Tour de Fort is back!
Eighteen long months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of public gatherings, Tour de Fort (www.tourdefort.com) is thrilled to announce the return of touring acts to the Rainy River District with the generous support of Heritage Canada.
On Saturday, August 14th, join us for RETOUR de Fort, an opportunity to celebrate live music at Rainy Lake Square. This event is open to everyone, and admission is by donation in support of Tour de Fort.
The health and safety of our performers, volunteers, staff, and attendees is of utmost importance. All attendees must wear a mask or face covering unless exempt and adhere to all applicable public health guidelines in place at the time. Tour de Fort reserves the right to limit the number of attendees in order to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.
Tour de Fort is continuing to work on the 2021-22 season concert series. Further announcements regarding performance dates and Passport sales will be forthcoming.
RAINE HAMILTON – 2:00 p.m.
www.rainehamilton.com
Raine Hamilton is part prairie songstress, part story weaver. Raine invites her love of the violin into the singer-songwriter genre, writing for violin and voice, as well as for guitar and voice. Raine’s latest work, Brave Land (2021-22), is a concept album about mountains, and the courage, wisdom, and otherworldly connection they represent. Here, as in Raine’s 2018 album Night Sky, her songs are set to intricate and seasoned arrangements for guitar, violin, cello, and double bass. Raine is the recipient of the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. Raine believes that music is for everyone. An experienced educator, Raine offers workshops in songwriting and fiddle tune writing. She also offers concerts with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, to help make live music more accessible to the Deaf community.
NOAH DERKSEN & THE OVERDRAFTS – 4:00 p.m.
www.noahderksen.com
Noah Derksen is an American-born singer-songwriter raised in the heart of the Canadian prairies who matured on the west coast of British Columbia. In 2019 Noah released his third full-length album entitled America, Dreaming. The album was produced by JUNO-award winning producer Murray Pulver, and features artwork by another JUNO-award winner Roberta Landreth. America, Dreaming represents an observation of the United States and Noah’s identity as an American citizen. Noah writes with the groundedness of harsh Manitoba winters mixed with the optimism of the BC coastline. He currently lives in the West End neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
JEAN-PAUL DE ROOVER & THE BANDAID SOLUTION – 6:00 p.m.
www.jeanpaulderoover.com
Jean-Paul De Roover’s musical upbringing was anything short of ordinary. Inspired to play music after reading a book about a child violinist, he begged his parents to learn to play violin. He was promptly coerced into piano lessons. After two years, he had the opportunity to learn violin in Pakistan, where he was immediately disappointed with his progress and stopped. In his teens, he was gifted a handmade Bolivian guitar and taught himself his first Beatles song. This Belgian-Canadian has toured across North America and Europe, sharing stages with artists such as the Beach Boys, Goo Goo Dolls, and many more. His music and videos have been featured on CBC and MuchMusic. Jean-Paul’s most recent records Love (2019) and Loss (2020) were recorded in his own Blueprints Studio.
THE HONEST HEART COLLECTIVE – 8:00 p.m.
www.honestheart.co
THHC was born from brothers Ryan and Nic MacDonald, a moment at a Bruce Springsteen concert, and a rotating cast of musicians made permanent. Buoyed by the backdrop of their Northern Ontario roots, the band embodies an old soul take of heart-on-sleeves storytelling through music. THHC followed their 2015 debut Liar’s Club with 2018’s Grief Rights which combines classic rock n’ roll sensibilities with ‘90’s rock touches and the blue collar ethos of Springsteen for a sound that stands on its own. THHC has toured extensively throughout Canada including legendary venues such as Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern and Ottawa’s Zaphod Beeblebrox. In addition to their original material, THHC comes armed with an impressive array of reimagined cover material packaged as the Rock Revival, a staple of the Thunder Bay music scene. On October 8th, THHC is releasing their new record, More Harm.
TOUR DE FORT is a non-profit organization run totally by volunteers. Every dollar raised through the sale of passports and the generous support of sponsors goes back into the concert series and supports the performing arts in the community. Tour de Fort is dedicated to presenting the Rainy River District with high-quality professional entertainment with Canadian emphasis, at an affordable cost.
For more information please visit www.tourdefort.com or www.facebook.com/tourdefort.
For additional information and media enquiries, please contact info@tourdefort.com
