It seems to me that every year gets off to a bad start, every year beginning as they do with my least favourite months – January and February.   January, coming after the drama of Christmas and the hype of New Year’s Eve, is inevitably disappointing and an anti-climax as we all go into a period of hibernation.  Our January concert was a welcome bright spot in the month, our annual Winterfolk Preview, and, I think, one of the best we’ve had, thanks to Beverly Kreller for organizing two sets of music that while very different from each other were equally satisfying.  The first set was traditional with Cassie and Maggie, Alana & Leigh Cline and Shake The Bellows.  The second set still had traditional elements but was a bit more cosmopolitan featuring Ken Yoshioka, Ori Dagan and Donne Roberts and the finale, featuring Tony Quarrington and Brian Gladstone, brought it all together with the audience joining in on “Goodnight Irene”.

And then it was out into a winter wonderland, that being the first snow storm of the year, and for me at least, back to semi-hibernation.  We’ve had a storm a week since that date and I’m just not encouraged to go out into the cold weather with frigid winds and treacherous walking conditions, consequently I’m feeling a little housebound and going a bit stir crazy.  So, a weekend like the one just coming up is just the thing to get me back out and enjoying music and meeting people.  All of a sudden there’s a lot going on and it’s too good to miss!

First of all, there’s Winterfolk (www.winterfolk.com) starting on Friday, February 22nd and running to Sunday the 24th; there’s a smorgasbord of music with plenty of names you’ll recognize and want to see again and many new acts to check out.  Go to their website to review the calendar of events and plan your weekend. Planning is especially important this year because you have to work around our big Acoustic Harvest concert on Saturday, the 23rd, featuring The Slocan Ramblers (www.slocanramblers.com).  The Slocan Ramblers (2019 Juno Award Nominees) are Canada’s bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene. With a reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship and an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan, The Slocans have been winning over audiences from Merlefest to RockyGrass and everywhere in between.

Steve Pritchard, our Bluegrass expert (one of our bluegrass experts as we also have Judy Fink who has worked very hard on this concert) was at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal this past weekend and he says The Slocan Ramblers were a huge success there, (Lillian agrees!) as they have been all over North America, in Europe and the UK.  Here’s what Steve had to say:

"Fresh from a killer performance at the Folk Alliance International in Montreal, the Slocan Ramblers are about to invade the Acoustic Harvest concert series on the 23rd of this month; in my humble opinion, along with the Dardanelles, the Slocan Ramblers were the glow and the glitter in Montreal; young urban folk musicians abound in Canada....we ought to celebrate each and every one of them. Slocan Ramblers are unique, they have the ability to drive bluegrass and old-time music direct to your heart through the innovative banjo playing of Frank Evans....He and his fellow Ramblers play and sing hard, clean, emotional and with heart, only a fool would miss them given the chance.”

The Slocan Ramblers will be featured on Steve Pritchard’s show “Radio Boogie” this Wednesday, February 20th. They won’t be there in person (much to Steve’s disappointment, I’ll bet), but he’ll be playing some tracks and giving some commentary.  The show airs on CIUT.fm live from 3pm-6pm and will be archived on www.ciut.fm for one week after the airdate.

"They play so fast, so together that there ought to be a warning sign near the stage: "Professional musicians, do not attempt.”– Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

This show is being sponsored by The Tottenham Bluegrass Festival (June 14-16, 2019)
At this concert, we are pleased to welcome back Edmonton based singer/songwriter, and now author, Ben Sures (www.bensures.com) who will be opening for the Slocans. Ben’s book "The Boy Who Walked Backwards" was published in September 2018 and is a moving story about a young Ojibway boy, Leo, and his family in Serpent River First Nation. 

The Slocan Ramblers have a great website – go there and listen to some of their music – and Lillian and I are agreed that one of our challenges in promoting our concerts this year has been that so many of our performers lack an Internet presence, something that we can share with you to entice you to come out. Mary Kelly was one of those people; we knew she was great but there was nothing there, in the air, nothing!  We may have mentioned this, I don’t know, somebody might have said something, because now Mary has a website, go check it out at www.mkdivamusic.com. Well done Mary Kelly and congratulations! If you’re wondering why mkdiva? Just google Mary Kelly, they are ubiquitous, so many talented Mary Kellys and, of course, there's the unfortunate Mary Kelly who was Jack The Ripper’s last victim.
Abigail Lapelle (www.abigaillapelle.com) made an appearance at Acoustic Harvest last year, opening for Madison Violet, I think, Lillian? (Yes, says Lillian). Abigail has news - “I made a music video! Featuring the amazing Dana Sipos, with cameos from producer Chris Stringer and assistant engineer Darren McGill. This is the third and final single from my upcoming new album GETAWAY out February 1st on Coax Records. Thanks to The Bluegrass Situation for debuting the video (and, technically, my directorial debut!) along with some stray thoughts of mine, which can be found HERE. Check it out and let me know what you think!” 

