Folkus Concert Series
14 Bridge Street K0A 1A0 Almonte, ON, Canada

Read on to meet some of the women behind Folkus and hear how they are supporting music during this time... Dagne Forrest, Board Member and Webmaster "One of the ways that my husband and I have supported musicians in recent months is to regularly purchase vinyl versions of their music. A favourite on regular repeat is William Prince."... Kathryn Stevens, Board Member & Sponsorship "I am reading the songlist on the back of Lynn Miles' latest CD - which I bought at a wonderful concert held in James Keeleghan's backyard in Perth last September. It was Lynne's first gig since March and what a treat it was to hear her beautiful voice and lyrics, and the guitar of Keith Glass accompanying her. We were starved for live music after 7 months of the pandemic, but we left feeling filled up!" Julie Mercier, Board Member & Tickets/FOH"I am Julie, (on the photo you will find me under the arrow)...I take care of the ticket sales and the front of house. Usually I hide in the ticket booth!!!One of the ways I have been supporting musical artists is by supporting local artist Jennifer Noxon and participating in her Rhythm & Song Choir from her home to each of ours through zoom. I cannot wait to be able to sing all together again and to be gathered for a concert under the same roof. Be safe, and take care of yourself and your soul. Join an online choir!!!" Kerron Lamb, Board Member and Hospitality Manager "This past year has been a difficult one for lovers of live music (and for the musicians we would have been going to see) but we set up a turntable and vintage sound system in our living room, and have been actively increasing our collection of vinyl, both old and new! Here are some favourites by Canadians we love to see in concert (Whitehorse, City and Colour, and The Arkells), so in the meantime, we'll enjoy their music like this until we can see them in person again!" Sandy IrvinBoard Member & Artistic Director "I have been adding to my collection of Canadian vinyl. Here are two albums with local connections Area Resident & The Golden Seals are both local guys who do their day jobs under other names. Do you know them?" Monika Seiler, Board Member & Social Media/Marketing "I've been curating playlists on Spotify featuring all of my favourite Canadian artists during this pandemic, highlighting someone from each province or territory. I like to "travel" the country via its amazing musicians..."

Dear Folkus patrons, It’s been quite a year. We hope you are as well as can be. We’ve all been through a lot, and we apologize for having taken so long to provide you with an update on our plans for responding to the 2 cancelled concerts of the 2020 season. At this time, we’d like to offer you a full refund for the March and April concerts.... For season’s pass holders who purchased their tickets online, please check your email (with which you purchased the tickets) for a message from [email protected] containing further instructions. For ticket-holders who received them as a gift, or purchased them through Mill Street Books, we have to take a few more steps. To validate your tickets and arrange for a refund, please email [email protected] for details. For those intending to request a refund, we ask that you please do so as soon as possible, and no later than April 30, 2021. For ticket holders who would prefer to support Folkus by not requesting a refund, we thank you warmly for your generosity. Please rest assured that your contribution will be put to good use as part of revisiting how we can support musicians and deliver music to our supporters/patrons. We are looking ahead and taking our cues from larger arts organizations. Until it is safe to gather together, we will not be presenting shows in the traditional format. We may, however, do other interesting things in the interim, so please stay tuned for updates, including following us in Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Take care, The Folkus Team

FOLKUS CONCERT SERIES & COVID-19 Updated April 14th: We now know that the April show will also be impossible to hold. We hope everyone is staying well. Like all of you, we are currently watching how the rapidly developing COVID-19 situation unfolds.... We can tell you that the Town of Mississippi Mills has chosen to close the Almonte Old Town Hall as of the evening of Friday, March 13th and will re-assess the situation on April 1st. Full details about closures affected by the Town’s decision can be seen on its website. This means our next show, scheduled for March 28th, will not take place as planned. Please watch this space for further updates that would affect our final show of the season in late April.

The music industry has called for today, June 2nd to be known as Blackout Tuesday to provoke accountability and change through #TheShowMustBePaused - a day to take a beat for honest, reflective, and productive conversations about what actions we need to collectively take to support the Black Community. So much of the music we love is rooted in the Black Community, and we need to reflect on that.

Solidarity. #theshowmustbepaused

Evangeline Gentle’s lovely voice was supposed to fill our hall back on March 112th or so. We’re looking forward to having them in person when we can all be together again.

Heads up on another concert stream!

Ian Sherwood was scheduled for our end-of-March show, and we’re working on a new show for next year!

Our April concert has been cancelled due to #covid Stay tuned for updates here as they come, and stay safe.

Recommended by Ottawa's top traffic guy/basement composer! Jim Bryson is a longtime friend of Folkus, and the steady hand in the studio behind a number of favourite Folkus players' albums. Thanks to the National Arts Centre / Centre national des Arts for funneling funds and resources to Canadian artists. [SI]

Slow Leaves was kind enough to save his live stream from the other night, and let us share it with you. He played our series back in 2016, and it sticks in my memory as a really special night. -- Sandy PS: Stay home, stay safe, check on your neighbours, and wash your hands. We miss seeing you in person. But we'll also be safer together alone.

The National Arts Centre / Centre national des Arts has done a wonderful job funneling funding to artists for live streaming performances. Nice to see Folkus alumna Connie Kaldor and her family making music together. (SI)

Keeper is one of my favourite songs it’s the one that put Campbell Woods on my radar in the first place. So pleased he’s recorded it. And a generous handful of other gems. Sandy PS: Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. #WereAllInThisTogether #StayHome #WashYourHands

There are a number of Folkus alumni on the list of nominees for this year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne. And there’s a wealth of talent to discover. Coming to a screen near you this weekend.

Hey kids! Mississippi Mills needs brightening up!

We’ll keep posting friends of Folkus when they go online! Hillary Watson is a London-based performer and a member of The Pairs (originally scheduled for our season this April). Kudos to the London Arts Council for putting on this series. Take care of your selves, stay home wash your hands, etc!

A new song from recent Folkus alumnus Campbell Woods and his pal Ellen Froese. Check it out!

Please enjoy these lovely views of #Almonte from local photographer Ryan Gordon. He also notes that he and Poppa Jimmy practiced safe social distancing. Stay home, stay safe, and look after each other.