NEWS RELEASE
THE COULSON CONCERTS
***************************
The Coulson Concerts is a new folk and roots music series presented in a quaint historic church in Oro-Medonte at 301 Horseshoe Valley Rd. W.
Hosted by singer-songwriter Anne Walker, this series will offer six Sunday matinee performances by Canadian musicians.
The venue
This little white church has stood watch at the top of Coulson hill on Horseshoe Valley Road for over 140 years. The church, built in 1881, was closed as a place of worship in the 1960s and recently restored, preserving many original features, including an ornate Victorian tin ceiling, pews, plank flooring, a cast iron and nickel-plated stove, and the original pulpit. Coulson Church provides an enchanting setting in which to enjoy authentic Canadian music.
Information and tickets available here.
Concert calendar
- Sunday, April 30 (2 p.m.) - Anne Walker
- Sunday, May 28 (2 p.m.) - Boreal
- Sunday, June 25 (2 p.m.) John Prince and End of the Road
- Sunday, July 30 (2 p.m.) - Rick Fines
- Sunday, Aug. 27 (2 p.m.) - Alison Lupton
- Sunday, Sept. 24 (2 p.m.) - Paul Mills and Anne Walker
- Sunday, April 30 (2 p.m.) - Anne Walker
Canadian singer-songwriter Anne Walker writes with heart, soul, and mind. Strong, well-crafted lyrics present vivid images and stories. Her haunting voice is strong, clear and expressive, often drawing comparisons to Connie Kaldor, Kathy Mattea and Jane Olivor.
Having grown up on a farm at Coulson, the fifth generation of a pioneer family, Walker is uniquely situated to preserve the stories and history of this rural way of life. With her rich voice, she will pour back into the community the music that has grown out of these roots. Her moving performances are supported by engaging visuals and vintage photographs of the area.
Sunday, May 28 (2 p.m.) - Boreal
Boreal is the magical musical collaboration of Tannis Slimmon, Katherine Wheatley and Angie Nussey. These three hard-working singer-songwriters, each with their own longstanding, award-winning careers, simply love playing music together. The brighter/warmer months are reserved for Songs of Renewal, a show that combines sun-loving, moon-watching, finger-snapping, heart-touching and deeply uplifting songs.
The trio’s spell-binding harmonies, combined vocal prowess and tour-de-force song-writing, make for a powerful musical event. With humour, storytelling and heart-melting honesty, Boreal takes their audience on a journey of friendship, laughter and connection.
Sunday, June 25 (2 pm) John Prince and A Piece of the Rock
Offering a diverse mix of traditional, maritime, folk and bluegrass music, this group of talented musicians, John Prince, Bruce McDaniel, Joe Sexton and Donny Wood, has been entertaining enthusiastic audiences throughout Ontario and the Maritimes and beyond for many years both individually and as members of John Prince & A Piece of the Rock.
Their strong vocal harmonies and lyrical melodies, as they perform old favourites and original compositions, present a memorable musical experience that leaves audiences yearning for more.
John Prince
A native of Princeton, Bonavista Bay, N.L., Prince relocated to Ontario in the mid-1970s. He has performed with various East Coast artists, including Dick Nolan, the Bay Boys and the late John Allen Cameron. His musical influences range from his roots in traditional and maritime music to country/rock with the Eagles and country with Merle Haggard to the haunting ballads of Gordon Lightfoot. A gifted songsmith, his songs have been performed by many artists across Canada, and his Newfoundland Blessing was featured in the musical No Change In The Weather. With his rhythmic ‘finger-style’ guitar and warm melodic voice, John leads audiences on a musical journey they will long remember.
Bruce McDaniel
Born and raised in Toronto, McDaniel began playing guitar at the age of 12, picking out fiddle tunes learned from a friend of his father. Over the years, he has played in many local bands in styles from blues with the John Carr Band, rock with Tin Pan Alley and country with Terry Sumsion.
Bruce’s fluid ‘flat picking’ guitar style, his ‘blazing’ mandolin licks and strong harmony vocals are an integral part of the band’s sound. Prince refers to McDaniel as “Canada’s best-kept secret.”
