Tour De Fort has brought quality Canadian entertainers to the Rainy River District for over 30 years and the non-profit, volunteer run concert series is not slowing down in year 32. Just before the final concert of the 2024-25 season, the local concert series announced its line up for next year.
The 2025-26 season kicks off with a bang on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, with Crash Test Dummies.
Originally from Winnipeg, the folk tinged alt-rock outfit has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and won a Juno. The band jumped to popularity in the 90s with songs like “Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm” and “Superman’s Song.” They also saw success with their cover of “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead” on the “Dumb and Dumber” soundtrack.
While the band had not toured extensively in recent years, they did tour in 2018 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their hit album “God Shuffled His Feet.” 2024 and 2025 have seen them touring internationally playing the majority of the album in celebration of its 30th anniversary.
Following Crash Test Dummies, singer-songwriter Melissa Payne will come to town on Saturday, Oct. 25. Payne finds her roots in old-time fiddle and traditional Celtic music, according to her website. Payne has three full-length albums and her “latest single ‘So Real’ has been receiving positive reviews and is a testament to her honest and vulnerable approach to songwriting,” according to her bio.
After a few months’ break from the passport series, the season returns on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, with Toronto alt-rock/reggae band Big Sugar.
Formed in 1988 by Gordie Johnson, Big Sugar has been at the top of the Canadian music charts for years. “Songs like Diggin’ a Hole, If I Had my Way, Turn the Lights On and Roads Ahead with their Roots Rock Reggae style featuring Gordie Johnson’s signature guitar playing have built a loyal following, earning Big Sugar a Road Gold Award as they continue to sell out concerts across North America,” the band’s bio says.
Big Sugar will be followed on Wednesday, Feb. 11, by The Hello Darlins, a folk outfit made up of some of the “most in-demand professional session and touring musicians who came together to forge a distinct hybrid of country, gospel and blues.” The band is led by Romani-Canadian musician Candace Lacina and keyboardist Mike Little.
The band has toured throughout Europe and Canada, recently hitting the road for 36 dates across Canada with Matt Anderson. In 2024, the band released its second album “The Alders & The Ashes.”
On Friday, March 27, Jessica Pearson & The East Wind blow into Fort Frances for the penultimate show of the season. Pearson’s style comes from her love of storytelling and draws on folk, outlaw country and Celtic music styles.
According to their website, “Jessica Person & the East Wind’s live show will first bring you to the edge of your seat, and then to tears- before spilling over into joy, community and a sense of sacred, shared power.”
The 2025-26 season wraps up with the John Wort Hannam trio on Thursday, April 16. Hannam has been on a roots music journey for over 20 years.
According to his bio: “He discovered the guitar and his knack for writing songs in his early 30s while working as a teacher on the Kainai Nation in Blackfood country. In 2001 John quit his teaching job and made himself a promise – he would try his hand at writing songs for a full 10 months until his EI ran out. When time was up, he had a handful of songs.”
Those songs made up his first recording, which he released in 2002. Two decades Laker Hannam is known as one of the best folk music writers in Alberta and has released eight full-length albums.
Tour de Fort President Charles Fisher says the committee is excited about the lineup for next season.
“We’re really excited to be bringing this exciting lineup of Canadian entertainers to Fort Frances for our 32nd season,” Fisher said.
“It’s pretty amazing to be able to bring artists like Big Sugar and Crash Test Dummies to our small town, alongside a lot of other artists who maybe don’t have the same name recognition but who represent some of the best that the Canadian music scene has to offer.”
The local series and venue have garnered some notoriety on the Canadian music circuit, Fisher adds.
“One thing that has been so rewarding to see happen over the past several years is that Fort Frances has developed a really positive reputation in the Canadian music scene,” he said.
“Artists that play here love it. They love the town, our theatre, and the amazing audiences. They tell their management and agents about us and that opens up more and more opportunities to bring different artists into town. We’ve seen more and more that agents and performers are coming to us to ask if they can come play a Tour de Fort show. Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar has been wanting to come play here for several years, and fortunately we were finally able to make it happen.”
Another example is an extra show that has been added to the concert schedule next season outside of the passport season. The group is also promoting a Christmas show during its November-December passport season ‘hiatus.’
On Tuesday, December 2, George Canyon and Aaron Pritchett are stopping in Fort Frances on their Coast-to-Coast Cowboy Christmas tour.
George Canyon rose to becoming one of Canada’s hottest Country Music stars in the early 2000’s and has won countless accolades and awards, including Juno Awards, CCMA Awards, and ECMA Awards to name a few. He has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded 12 albums, and was presented a certified Platinum Award for his debut album ‘One Good Friend’. With country iconic hits like Just Like You, I Believe in Angels, Drinkin’ Thinkin’, Daughters of the Sun, I Got This, I Want You To Live, Slow Dance and many, many more, he is also a highly regarded humanitarian, strong supporter of the military, and, most important, a proud father and devoted husband.
He’s been a household name in Canadian Country music for 20 years, but when Aaron Pritchett hits the stage, he does so with the energy and intensity of an artist fresh on the scene. Yet despite being known for his dynamic, even raucous, live shows, it’s the classically country gentleman inside of Pritchett that’s made him a fan favourite – and staying force in Canadian country – for more than two decades.
Tickets for the Coast-to-Coast Cowboy Christmas show are not included in the season passport and cost $45. They’re available now on tourdefort.com.
Tour de Fort’s trademark is their signature passport, which grants the holder access to all six of the season shows and is the only way to purchase tickets in advance for the whole year. The $130 price averages out to less than $25 for each of the six shows. If passport holders aren’t interested in a particular show or are unable to attend, they are encouraged to share them with their friends and family. Passports are available online through tourdefort.com or in-person with cash at Ski’s Variety or the Fort Frances Public Library. Staff at the in-person outlets will take names down and the physical passport will be available at the Crash Test Dummies show in the fall.