And Congratulations to Michelle Rumball.  After a mere 10 years, Michelle has released a follow up to her CD “Welcome to the Beauty Saloon”.  Her new CD "Years Behind” was released January 18th to not one, but two full houses, at The Monarch.  Michelle is sounding better than ever and I wish I could have been there, but hey, doesn’t sound like they missed me.
That’s it for this month, thanks for reading and I’ll see you on Saturday.
Heather Fielding

Happy New Year!

It’s 2019!!    We’re half way through this musical season, and it’s been a great one so far.  In 2018 we had some wonderful performers with a variety of musical styles, kicking off the series we had the singing and dancing (remember the gumboot dance?) of Black Umfolosi, followed by Mary Kelly and John Sheard, all the way from the junction.  Then, after our move to St. Paul’s we had Garnet Rogers and Archie Fisher, a wonderful concert and sadly their last as Archie, now in his eighties, is retiring from touring. That was followed by Lynn Miles, accompanied by Keith Glass and a treat of an opener from Piper Hayes.  Finally, at the beginning of December we had John Huston and The MadriGALS bringing “A Christmas Carol” to life, and we were able to do the show with candlelight which really added to the ambiance.

As we move into the 2019 part of our season we’re happy to be bringing you the same variety with more wonderful performers and on January 19th we’ll be giving you all of that in one show as we present "The Pre-Winterfolk Review”.  Now in it’s 17th year Winterfolk (www.winterfolk.com) “was formed to entertain, educate, enlighten, engage and encourage our community about various folk music styles including roots, blues, folk and more”.   That’s their mission statement and, you know, it could be ours!

Rick and I moved to Scarborough in 1996, November 22nd to be precise, so it would have been sometime in the spring of 1997 that he decided the one thing our wonderful new neighbourhood lacked was  --  a folk club.  A place where people could listen to all manner of acoustic music, folk (obviously) but blues, bluegrass, singer/songwriter and music that meets at the intersection of all of these.   Our line up, this year and every year, keeps that ideal; you’ve probably heard Lillian speak of this, she mentions it often in her opening remarks.   Of course, we spread it out over a few months and Winterfolk packs it into one weekend in February, this year from the 22nd to the 24th and, as always in venues on the Danforth, all within easy walking distance.  Sometimes that’s half the fun, bumping into people on the street and exchanging notes on who you’ve seen and where to go next.

**********************SPECIAL OFFER***********************
This is probably a good place to tell you that Winterfolk is making a special offer to Acoustic Harvest guests.  On this one night you can get a Winterfolk bracelet for only $10.  That’s less than half price for the whole weekend!
**********************SPECIAL OFFER***********************

So, who are you going to see when you come out on January 19th?

Cassie and Maggie - 2018 JUNO nominees.   “From the deepest roots of Canada and its very earliest musical traditions come Nova Scotian sisters Cassie and Maggie, putting their own 21st Century stamp on the Celtic soundtrack of this nation. Exciting and innovative, their talent is surpassed only by the sheer joy they exude in performance.
Alana & Leigh Cline are a Toronto based Celtic fiddle/guitar instrumental duo who combine Irish, Cape Breton and Scottish styles to create their own sound. They also include occasional Balkan tunes in their sets. Alana & Leigh have a self-titled CD released in October 2016.

Shake The Bellows - 2 accordions, 1 guitar, 3 voices, playing everything from French café music to Tex-Mex, Gaelic to Cajun, they are Bev Kreller, Kev Gould, Howard Druckman.
2X Juno Award Winner Donne Roberts' music makes winter feels like summer. The rhythm will make you dance and the melodies will make you sing along. The music is mainly in Malagasy the language of Madagascar.

Ken Yoshioka sings blues, plays guitar and harmonica with soul, originally from Kamakura, Japan. His music is based on deep south delta, Chicago and modern electric blues.

