Troubadour Festival tickets on sale today

Not just another musical event, the Troubadour Festival will bring a popular idea to the city by the bay.

The inaugural Troubadour Festival comes to Barrie Sept. 21-23 and it will be a weekend of musicians, songwriters and something for everyone.

The event is being put on by the same people who introduced the city to The Songwriter Series that is held once a month downtown.

Chas Hay, from Inside The Music, is part of the team that will bring the festival of over 30 artists to multiple locations along Dunlop Street.

Hay says the idea certainly isn’t new, but is new to the city.

“This is a tried and tested formula and for me personally comes from my experiences at South By Southwest down in Texas and seeing different venues hosting musical acts of all different genres,” said Hay. “It’s really become the way to introduce people to music and particularly songwriters.”

The event runs from Friday to Sunday and will take place throughout the weekend at Donaleigh’s Temple Lounge, Flying Monkeys Attic Lounge, Homestead Bakery, St. Andrew’s Church and the main stage at Meridian Place.

The venues are just as unique to each other as the artists who will play them, which was no accident by Hay and his team.

“Donaleigh’s is becoming known for the monthly Songwriter Series that’s held in the back of the establishment and, of course, Meridian Square is really one huge reason this is coming together,” said Hay.

“Our new square is unlike anything anywhere, you don’t see that stage right in the middle of a downtown in many places at all and when you can combine it as a venue with an already cool music and bar scene so close by, you’ve got something," Hay added. "There was zero hesitation from most spots, but the church did have some reservations about it at first. But credit to them for realizing what a great opportunity this was to be a part of a fun event in the city and have people coming in.”

While St. Andrew’s Church will have refreshments obviously not of the alcohol variety, as well as hosting songwriters and artists who will lean toward the softer side and fit the relaxed atmosphere of the building, other spots will be rocking throughout the night where one can enjoy a beer or two and some pub fare.

Although the acts on the schedule are all fantastic, there must be a headliner with every show and the Joel Plaskett Emergency is the Troubadour Festival’s big act.

Joel Plaskett Emergency will perform at Meridian Square on Saturday, Sept. 22 along with the popular Hollerado, Born Ruffians and newly formed Toronto band, the Tallies, whose fun sound will certainly create a whole new Barrie fan base for them.

Hay says that, besides Joel Plaskett’s songwriting ability making him appealing to organizers, his rare appearances in the area helped them push to get him.

“I don’t think any music fan would argue that Joel is one of this country’s best songwriters and so very well-respected in the music community,” said Hay. “The fact, too, that he has not performed in our region a lot at all really made us want to get him here.

"The Troubadour Festival is supposed to introduce people to a variety of new musicians and allow them to have new experiences, we couldn’t do that by getting the same acts that come here often and call this a new type of weekend-long event for a city that has many each year," Hay added. 

Leading up to this event, Hay has long desired his hometown to become known as a music and songwriting city, so the Troubadour Festival is his way of helping that come to fruition.

Before the first act even takes the stage on the Friday at Donaleigh’s at 7 p.m., there are already plans to make this an annual event.

“We knew in the planning that we were going to make this a part of the region’s annual events calendar,” said Hay. “The response has already been positive and now we just have to deliver a great time for all.

"Truthfully, we’re very optimistic because this is what we know and the people who are putting this together are not only music people, but they understand how our city responds and what they enjoy. I’m very thankful for a strong team and for the excitement of the venue staff who are ready to bring a new event to Barrie.”

Troubadour Festival tickets go on sale today at 12 p.m. and you can head to https://troubadourfestival.ca/ to get yours.

You can grab a full festival pass that is good for every show from Friday, Sept. 21 until Sunday, Sept. 23 at all venues. Festival pass guarantees admittance to the general admission pit for the Saturday, Sept. 22 Meridian Place show.

You can also purchase single event tickets for the acts you want to see.