Thorold may be considered the Blues Capital of Canada, but this Saturday at least, it will be all about the jazz.
And while the addition of Thorold as a stop for the TD Niagara Jazz Festival appears to be something new, the groundwork for what is now known as Music in the Park was first laid on the eve of the 2023 festival.
“[Thorold City] Councillor Tim O’Hare came out last year at Jackson-Triggs," says Juliet Dunn, who is the executive artistic producer and who along with her late husband, Peter Shea, created the festival.
O’Hare suggested Thorold as a possible location for the festival, as the city’s Canada Day celebrations already featured days of blues and rock music.
“When Peter and I created the festival, the idea was to go to all the municipalities in Niagara,” Dunn says. “So, this fit in with that.”
O’Hare, meanwhile, says bringing the festival – dubbed Music in the Park – to Thorold was a natural fit.
“Thorold is a huge music city,” he tells ThoroldToday. “Some people refer to it as the Blues capital of Canada.”
O'Hare thinks the addition of the Jazz Festival will only add to Thorold’s reputation as being a city that is friendly to live music.
“In Thorold, we do provide many outlets for live music,” he says. “Donnelly’s [Pub] for example, has live music all the time.”
O’Hare says that he and Dunn went back and forth on how the jazz fest could make the city a part of its programming.
“We looked what could be done right downtown on Front Street but then thought, we have this wonderful Canada Day weekend,” O’Hare says.
“My vision was for Thorold and Grimsby to have a street festival,” Dunn adds. “That would have been on June 22.”
But when plans for the Grimsby portion didn’t come together, it was decided that adding the Thorold event to the Canada Day weekend was the way to go.
“We’d like to maybe bring it to Grimsby next year,” Dunn says.
The addition of Thorold brings the total of Niagara municipalities in Niagara with events linked to the festival to four. Other municipalities taking part include St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls, the latter of which is taking part for the first time in a collaboration with Niagara Parks.
O’Hare says the festival will have more than music for attendees.
“There will be vendors and food trucks,” he says. “It should be a fun day.”
Music in the Park will take place Saturday, June 29, and will feature two stages of jazz and world music from 1 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
The schedule is as following:
OLG FIESTA STAGE
1-1:30 p.m. – Opening Remarks / Indigenous Opening
1:30-2:15 p.m. The Imbayakunas
3-3:45 p.m. Angela Turone + Chris Platt
4:15-5 p.m. Alistair Robertson Quartet
5:30-6:15 p.m. Heavyweights Brass Band
6:45-7:30 p.m. Wojtek Justyna TreeOh! (International)
8-9 p.m. Malia Love
9:30-10:30 p.m. Kirk Diamond and the Movement of Ahryel
GROOVE GARDEN STAGE
2:15-3 p.m. Brock Jazz Big Band
3:45-4:15 p.m. Moon
5-5:30 p.m. Fernandha Cunha Trio
6:15-6:45 p.m. Fuat Tuaç Quartet
7:30-8 p.m. PK Hummingbird Steel Orchestra
9-9:30 p.m. NEMESIS Duo (Scott Jackson Beatbox + Dr. Draw on electric violin)
There will also be an after-party jam session at Donnelly’s Pub, 54 Front. St. from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
More information can be found at niagarajazzfestival.com.