Ori Dagan is taking jazz to new and exciting places. His rich baritone voice and impressive abilities as an improviser produce an instantly recognizable sound.

Tony Quarrington Juno Award Winning Producer for Willie P. Bennett’s HEARTSTRINGS (1998).  One of the most appreciated tributes to his work was Winterfolk’s album SONGS OF TONY QUARRINGTON Tony has many years professional experience in many types of music:  folk, jazz, klezmer, rock,country, Hawaiian, blues, bluegrass and more. 

Brian Gladstone the founder and Festival Director for Winterfolk,  Brian Gladstone is a world class fingerstyle guitar player, an intuitive songwriter ….., a lyricist who can invoke a plethora of emotions in a single verse, and a dynamic performer who engages and entertains his audiences. 

I think Rick would be thrilled and quite surprised to find us still going strong in 2019.   In recent years, in recent months even, many folk clubs and smaller listening rooms have closed their doors, so it’s no small accomplishment to be in our 22nd season and, while Lillian is the Artistic Director and the ‘face’ of the club she certainly couldn’t have done it without the many volunteers who’ve given their time and energies to Acoustic Harvest.  And, we’d be nowhere without you, our audience, so keep coming out and bring your friends, we’re always happy to see you.

Heather Fielding

Our November concert was great fun with Piper Hayes opening for Lynn Miles, two wonderful performers, great songwriters with strong voices.  Keith Glass was out numbered and perhaps a bit challenged but he may have stolen the show with his bold interpretive dance.  Topaz is our dance expert and I think she’ll be crushed to find she missed this special moment.December 8th will be our Christmas concert and also the last concert of this year, I must say it’s been a tremendous season so far and the concerts lined up for 2019 will be just as good.  One of best things about this year so far is seeing so many of you coming out each month; it’s nice to see familiar faces and nice to see some new faces joining us.  Reverend Dan has told us that they’ve put up the Christmas tree and are working on the decorations. They’ve also started their Christmas Food Drive and any contributions will be gratefully received.
It takes a lot of effort to present these concerts and Christmas is a good time to say thanks to our volunteers who work hard and do it with grace and good cheer, so thank you to Ada, Brian, Duncan, Evva, Fran, Jason, Jennifer, Judy, Lillian, Susan, Sytske and Topaz. Special thanks to Lucy for all her input over the years and to Tomek who has guided us in the workings of social media (Facebook, Instagram etc.).
I’ve long been a fan of Charles Dickens, in fact one of my best Christmas presents was when my husband gave me a complete set of Dickens, a gift that was facilitated by Tony Quarrington who at that time was working a couple of days a week in his friend’s book shop.  For several years now it’s been Tony’s Christmas tradition to re-read a Dickens book; this year I’m joining him in this and we’re going to read “Little Dorrit”.  If anyone wants to join us perhaps we’ll get together early in the New Year to discuss the book.
Dickens was a keen amateur dramatist and often staged plays (which, I’m sure he also wrote) at his home, coercing his children and guests to take part.  He was also famous for his readings on his book tours when, to packed rooms, he would act out all the parts, no small feat as his books are packed with memorable characters.  He would throw himself into these readings and by the end of the performance he was often in a state of collapse.

Hopefully, this won’t be the case with John Huston (www.dickensperformer.com) when he returns to Acoustic Harvest on December 8th to treat us to his reading of “A Christmas Carol”.   John says:
"As usual with my Toronto appearances, The MadriGALS will perform carols from the Middle–Ages to Dickens’s day and provide musical underscoring during the performance. We’ve been performing together for over a decade and a half. This is the production that the National Post called “powerful one man theatre in the hands of a master storyteller.” (1999)
And Lillian says:
"I have seen John Huston’s brilliant, engaging and riveting production several times over the years and it continues to captivate and take audiences on a thrilling historical journey into the past; it’s sheer magic! The MadriGALS will provide their sweet harmony accompaniment and seasonal songs."

