There's no denying that the summer of 2015 was an incredible one for live entertainment with stellar line-ups at veteran festivals and even the addition of a few new ones including Way Home, Bestival, Capital Country Fest @ Spencerville Stampede to name just a few. Well hold onto your hats because fall 2015 is going to be even hotter and it all kicks off later this week, here's our look ahead to some of the hottest events and tours still to come before we say farewell to 2015.
Here's what lies ahead in September:
AC/DC brings their much anticipated Rock or Bust tour to a sold-out TD Place in Ottawa on September 3, if you can find tickets to this show you'll want to grab them because this one is guaranteed to be one of the biggest shows of the year!
Also kicking off on the 3rd of September is the 159th annual Shawville Fair. This year's entertainment lineup includes performances by David Wilcox, The Road Hammers, Brea Lawrenson, Jess Moskaluke and Doc Walker.
The following weekend will see two major eastern Ontario fairs duke it out for your hard earned money. Renfrew Fair and Spencerville Fair both kick off on September 9th. Renfrew Fair will feature our friends the Small Town Pistols on Friday night and Chilliwack on Saturday night, your daily general admission ticket covers the price of the concerts on either night. Spencerville Fair, not to be outdone, features April Wine on Friday night and Easton Corbin on Saturday night, the concerts here cost $20 in Advance; $25 at the Door for Friday night and $30 in Advance; $35 at the Door for Saturday night. Regardless of which event you choose you're guaranteed a great night of entertainment.
The much anticipated, newly rebranded CityFolk Festival takes over the great lawn at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa starting September 16 through the 20th. Easily the hottest ticket in Ottawa this fall CityFolk features performances by artists like UB40, Van Morrison, Of Monsters and Men, Wilco and many many more. If your wallet is still tapped from a crazy summer of live music be sure to checkout Marvest, a series of free concerts by local artists in various venues across Ottawa.
Just days after the dust settles on CityFolk the party moves out to Carp for the 152nd annual Carp Fair. This year's Carp Fair runs from September 24-27th and will feature performances by George Canyon, Blackwell, Jordan McIntosh, Silver Creek, The Good Brothers, Five Man Electrical Band and more.
Also on the 24th our friends Dean Brody and Paul Brandt kick off their 22 date Road Trip Tour in Victoria, BC, the tour hits Ontario for a series of 7 shows across the province on October 10. The tour features a variety opening artists including Madeline Merlo, Whitney Rose, Jess Moskaluke and Lindi Ortega depending on which date you attend.
Kelly Clarkson comes to Canada starting with a date at the Canadian Tire Centre on October 1, followed by shows in London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Fair season wraps up for another year with one of our favourites, the Metcalfe Fair. The Metcalfe Fair runs from October 1-4 and features our friends River Town Saints as the headliner.
The fun doesn't end just because fair season comes to a close. I already told you about Dean and Paul's Road Trip Tour but it's far from the only one coming this fall.
Three tours from artists at opposite ends of the musical spectrum kick off tours in the second week of October. First out of the gate is Brett Kissel with his Airwaves Tour which will feature special guest, and label mate, Jordan McIntosh. The cross-Canada tour will run coast to coast with shows in most major cities in the country including Ottawa and Kingston.
The second tour launching in October is Dear Rouge's "Black to Gold Tour" which kicks off in Alberta on October 14. The tour will run coast to coast, also including dates in Ottawa and Kingston, for the rest of 2015 before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for a few dates in Europe. The tour will feature special guests Rah Rah.
On October 19 the Barenaked Ladies with Special Guest Alan Doyle (of Great Big Sea) kick off the Canadian leg of their Silverball Tour in BC. The tour hits Ontario for 7 dates ending in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre on November 21.
Just announced was Tim Hicks' Get A Little Crazy Tour. Tim along with guests Cold Creek County and Jason Benoit will travel across much of Central and Western Canada this November but unfortunately if you live east of Oshawa, Ontario that's the closest the tour will come to you, this time anyway.
But that's not all...we're still awaiting details on a tour featuring our friends Jason Blaine and Tebey which is also expected to be announced at anytime.
The rest of 2015 is going to be busy so hold on to your hats, buckle up and prepare for takeoff. August is finished and September is just about to get started!
Field Service Tech by day, Live Music Nut by night! My family and I call the Thousand Islands region of Ontario home. I'm a blogger, social media geek, tech, and live music fanatic. I founded Sound Check Entertainment in 2010 to help promote festivals and emerging artists from across Canada and the world! I now act as festivals liaison, manage media relations and, of course, cover events in the National Capital region. I'm also a diehard Habs fan but Sens fans fear not; as long as they aren't playing against my Habs I cheer just as loud for the Sens.
