Since it opened in 2015, the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre has continued to be a chosen venue for some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Perhaps that’s why perennial favourites such as Gowan, Tom Cochrane, Classic Albums Live, the Girls Nite Out comedy troupe, Natalie McMaster and Donnell Leahy and Dwayne Gretzky are all returning to the downtown St. Catharines venue for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
“These artists play a lot of places, with the wineries doing more and more and the OLG Stage (in Niagara Falls) bringing in acts,” says Sara Palmieri, the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre’s director of programming and marketing. “The difference is the PAC is such a special place, an intimate venue purpose-built for our community.”
Sure, for some of this year’s artists - Glass Tiger, 54-40, Gowan, Cochrane, Finger Eleven - their hit-making years are mostly in the rear-view mirror. But that’s not a knock against them.
“People like nostalgia,” Palmieri tells The Local. “Especially after the pandemic. We have some classics coming back. And you get to see these artists you may have grown up with and seen elsewhere right here in your community with your friends and family. It’s always great to bring them back every couple of years.”
The nostalgia trip is accented with several shows - a celebration of the late Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip on October 16; The Musical Box recreating prog-rock band Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound on November 27; and Classic Albums Live offering up both Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on April 15 and Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run January 22.
“That’s such a great album,” Palmieri says of the former Beatle’s 1973 release with his band Wings. “Classic Albums Live has a huge roster and they tour all over North America. They’ve been here time and time again - they’ve done Pink “Floyd, Queen - but this is an album they’ve never done here.”
Country fans will be pleased with the chance to see Brett Kissel take the Partridge Hall stage on March 17. Kissel has landed four songs at the number-one spot on the Canadian country charts, including Drink About Me and Make a Life, Not a Living. And Alberta-based country and bluegrass band High Valley plays the same venue on September 20 following a pre-show line dancing party next door at Robertson Hall.
Canada’s most beloved comic Rick Mercer returns to the PAC on September 26, while other comedy offerings on tap include Improv Under Hypnosis with Colin Mochrie and hypnotist Asad Mecci (January 28), the Just For Laughs Road Show (April 28), Maria Bamford (November 4) and Pauly Shore (March 31).
“We love comedy, it’s the best,” Palmieri laughs. “It’s low overhead, you just put a mic on stage and they just take it home. Rick Mercer was here our first year and we are finally able to get him back. Maria Bamford is huge, and Pauly Shore is a real throwback. His show is as much storytelling as it is comedy.”
On the dance front, there’s ProArteDanza (January 30), The Social Tango Project (November 17), Global Bollywood (February 25) and Rhythm of the Dance (March 16). Palmieri is especially excited about the February 25 performance by African-American dance troupe Step Afrika!
“They were born out of the American college circuit,” she says. “It’s a high-energy show with incredible Black performers who do the stepping that you see in fraternities and sororities, but they also get into the origins of dance from Africa.”
If you like crowd participation, there’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show (October 25), Choir! Choir! Choir! (two shows - December 22 and February 20), a Family Day Samajam and a chance to sing along with The Sound of Music (December 29).
There are also a few off-the-beaten-path presentations, including the One Man Star Wars Trilogy with actor Charles Ross (December 28), a deep dive into The Psychology of Serial Killers with Dr. Rachel Toles, comedy magic from Ted and Marion Outerbridge (October 24), the New North Collective’s Circumpolar Soundscape (February 6) and Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock Live on March 14.
And Palmieri reminds The Local that there are 10 performances scheduled in the PAC’s Impact Education Series and The Film House will continue to present documentaries, new features, classics and special events.
It all kicks off on September 18 with the double bill of Feist and Jeremy Dutcher at Partridge Hall.
There’s much, much more on tap for 2024-2025 than can fit in this space. For a full schedule of shows, tickets and information about becoming a member of the PAC, visit firstontariopac.ca.