I say you shouldn’t miss this show, this is as close to seeing Mr Dickens as I could imagine and a great start to the Christmas season.   If, like me, you’re a little slow getting into the spirit of the season this will give you a push in the right direction.
This show will be sponsored by Cliffside Meats, (cliffsidemeats.com) a fine local business operated by Gord Doucet since 1985. Our thanks to Gord, his sponsorship is much appreciated.
Another good way to get into the Christmas spirit could be St. Paul’s United Cookie Walk.  We discovered it last year and it’s a great deal.  For $12.00 you get a cake box and fill it with a wide variety of cookies baked by the members of the congregation and they were all delicious. This starts at 10.00 am on Saturday, December 8th and a word of advice, get there early.  We arrived at 10:20 last year and many of the cookie platters were already empty and the whole thing was sold out by around 10:30.
Chris McKhool (www.fiddlefire.com) founding member of the Sultans of String is also well known for his childrens musical performances, in particular his show “Celebrate!  Holidays of The Global Village” a show celebrating the different customs and festivities enjoyed in Canada.  December 9th he’ll be at Kingston Road United Church at 2pm, the show is free for children and teens

Happy Holidays!

Our first concert at St. Paul’s United Church was a big success, we had a great crowd and an atmosphere that was both warm and energized.  The Sanctuary was made cheerier by the beautiful quilts that have been lent to us by The Woods Music and Dance Camp and by Pat Armour and they certainly add a homey touch.  I think there are some stories attached to the quilts but you’ll have to ask Lillian about that as she was a regular at the camp and I’m sure she knows their history.

Our guests, Garnet Rogers and Archie Fisher, were in fine form on what was one of the last stops on their last tour together. There were a few musicians in the audience for this special concert, including David Woodhead who toured a lot with Garnet when they played with Stan.  I was thrilled to hear Garnet read an excerpt from his book “Night Drive – Travels with my Brother” (www.garnetrogers.com); it's  funny when I read it myself but not nearly as hilarious as when Garnet reads it.

This was also our Annual Healing Gardens concert and we were really pleased to meet Dr. Carol Redstone, the Head of The Critical Care Unit at The Mackenzie Health Foundation. Her speech was eloquent and from the heart as she told us that public monies only go so far and can only be spent on certain things and without efforts like ours there would be no funding for something as uplifting as a Healing Garden.  

Dr. Carol really enjoyed the evening and I think she’ll be coming back to Acoustic Harvest.  It turns out that she’s a musician herself and worked her way through university by playing accordion – in a polka band, I think. 

For more info on the Healing Garden project, visit founder, Terry Eagan's website: www.patiorecords.com
For this one concert, for the first time ever, we did a 50/50 draw, and it was quite a lot of fun for Judy, Sytske and me to sell armlengths of tickets to the audience.  We raised an additional $178.00 for The Healing Garden and one lucky audience member went home with the same – someone told me Garnet’s cousin won but later graciously donated his share to MacKenzie Health.

Obviously, no first event in a new space goes off without a hitch and our first concert at SPUC was no exception.  “Helen’s 50th Birthday Party” was taking place in the lower hall and that meant we were a bit squished for space for our refreshments and parking.  Thanks to Helen and her birthday celebrants for accommodating us by keeping the sound of their party down as much as possible during our concert, and thanks to Reverend Dan who made a great effort to make sure everybody was happy; it couldn’t have been easy. For the rest of the season we’ll have access to the lower hall for refreshments and the parking won’t be an issue.

Our next concert will be November 17th and we’re pleased to welcome back Lynn Miles accompanied by Keith Glass (www.lynnmilesmusic.com)(www.keithglass.wordpress.com) 

Lynn Miles is one of Canada’s most accomplished singer-songwriters. With twelve albums to her credit, Lynn is the winner of multiple Canadian Folk Music awards (2011 English Songwriter of the Year), a 2003 Juno award for Roots and Traditional Solo Album of the Year and Love Sweet Love earned her multiple Canadian Folk Music awards (best English Songwriter, best Contemporary Singer). She has certainly found her strength over time.

Keith Glass is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, bass), producer and a founding member, guitarist, and songwriter with Prairie Oyster, a group which has received critical acclaim, including multiple Juno and CCMA awards. Prairie Oyster is often cited as the country’s foremost roots/country band. They toured extensively in Canada, the U.S. and Europe over a career that spanned almost four decades. In 2008, Prairie Oyster was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Keith and his band mates are also the recipients of a SOCAN lifetime achievement award.

