Base31 concert schedule

Stellar lineup of entertainment planned for summer season

A total of forty shows and concerts are on the summer schedule for Base31, featuring some of the finest musicians, actors and comedians in Canada. The spacious Drill Hall will host a lineup of multi-award-winning musicians including the Sam Roberts Band, Colin James, 54-40 and Sarah Slean. The Sergeants Mess Hall will provide an intimate setting for Royal Wood, Barbra Lica, Judy Collins and Jane Siberry among others. The County Stage Company will present four shows in this venue, and it will also be the site of the Haymaker Comedy Festival. “This place is going to emerge as a major destination in the months ahead,” said Base31 CEO Tim Jones. “We are still putting the pieces together—there are major partnerships we are working on. There’s a lot more programming and there’s a whole movement around food and beverage.”

There were nine concerts held in the Drill Hall last year, and the enthusiastic response provided the impetus for an expanded concert and entertainment schedule at Base31. “This year we are focusing on the Drill Hall as a ‘stand up and dance’ kind of space, so there’s less on the singer/songwriter upfront and much more on the rock, and there’s some country, and really amazing talents. We’re looking to appeal to a whole different mix of genres and ages,” said Jones. Each of the performers at the Drill Hall are multiple Juno award winners, and their music has wide and enduring appeal. The final scheduled concert on August 26 is a special collaboration between Base31 and the BIGLAKE Symphony Orchestra featuring Sarah Slean in a tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell.

The Sergeants Mess Hall is currently under renovation and will be the setting for a number of concerts and shows. “We’re going to create what I think will be an iconic cabaret space,” said Jones. “There are three streams of performances. The first are some amazing Juno- and Grammy-winning icons. This is a chance to see an amazing performer in a really intimate setting, that you would never normally get to do. Then there’s a series we’re collaborating with the County Stage Company on. And then there’s a series of shows we curated specially for this venue. This is going to be a series of songbook celebrations. We’re going to kick it off with Barbra Sings Bacharach, with Brian Barlow and Barbra Lica. Then we’ve got a series called Honky Tonkin’ with the songs of Hank Williams, and we’ve got a series called Queens of Country with some amazing artists. The final one is A Night in Vegas with Billy Newton-Davis and Micah Barnes, former members of The Nylons, which is a celebration of the Rat Pack.”

The County Stage Company will be presenting four shows in the Sergeants Mess Hall, as well as the Haymaker Comedy Festival, featuring Colin Mochrie, Debra McGrath and Elvira Kurt. “This is just the beginning,” said Jones.”This is the first volley of programming on our stages, and there’s going to be opening acts for many of those shows.”

There are other major improvements in the works at Base31. There will be a new outdoor stage with a major concert on the schedule. There will also be a new food and beverage complex. “We’ve invited the County to come and co-create this place with us, and the response from food entrepreneurs has been tremendous. In the next month or so we’ll be in a position to announce the partnerships we’ve formed around that,” said Jones. “As we’re bringing people here to listen to music and enjoy the site, we’re also going to be showcasing the new venue we’ll be enjoying this summer.” Base31 is collaborating with 25 other food and service providers to create an experience marketplace, which in addition to food and drink will offer site tours, health and wellness events and fitness services. There will also be an expanded public art program, featuring new collaborations with local artists.

windows, better ventilation and an expanded patio space in preparation for the coming season. Renovation of the Sergeants Mess Hall is expected to be complete in early May, and the inaugural event to celebrate the opening of the facility will be a gala fundraiser for the Picton Library called Swing Into The Future. It will be a throwback to 1942, hearkening back to a time when soldiers at the base would gather at this very building for dances. For more information, please visit base31.ca/calendar