Melodies at the Museum is coming back to St. Marys for its tenth season.
The annual concert series features local performers and is hosted by the St. Marys Museum, dating back to 2012
Although last year the concert series returned after being off for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum’s cultural services manager said that last year’s weather was to be desired.
“It was not quite the big return of Melodies that we had hoped for,” Amy Cubberley told StratfordToday. “But it was still a successful series … we’re hopeful that the weather cooperates this year and all five (performances) can be outdoors.”
Cubberley said the series is a great way for locals that might not necessarily frequent the museum to come out and support them.
Like other years, admission is by donation, which are crucial, Cubberley said.
“It has been a really successful fundraiser for the museum as well,” she explained. “We do rely on some fundraising efforts … and this has been a great way for us to generate some revenue.”
Starting Aug. 2, new musical performances will take place every Wednesday evening at Cadzow Park.
First-time Melodies performer Jesse Webber will kick the series off. Webber has been playing and performing music for the last 27 years. His latest song, "Brand New Day," features a cast of Kitchener-Waterloo's elite musicians and shares the profits with the Six Nations Community Food Bank and a Ukrainian Relief Fund.
On Aug. 9, locals Meg and Brady of La Grove are featured. Meg and Brady are a musical duo from St. Marys that perform a blend of oldies, classic rock and pop tunes from the decades.
On Aug. 16, St. Marys duo Aimee Jesso and Chet Greason of The Bone Radlers will take the stage. Both performers are Melodies at the Museum regulars, having played with their previous bands, The Shenanigans and Corduroy Gordon. This will be their Melodies debut as a duo.
Former museum employee, Jaron Camp hits the stage Aug. 23, performing with Rachael Frankruyter in the York Street Thought Process. The duo creates a playful mixture of indie-folk and improvisation, a wide range of original music to classic covers.
The series finale is Aug. 30 with the Kintore-based jazz septet known as Jazzm@x (pronounced Jazzmatics). The group has performed in many venues, playing a range of styles from jazz standards to Bossa Nova to Funk.
The latter performance is one that Cubberley is personally looking forward to.
“Many people have stopped me out on the street, they absolutely love that one,” Cubberley shared.
Performances start at 7 p.m. at Cadzow Park or the town hall auditorium if there is inclement weather.
Organizers are advising concert goers to keep updated via the museum’s Facebook page. Any changes to the venue will be posted on their page before 5 p.m.
For more information, contact St. Marys Museum at 519-284-3356 or [email protected].