We don’t often have an opening act but for this concert we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Piper Hayes. I heard her at Winterfolk(www.winterfolk.com) in February and became an instant fan.
“…an album that allows one to reflect on their experiences and get lost in a world of darkness and light.– Bill MacLean, Entertainment Beat (Beach Metro)

“Her on stage demeanour is relaxed, and she looks like, wait for it…she’s actually having fun! Many performers need to take note of this little nugget of wisdom. If you enjoy yourself, there’s a greater chance the audience will enjoy themselves! Mind you, it also helps if you have talent, which Ms Hayes has lots of!” – Bobby Singh, Piper Hayes at Music City North (FOH Photography)

 Steve Pritchard has been a strong supporter of Acoustic Harvest and has featured many of our guests on his show Radio Boogie, 4-6pm on CIUT, 89.5fm(www.ciut.fm).  On November 14th Steve will be featuring Lynn Miles and it’s also going to be his fundraising show.  As you may recall, CIUT.fm is an independent radio station and is run mainly by volunteers (the last time I checked I think they had 2.5 paid staff) and depends on donations from listeners and I’m sure Steve would appreciate your support. Acoustic Harvest will be making a donation to let Steve know we value his support and all the hard work he does to promote acoustic music.  Thanks Steve.  

By the way, I’m sure you all know Topaz, she’s been running the merchandise table at Acoustic Harvest for many years now. Topaz also volunteers at CIUT and handles the phone lines for Reggae Riddims on Saturday from 10-midnight. 

This week, November 7th,  Steve will be playing tracks from Tony Quarrington’s new CD “For King and Country” (www.tonyquarringtonsongs.com). Tony has been on the Acoustic Harvest stage many times, he’s everyone’s favourite guitar player, but on Sunday, November 11th, he’ll be presenting his show “For King and Country” at Hugh’s Room.  This is a multi-media production about Canadians in WW1 and it’s a tour de force, a really amazing piece of work and I totally agree with Howard Gladstone (www.howardgladstone.com) that this should have a long run at a theatre.

Congratulations to Jory Nash (www.jorynash.com) who was at Acoustic Harvest about a year ago.  Jory has been appointed as one of a four person team to book talent for Hugh’s Room. He'll be focusing on singer-songwriters and would like to hear from you about who you’d like to see, so call him.  I’m sure Jory will excel at this job, he’s always been very clear-sighted about the business of being an independent musician and, as presenter of 15 Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot shows, has proven to be a good organizer.

Back to the business of Acoustic Harvest, booking starts early and is ongoing and we’re grateful to Lillian for taking on this task.  We’d also like to hear who you’d like to see so please send Lillian an email [email protected].

That’s it for this month, see you on November 17th.
 Heather Fielding

Our September 22nd concert with Mary Kelly and John Sheard exceeded all expectations and I was wracking my brains for the words to express what a magical evening this was. Fortunately, we got some comments from the audience and I’ll leave it to them to express what a great evening it was.
“What a Wonderful, Fabulous Terrific evening, in such a Beautiful venue. 100% quality presentation The piano player wasn’t too bad either. What a song by Keelahan & many others that were just over the top. What a voice my god…& the best sound.    So just wanted to say thanks for such a really greatevening.  It was a sure home run.  Sweet dreams Beverbrookerwas it…from your Cape Breton fan. What a great talent all around”  Jo-Ann M.

“Beautiful venue, terrific crystal clear powerful warm voice amazing grand piano player…lots of humour.  10/10” Joan M.

And from John
“Thank you, Lillian. That was a great night for Mary and me..and I hope for all the guests too.  The space is really great…….Thanks for all the help, nice helpers and a welcoming atmosphere for our show.  I know Mary is thrilled with the night as was I.”

That was our second concert at Beach United, we’ve loved being there, and thanks again to David Lewis, Operations Manager, for his cheerful and willing help.   Although I think we might be keeping David as he’s coming with us to our first concert at St. Paul’s United Church (www.stpaulsscarborough.org).

Reverend Dan Benson was recently the subject of an article in The Bluffs Monitor (bluffsmonitor.com) which will give you some idea of the warm welcome waiting for us at St. Paul’s.

On October 13 we partner again with Patio Records (patiorecords.com) for the annual Healing Gardens concert to raise funds for a Garden of Solace to be built at Mackenzie Health Centre (www.mackenziehealth.ca). To give you some background, before Mary Eagan passed away in 1992 she asked her husband, Terry, to direct any money raised in her honour to build beautiful gardens to give peace and comfort to cancer patients. Terry has done just that and you can meet him at the concert, he never misses one.

Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers In Concert – Farewell Tour
On October 13th we’re proud to present two icons of folk music, from Scotland,  Archie Fisher and our Canadian, Garnet Rogers. These two friends have been playing and touring together since 1985 but all good things come to an end, or so they say, and this will be their final tour, definitely this is one concert you shouldn’t miss.  I’d encourage you to book your ticket in advance because the last time Garnet appeared at Acoustic Harvest the show was sold out and we had to turn people away at the door.  Scott Merritt will be recording the event.

