Celtic band next on ‘tour de Fort’ lineup

With four of its six season concerts and two extra ones now wrapped up, “tour de Fort” organizers can enjoy about a four-week breather before the next set of musicians hits the Townshend Theatre stage.
“Scruj MacDuhk,” a Celtic band, is slated to perform here March 25, with the a cappella group “U4X” (Euphorics) set to wrap up the concert series April 18.
Both concerts are sold out to passport holders.
tour de Fort president Wendy Brunetta said the 1999-2000 season has gone off without a hitch so far, with the bonus shows offered by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Farmers’ Daughter proving big hits with concert-goers.
“They were both really successful [and] the TBSO exceeded our expectations,” she added.
“We weren’t sure how many people would come but we almost sold out,” Brunetta said, noting proceeds from that concert were donated back to the TBSO as a show of support for the orchestra.
While she admitted the extra concerts meant more work for tour de Fort volunteers, no plans are afoot to cut these shows from future season lineups.
“We do want to continue to offer the extra shows because our passports do sell out and [the extras] give the rest of the community a chance to see performers,” Brunetta reasoned.
“Plus, those shows help offset our expenses–they’re fundraisers for us,” she added.
On average, each concert costs tour de Fort some $2,500.
Meanwhile, plans already are in the works to set the 2000-01 concert series. Bookings in the works include “Tiller’s Folly,” a Celtic band with dancers, and “Street Nix,” an a cappella group sure to be a hit with teens here, Brunetta said.
“[‘Street Nix’] has a wide variety of musical appeal and I’m sure the teenage girls will be just screaming–[the singers] are really cute!” she chuckled.