Joe Sexton
Sexton's music career began early when in his hometown of Tilting, Fogo Island, N.L., he was featured playing accordion and harmonica in the National Film Board’s 1966 film The Children of Fogo Island. Over the years, Sexton has continued to entertain family and friends with his accordion, harmonica, acoustic guitar and harmony vocals. His musical talents have led him to studio sessions with various artists.
Donny Wood
Originally from Oxford, N.S., Wood began playing piano at age six with his father a fiddle and accordion player. Equally adept on bass or piano, he has toured extensively throughout North America and the U.K. with The Cape Breton Symphony Fiddlers and the Scottish Accent Band. He has shared the stage with country legend George Jones and Scotland’s Andy Stewart, as well as Canadian entertainers J.K. Gulley, John Allen Cameron and fiddler Graham Townsend. A seasoned session player, Wood brings a wealth of experience to the band.
Sunday, July 30 (2 p.m.) - Rick Fines
Canadian roots music vet Rick Fines has had a long and storied career as one of the country’s hardest-working musicians. He has toured across Canada countless times solo, as a duo or with a full band and has recorded over 14 albums and has been a guest on many others. Steeped in roots music, Rick Fines crafts a unique blend of warm-hearted blues, juke joint folk, and dockside soul that both embraces and defies the genres that influence him. As a veteran of the North American blues and folk circuits, he engages audiences with captivating songs, diverse guitar styling and his signature vocal growl.
He has won MapleBlues Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Acoustic Act Of The Year (twice), won first place in the blues category of the 2003 International Songwriting Competition, with B.B. King as one of the judges, received nominations from both the Juno and the Handy Awards, and played for legendary blues piano player Pinetop Perkins.
Fines has just released Solar Powered Too, a stunning collection of songs, stories sung in Fines' richly textured voice, a voyage through blues and folk guitar styles.
Sunday, August 27 (2 p.m.) Alison Lupton
“Allison Lupton’s balance of strong composition and sensitive musicality makes her a fine contemporary songwriter and interpreter of the tradition and the works of her fellow songsmiths.”
Born and raised on a second-generation dairy farm in rural Ontario, Allison Lupton has always been immersed in Canadian folk life, but it took a love and intense study of Irish and Celtic music for her to find her way to the Canadian folk music tradition that she has grown up around. Lupton brings to life the best of the contemporary folk music scene in Ontario while incorporating the Celtic influences that have been such an important part of the Canadian immigrant story as well as her own musical path.
Alison will be joined at Coulson by Shane Cook and Kyle Waymouth. A Canadian and US National fiddle champion, Shane Cook is a multi-instrumentalist who captivates audiences with technically thrilling and adventurous performances. While Cook enjoys playing and arranging everything from traditional Irish and Scottish music to pop and bluegrass, Cook has distinguished himself as a master of the Canadian old-time fiddle tradition. Waymouth was an on-stage guitar player for the 2016 Stratford Festival production of As YOU Like It. Currently, Waymouth teaches music and dance at Judy’s School of Dance and performs with numerous groups, including The Fitzgeralds, Shane Cook, and Dan Stacey.
Sunday, Sept. 24 (2 p.m.) - Paul Mills and Anne Walker
Paul Mills has been part of the Canadian folk music scene and recording industry for over forty years. He has produced close to 200 albums working with artists such as the late Stan Rogers (all but one of Rogers’ albums were produced by Mills), Sharon, Lois and Bram, Terry Kelly, Ron Hynes and John Allan Cameron. He is a founding partner of the Borealis Recording Company. He owned and operated his own production company and recording studio called The Millstream for 20 years. Mills is a picker, a.k.a. Curly Boy Stubbs, and one of the finest from back in the day. Yet, he approaches music as a producer, always looking for and finding tasteful ways to make the song – whatever song – just better.
Singer-songwriter Anne Walker will be sharing the stage with Mills, who produced two of her recordings. This final concert of the season will be a lovely collaboration.
***************************