The Folk Music Ontario conference (www.folkmusicontario.ca) took place September 27-30 and Lillian and Judy were there representing Acoustic Harvest.  This is an important event for the folk, roots and traditional music community; held over four days, it’s an opportunity to catch up with old friends and to see new performers. It's also a chance to compare notes with other presenters and attend seminars and workshops. We’re always looking for ways to improve and are open to your suggestions, so let us have your feedback, please.

Finally, we’d like to thank Elinor Mahoney for her generous donation to Acoustic Harvest. It's much appreciated.  We are still looking for sponsors so if you’re interested or have any suggestions please let us know.

Heather Fielding

Patio Records and Acoustic Harvest-Live Music East are pleased to present: THE 8TH ANNUAL HEALING GARDEN MUSICFEST & BENEFIT featuring:
ARCHIE FISHER & GARNET ROGERS in their FINAL TOUR TOGETHER
www.myspace.com/archiefisher
www.garnetrogers.com

When: Sat. OCT 13,  8pm (doors open 7:30pm)
**PLEASE NOTE VENUE CHANGE** with plenty of free parking!
Where: The St Paul's United Church, 200 McIntosh Ave. Scarborough, ON - directions at https://www.stpaulsscarborough.org/contact-find-us
Tickets: $25@the door/$22 in advance on our website: www.acousticharvest.ca
Check out and "Like" and "Share" our Facebook page!: www.facebook.com/acousticharvest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For your listening pleasure, the legendary Scottish balladeer Archie Fisher and our own Canadian legend, Garnet Rogers in their final tour together as a duo.

Please join these fine artists for the 8th Annual Healing Garden benefit concert to raise funds for a Healing Garden of solace and peace, for Cancer patients at the MacKenzie Health Foundation in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

This endeavour is the brain-child of Terry Eagan, Patio Records, Boston MA, and to date, Healing Gardens have been created at: The Childrens' Hospital Boston, MA, the Renfrew Victoria Hospital, ON, and The Ottawa Regional Cancer Center. Another garden is currently under construction at the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa, ON and groundbreaking began in April 2018 for the $1.2 million dollar garden at the Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA.

Please support this very worthy cause and enjoy some of the world's finest musicians.
Please join us for this very special evening.

Lillian, Terry and the AH Team

Welcome to the Acoustic Harvest – Live Music East Newsletter. 

This is our first newsletter and since the club is embarking on its 22nd season you might well ask “why now?”.  Well, there are a couple of reasons, one being that some changes are coming to Acoustic Harvest. The biggest change was forced upon us but as we met to discuss how to move forward, or even if we should, we embraced the change and found ourselves energized and excited for a new chapter in the AH story and we want to share that renewed sense of purpose with you.  So, our big news…
We are moving!
June 4th, the final concert of the season was also our last concert at Robinson Hall in St. Nicholas Anglican Church.  The church is undergoing extensive renovations and let us know that we’d have to relocate, but thankfully they gave us plenty of notice because it was quite a search to find our new home.  We’ve landed at St. Paul’s United Church (SPU) www.stpaulsscarborough.org.  We’ve received a great welcome from the church and are looking forward to a long and happy relationship.
We’d been at St.Nicks for over ten years so there was a little sadness that night but opening act Over The Moon www.overthemoonband.com and headliners Steel Rail www.steelrail.com made for a great farewell.

Now, just to confuse things a bit, the first two concerts of the season will be in the Great Hall at the Beach United Church as SPU wasn’t available for those dates.
Our New Concert Season begins on September 5th with a special concert by the Zimbabwean group Black Umfolosi www.blackumfolosimusic.com  Check them out on Youtube for a taste of what promises to be a memorable event.
“Their performances are energy driven and completely engaging, mixing a great gentleness of spirit and song with an exuberance in dance.  Their trademark harmonies mixed with intricate rhythms clicking and clapping are highlighted during their brilliantly choreographed shows with a full range of movements from subtle to vibrant stomping and leaping.  Their famous Gumboot Dances showcase the traditional styles and rituals of the South African mining regions and are a particular crowd pleaser” ­_ www.jproductions.com
Please note:  September 5th is a Wednesday.

