Join us for a great night of music featuring hand-picked emerging and established homegrown talent with a house band made up of the area’s most highly sought-after touring and studio musicians. Be there to experience the energy, spontaneity, and magic of musical cross-pollination.
Each show features both emerging and established homegrown talent, backed on-stage by seasoned industry professionals, the Mark Lalama Trio. The Mark Lalama Trio is Mark Lalama on keyboards and vocals, Davide DiRenzo on drums and vocals, and Rich Moore on bass and vocals – all in-demand session and touring musicians who have played on hundreds of stages and studio recordings with top artists ranging from Tom Cochrane to Holly Cole and just about everyone in between. This trio is fast earning a reputation as one of the most engaging and intuitive bands around, and together they create a unique brand of incredible, genre-defying original music that never fails to inspire those who are there to take it all in.
Jackie Richardson has a voice that inspires. A legendary singer of blues, jazz, and gospel, she has graced the stage and screen as an award-winning film, television, and musical theatre actress, with leading roles in record-breaking productions. Throughout her career, Jackie has recognized the transformative power of music, which began in a music-filled home. Now one of her greatest joys is when given the opportunity to acknowledge her mentors who inspired her along her journey.
Will Gillespie is an award-winning Singer-Songwriter, guitarist and entertainer based out of Hamilton, Ontario. Known for his eclectic songwriting, evocative guitar playing and entertaining live show, this charming finger-picking troubadour is also the author, composer, director and lead performer of the musicals “Swingin’ in St. John’s,” (which he brought to BPAC in 2019 after playing an award-winning sold-out run in Hamilton in 2017 and being re-mounted in 2018) “Diamond in the Rough”, (which won “Audience Choice” at the 2019 Hamilton Fringe Awards) and “MINE! True Stories and Legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush” (which debuted at the Westdale Theatre and toured across Ontario in 2022). His latest full-length solo album Change of Perspective is available on most streaming and download platforms as well as CD and 12″ vinyl LP.
“From songwriter to crooner and cabaret man to power pop genius, Will Gillespie is always evolving his artistry” – Paul Loewenberg, Former Artistic Director, Northern Lights Festival Boreal
“Will Gillespie has a particular knack for telling imaginative Canadian stories” – Steel City Girl Reviews
