The retreat of winter and the arrival of spring means one thing: a stacked season of incredible live music at Blue Mountain and South Georgian Bay.
Live music is the lifeblood of green season in Ontario’s premiere four season destination, and for 2019 the selection of incredible musical acts has grown and evolved to include a myriad of genres, cultures, flavours, and sounds. Every day, all summer long, visitors and music lovers alike can take advantage of award-winning festivals, amazing headliners, and emerging talents all across the region.
The Blue Mountain Village location lends itself perfectly to taking in a great live show. With a distinct energy that sets it apart from other venues in the area, the Village stage is the beating heart of music at the foot of the mountain. This year, we welcome over 90 free concerts to the Blue Mountain Village.
Peak to Shore Music Festival
The 2019 Peak to Shore Music Festival kicks off July 17-21 at 12 venues across the region and features 35+ concerts.
Skydiggers headline, bringing a 20-plus year legacy of Canadian music prowess, with iconic
Tragically Hip guitarist, Paul Langlois joining the band – celebrating a shared history forged in the triumphs and disappointments of life on the road, in concert halls, and truck stops.
The band were featured as part of The Strombo Show’s Hip 30 in January of 2017 covering the Hip to celebrate 30 years of Canada’s favourite rock export, and released their latest EP,
Warmth of the Sun in the same year. Their ninth studio release, Exclaim Magazine touted the effort as “simultaneously urgent and laid-back, angry and understanding, intimate and abstract, raw and honed. It's beautiful, complex, timeless stuff.” Expect classic Skydiggers alt-country inspired song writing and showmanship at the Village stage on Saturday July 20
th – all for free.
Digging Roots take to CROW. Bar & Variety on the 17
th, bringing a hybridized form of music practice utilizing contemporary and traditional forms – inspired by roots, reggae, blues, folk, and their traditional Anishinabek and Onkwehonwe music. Ticketed with or without dinner at CROW, this husband and wife duo have taken home JUNO awards, Canadian Aboriginal Music awards, and Maple Blues Awards, while being called “luminous,” “hopeful” and “empowering,” and who offer a “sophisticated fusion of reggae, blues, jazz and hip hop,” so get ‘em while you can.
Rounding out the headliners for Peak to Shore are
Whisky River and
Long Range Hustle. Hailing from Barrie, Whisky River are masters of harmonic roots/folk/rock anthems, who formed out of the desire of four middle-aged guys to have an opportunity to write, play, and perform in front of an audience.
Long Range Hustle are an infectious 5-piece from Toronto known for a refined approach to melding rock, jazz, and even classical backgrounds. They’ve shared the stage with some of Canada’s biggest and best, including
the Arkells,
Matt Mays, and
Big Wreck - and have held multiple month-long residencies at TOs legendary Dakota Tavern. Catch Long Range Hustle on July 18
th at the Blue Mountain Village Stage, and Whisky River Sunday July 21 at the Collingwood Shipyard Amphitheatre.
The best part is, that’s just 4 of the 35+ concerts taking place in Thornbury, Collingwood, and here at Blue Mountain Village. Check
peaktoshore.ca for more info and a comprehensive set schedule.
A World of Talent Awaits
Funk, opera, folk-rock, reggae, and World jams will populate the Village stage this summer season, helping bring a mosaic of talent and diversity here at home.
National Rosé Day weekend at the Blue Mountain Village supports the Blue Mountain Village Foundation Casey House and The Period Purse – but while the ultimate happy hour sipper is a focal point, so is the entertainment lined up for the evening. Cue Pat Maloney, an award-winning Ottawa ex-pat, an epic folk storyteller, and a talented whistler with a gloriously self-defaming sense of humour that’s been heralded as “soulful, honest, hilarious, and smart.” Catch Pat on June 8
th in the Blue Mountain Village.
The 11
th annual
Salsa at Blue returns for 2019, breathing life, music, and dancing into the Village. Headlining on Saturday June 22 at the Village Stage is
Waraibo, a high-energy Latin band equipped with a huge bag of musical tricks to satisfy every dancer in the crowd.
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned rock cover? Live on
Canada Day catch
The Carpet Frogs – Burton Cumming’s touring band - as they croon to the classic sounds of rock n roll followed by fireworks over the mountain.
Maybe island jams are more your style – check out Alysha Brilla and
Lazo during the 1
st Sea Otter Canada weekend on July 5
th and 6
th. Alysha is a decorated favourite of Blue Mountain, having achieved many awards and recognitions over the past ten years, including: 2013 CBC Radio Searchlight Regional Finalist, and the 2009 Toronto Blues Society’s TOP 3 Artists. Lazo Finn is a high-energy reggae artist with positive uplifting lyrics addressing socio-political, environmental, and human rights issues.
Catch BC-based
Five Alarm Funk during the
Mountain Music Series on July 13
th, and members of the
Canadian Opera Company with Craig Ashton on July 17
th for
Opera Under the Stars. My Son the Hurricane hits the Village Stage on August 31
st. This multi-horn beast of an act is a local crowd favourite that features a touring lineup of trumpets, trombone, saxophone, percussion and rhythm sections. Catch them as part of the
Summer Sundown event that will close the summer season out with a bang – literally – as our finale includes fireworks.
And our pièce de résistance, we’re proud to host
The Sheepdogs as part of
Guitar Trail on September 7. Proud purveyors of guitar-driven modern-day retro rock, the triple Juno Award-winning Saskatoon-based quintet has expanded its sound on their newest studio release, Changing Colours, to encompass more styles and hues to enhance The Sheepdogs’ trademark beef-and-boogie twin-axe riffs, hooks, shuffles and long-haired aesthetic.
These concerts, series, and festivals are just the tip of the iceberg for live music in South Georgian Bay and the Blue Mountains this summer, so visit
bluemountainvillage.ca/music for full details.