Coming up next, on September 22nd we present A Cabaret Evening with John Sheard and Mary Kelly.
Maybe the word cabaret to describe an Acoustic Harvest concert will raise a few eyebrows but I can promise you that this opportunity to see Mary Kelly in concert is not to be missed, it happens all too rarely as her acting career takes up more and more of her time.  Coming from Nova Scotia Mary was thrilled to find a rich, vibrant folk music community in Toronto, one which she says was “full of talent, big generous personalities and magical stories”.  That’s actually a pretty good description of Mary herself, a bubbly outgoing personality and a voice to die for, Mary is from a long line of storytellers and believes no story is too big or too fantastic if it’s told with grace and wit.  A song interpreter of great depth and subtlety Mary’s repertoire ranges from traditional to modern classics and hymns, all of them chosen because they mean something special to her and, as she so beautifully puts it, “express the spirit of life’s truth, if not always its facts”
John Sheard is a household name for many folkies and fans of Vinyl Café where he was Stuart McLean’s music director and, with Chris Whiteley, pretty much the house band.  As a pianist, composer and producer he’s performed and recorded with Ron Hynes, Jackie Washington, Ian Tyson and many, many more; you can find out who (some may surprise you) at www.johnsheardmusic.com
Steve Pritchard has been a fixture on the bluegrass and folk music scene for many years now and is a stalwart supporter of Acoustic Harvest.  He’s also the host of Radio Boogie on Wednesdays from 4-6 on CIUT 89.5fm.  On August 29th his guests will be Lillian Wauthier and Heather Fielding so please tune in to find out more about our upcoming season.

A word about sponsorship.  We always knew we had a good deal at St. Nicholas but we didn’t realize how good until we started looking at other venues.  We’re happy with our move and think we’ve negotiated a deal that’s fair for both parties, but still, our costs will be going up considerably.  Acoustic Harvest has always been organized by volunteers with all proceeds, minus expenses, going to the artist and this is something we won’t change, so we will not raise the ticket price.  We are looking for sponsorships to offset the increased costs and if you’d like to know more or have any suggestions, please contact [email protected] or Judy Fink at: [email protected].

Heather Fielding

Dear Acoustic Harvest Friends & Supporters,

We have some very exciting news for you all!  Due to new plans at the St. Nicholas Anglican Church, we must move our monthly concert series to a new venue. Thank you St. Nicholas for giving us a home for the past twelve years. We are now thrilled to be so enthusiastically invited to become part of the St Paul's United Church community next Fall. We researched and explored over many months and finally narrowed down the prospects to two venues, the Beach United Church, which we will use for our TWO Sept. concerts and St. Paul's United Church (SPUC) for the remainder of our season. We felt strongly about honouring founder Rick Fielding's vision for this east end of Toronto, so we decided to stay within relative proximity of our current location. We look forward to being a vital part of SPUC's vibrant community at 200 McIntosh St., just a 3 minute drive further east and a block north of Kingston Rd. and Sandown Ave (with bus stop on the corner). Plenty of free parking in the two lots on either side of the church and on all the side streets.

Watch for more details, updates and news in a periodic newsletter, on our website and on our Facebook page. We hope you'll come out and support the wonderful artists that we have lined up for your listening pleasure in the coming season. Tell your families and friends and please sign up for our monthly concert announcements.

Our first concert in our 22nd season will be at the Beach United Church, on Sept 5th featuring Black Umfolosi and on Sept. 22nd we present A Cabaret Evening with John Sheard (Vinyl Cafe) & Mary Kelly.

**Please note that these September concerts will be held at the Great Hall in The Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave. at Queen St. E. There is a streetcar stop there and otherwise, parking on the streets or in municipal lots on Lee Ave and on Hammersmith.
Warmly,
Lillian

Hi Friends,
We hope you've had a terrific summer!
As a very wise man once said, nothing is certain but change. This little update is to let you know that unfortunately Lemon Bucket Orkestra have had to cancel their appearance at Acoustic Harvest for September 27th, 2014. But change often brings wonderful surprises, too, and we've got a great one in store for you. The September 27th concert stage will now host the Kingsville Folk Festival "Discoveries" Night, featuring the fabulous Mati Haskell & JK Gulley (aka The Grass Souls Project), as well as superb husband and wife duo The Oh Chays. Have a look at our "Concerts" page to get the full scoop and hear them in action.

Enjoy these last, precious days of summer, and we'll see you in September! ~ The AH Team