HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-10-03, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019. PAGE 27.
The Mudmen are returning to
Blyth this November for a show at
Memorial Hall. This comes after the
band has made major in-roads with
fans in the area with performances in
Blyth, Kincardine and at the 2017
International Plowing Match in
Walton.
The band, which plays its own
brand of Celtic rock music, will be
performing in Blyth on Friday, Nov.
1 at 8 p.m., just under a year since
they last performed there.
Recently, Robby Campbell, one of
the band’s founding members, spoke
with The Citizen, saying that it’s an
interesting time for the band and its
members.
Campbell said that the band,
which originally hails from the small
town of Alvinston, Ontario, has
recently begun to focus on touring
smaller, but enthusiastic towns that
have shown an interest in the band.
Blyth has been one of those
communities, he said, after the band
was in the village soon after
Memorial Hall was renovated.
As the music industry has changed
in recent years, Campbell said, it has
been Ontario’s smaller communities
that have kept the band alive. With
Campbell and his brother Sandy,
both of whom play bagpipes in the
band, hailing from a town of 800,
they are perfectly at home in
communities like Blyth and Walton.
In venues like Memorial Hall,
Campbell says the band members
are able to connect with their fans,
something they can’t do in bigger
From a huge concert on Oct. 4,
kicking off the Rutabaga Festival at
Blyth Cowbell Brewing to an
abundance of local talent on the
community stage at Blyth Lions
Park on Oct. 5, there’s a lot of
entertainment to take in at the event.
On Friday evening, Kris Barclay
and Adam Cousins perform at
Cowbell to an intimate crowd of
100.
Barclay, originally from Ajax
found fame through the Boots and
Hearts Music Festival in 2018,
where he was voted by fans as a
wildcard entry into the Emerging
Artist Showcase. Competing against
six other artists, he became the first-
ever wildcard artist to win, earning
him the right to work with country
music’s top songwriters in Nashville
and a recording deal with Warner
Music Canada.
Since then, he has released his
debut single, “Loved You Like That”
and earned a Country Music
Association of Ontario nomination
in the Rising Star category.
Brussels musician Adam Cousins
will open for Barclay. Cousins
recently released his first EP Dirt
Road which draws on growing up in
a small town.
While he is well known in the
area, performing at many local
venues, he moved to London last
year, started his own band and has
begun writing his own music.
The community stage opens at 10
a.m. on Oct. 5, with The BarryO
Kidshow. It’s billed as a mix of
magic, juggling and ventriloquism.
The children’s show is followed
by Cappy Onn’s fiddle students
showing off their fiddle skills and
beginner violin tunes. The group
takes to the stage at 11 a.m.
Onn is responsible for the
programming at the stage as well.
The Honey Sweethearts, also
known as the Dawe family from
Clinton, will take on the stage at
11:30 a.m.
The group has been performing
since 2012 and is fronted by Ava
Dawe. The band includes her
siblings Molly and Felix and parents
Heather and Steve.
The band has grown as Ava, Molly
and Felix have learned new
instruments and techniques and the
Dawes’ shows now feature hits from
yesterday and today.
The Durnin Sisters from
Kingsbridge, Maggie and Sarah,
will take to the stage at 12:30 p.m.,
performing songs on piano and
guitar.
Performances will take a break
from 1-2:30 p.m. for the bed races
on Gypsy Lane.
At 2:30 p.m., Down Home, a
country and step-dancing group will
take to the stage.
Adam Cousins will perform a set
from 3-3:30 p.m. followed by
special guest John McNall, a Blyth
native with a special connection to
the Rutabaga Festival.
McNall’s father Doug was a
renowned country musician who put
his love of Blyth into song form with
tunes like “The Blyth Song” and
“My Album”, which recall growing
up in Blyth.
McNall performed “The Rutabaga
Song” in 1985 for the first revival of
the Rutabaga Festival.
John followed in his father’s
footsteps and plays classic country,
but eventually branched out to new
country and southern rock music.
John will be performing for the
first time in nearly 20 years,
bringing back some of his father’s
songs for the audience at the Blyth
Rutabaga Festival.
Onn said that, between acts, she
hopes to have some rutabaga
dancing competitions.
The stage will also host the
fundraising draw at 4:30 p.m., which
could see one lucky ticket holder
drive away a new truck.
Entertainment line-up now set for Rutabaga Festival
Mudmen set for return to Blyth
Why so serious?
While we’re assured that two-year-old Jackson Hogg cracked a smile just after this was taken
and he was having fun, it might have taken him a moment or two to get his unicorn legs under
him. Hogg was one of many who braved the wet weather on Saturday for Clinton Harvestfest,
which coincided with the joint grand opening of 11 new businesses in Clinton. The day was a
success with residents and visitors all taking in the festivities. (Darlene McCowan photo)
Entertainment Leisure&
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
HOLY COW
HAVE YOU HERD!!!
Don Procter and Mary Jane Rawls
will be married in a private ceremony on
October 5th, 2019
with an open reception to follow at
Belgrave Community Centre
12 Queen’s Street, Belgrave
at 8:00 p.m.
Come out and have a good time!
MADD Huron/Bruce Presents...
The Schneider Male Chorus
& The Glister Children’s Choir
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Lakeshore United Church 2:30 pm
56 North Street, Goderich (wheelchair accessible)
Tickets: Adult - $20 • Youth 6-18 - $15 • 5 & under - Free
Net Proceeds to MADD Huron/Bruce
Red Plaid Productions
Presents
MUDMEN
In Concert
Memorial Hall
Blyth, Ontario
Friday, November 1
Tickets at
blythfestival.com
519-523-9300
$28.00 All Ages
Doors 7:30 pm Show 8 pm
www.mudmen.ca
Continued on page 28