at the Burritts Rapids Community Hall 23 Grenville Street, Burritts Rapids starting at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are SOLD OUT for Harry Manx.

Born on the Isle of Man, Manx immigrated to Ontario with his parents when he was a child. He started working with bands as a ‘roadie’ at age 15 and gradually worked his way up to becoming the regular sound man at the well-known El Mocambo (blues) club in Toronto.

“Mysticssippi” blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. He has created a unique sound that is hard to forget and deliciously addictive to listen to.

Harry forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the masters, first as a sound man in the blues clubs of Toronto during his formative years and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in India. Bhatt is the inventor of the 20-stringed Mohan Veena, which has become Harry’s signature instrument. Harry played slide guitar for many years before meeting Bhatt in Rajasthan, in fact he had been living in another part of India for many years already, but he started at the beginning under Bhatt’s tutelage, unlearning most of what he knew about playing a slide instrument.

He learned Eastern scales and eventually ragas, deceptively complex and regimented musical patterns that form the basis of Indian composition. Learning the voicings of Indian music is a subtle art that comes with time. Harry spent most of twelve years in India learning that. It was later on that Harry decided to explore the connection between Indian ragas and blues scales which eventually led to the Indo-blues hybrid that has become his style.