Welcome to the Orillia Folk Society!

(Our web fairies are slowly getting their act together. We'll be unveiling a snazzy new site shortly!)

General Meeting

We're planning a General Meeting for the Orillia Folk Society on Sunday, May 25 at 2:00 pm. This will take place at 210 Mary St. (1 block north of Mississauga, about halfway between West and Westmount Streets).

This General Meeting is open to everyone interested in the Society, and is your chance to give us some input on the Society's direction, and help us make it work even better for everyone. An RSVP is not mandatory, but it would certainly be appreciated, so we know if there are enough chairs! As always, you can contact Alyssa via orilliafolk@takenotepromotion.com or 259-0157.

More information available here.

The Orillia Folk Society is dedicated to providing a venue for Canadian contemporary, original and traditional music in Orillia, Huronia and the Near North. The major projects we are involved with include:

Song Circle

Monday night Song Circle takes place at the Friends' Meeting House, 231 Westmount Drive South (Orillia) every Monday night from 7pm to 10pm (the only exceptions are Christmas and New Year's). Anywhere from five to twenty-five people show up each week, from beginners to professionals, encompassing a broad definition of all that is "folk" -- originals and covers, traditional tunes, bluegrass, contemporary singer-songwriter, spoken word, Beatles... as long as you don't need electricity, we're all ears! A $3 donation is requested to help maintain our welcome at this beautiful venue.

Music in the Marketplace

We support Music in the Marketplace throughout the year at the Orillia Farmers' Market. Come and listen to some of our local musicians as you browse the market's wares.

FridayFolk

Monthly FridayFolk concerts are held during the year at Swanmore Hall, or in a comfortable living room near you. Concerts generally take place the last Friday of the month, with the occasional exception. Presenting established and up-and-coming Canadian musicians, and introducing audiences to some of our local talent, FridayFolk concerts are always a fabulous night of entertainment!

For our full 2007 / 08 season, please click here. Our upcoming concerts are:

May 30 : Season Finale with Cris Cuddy

 

With special guests Steve Briggs and Denis Keldie Toronto-based Cris Cuddy is the leader of popular Canadian indie roots-rock-reggae band Max Mouse and the Gorillas, whose ranks have included such stellar musicians as Dennis Delorme (Prairie Oyster), Roly Platt (Ronnie Hawkins) and Hugh MacMillan (Spirit of the West). His first solo project is Come Along Carmelita, which features multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin (ex-Tom Russell) andmembers of Mary Margaret O'Hara and Big Sugar. Cuddy's mentor, songwriting great Mickey Newbury, chose the album's title song for inclusion as a segue on his masterful Long Road Home. His latest solo release is a double CD Keep the Change / Nowhere Town. Keep The Change was produced by guitarist Andrew Hardin (Tom Russell) and also features Fats Kaplin, legendary guitarist Albert Lee, and the great Gene Taylor (Fabulous Thunderbirds) on piano, along with Keith Glass and Joan Besen (Prairie Oyster) and Kevin Breit (Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones). Nowhere Town was recorded in East Nashville with Fats Kaplin and Memphis George Bradfute (Paul Burch, Phil Lee, Webb Wilder, Jason Ringenburg). In addition to his own critically-acclaimed projects, Cuddy has contributed songs to albums by fellow Canadians Prairie Oyster and Tracy Prescott-Brown. The folk collector's LP Jeremy Dormouse" featuring Cuddy has just been re-released by Void/Hallucination USA. Cuddy has worked in Nashville with legendary producer Brian Ahern (Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash) and their recordings are being re-mastered for release next year. Leader of western swing band the Bebop Cowboys, Steve Briggs is a busy freelance musician and arranger in Toronto. On guitar, mandolin and vocals, he has performed, arranged and recorded with both local and international artists, including the Brothers Cosmoline, Gregg Lawless, Bill Usher, Russell de Carle and Carroll Baker. On piano, organ, accordion, mandolin and guitar, Denis Keldie has been active in a wide range of music over the years, recording and performing with such artists as Prairie Oyster, Natalie McMaster, Jesse Cook, Colin James, Jann Arden & Ashley McIsaac, to name but a few. His own ensemble, the Denis Keldie Trio, released a jazz organ CD in 2001 entitled Northern Hammond.

Swanmore Hall, Stephen Leacock Historic Site
7:30 pm (doors open 6:45, dinner & LCBO available)
Tickets $15

Opening: Corey Heuvel

If you would like to become involved in keeping the music LIVE -- playing, listening, publicizing, or supporting in any other way -- please feel free to get in touch with us at orilliafolk@takenotepromotion.com or 259-0157. We look forward to getting to know you!