SOLD OUT

The Take Note! Music House is excited to welcome Boreal for their long-awaited pandemic rain-cheque on Friday, November 28 at 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:30).

Boreal is a powerhouse trio of Canadian singer-songwriters – Tannis Slimmon, Katherine Wheatley and Angie Nussey – blending distinct voices and styles. From beautiful and delicate to powerful and uplifting, their stunning harmonies, dynamic musical arrangements, and masterful songwriting create a magical, deeply moving experience that leaves audiences spellbound.

Suggested donation is $30, and reservations are required – please email concerts@takenotepromotion.com to book your seat and get the address. (A private home, just east of Barrie City Hall.) Also a heads up that there are no tickets sold in advance, so anyone offering to sell tickets they can’t use is 100% a scammer – please report anyone making such offers.

Boreal

“Boreal is the perfect blend of three amazing talents into one body of heavenly harmony, humour and class! We loved them!" - Ginny Clements, Innisfil Live Music

Boreal is a rare musical collaboration between three acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriters—Tannis Slimmon, Angie Nussey, and Katherine Wheatley—who come together to form a group greater than the sum of its parts. Each artist brings a distinct musical voice: Katherine’s warm guitar-driven storytelling, Tannis’s earthy folk rooted in mandolin and percussion, and Angie’s emotionally textured keyboard and vocals. One draws from sacred, ethereal sounds, one from velvet-toned folk traditions, and one from the raw, untamed spirit of rock and soul.

Rather than featuring a single frontwoman, Boreal thrives on shared spotlight and mutual creativity. They write and arrange songs specifically for the trio, with all three voices in mind. And, with over 15 solo albums among them, they handpick and reimagine their strongest material through rich, unconventional harmonies and dynamic arrangements. Their performances balance delicate beauty with vocal fireworks, drawing audiences in with emotional depth, humour, and impeccable musicianship.

In the words of four-time Juno Award-winning songwriter David Francey: “I’ll give you three good reasons for catching Boreal in concert. There are three wonderful writers in this band, and three beautiful voices. That’s two reasons. The third is the magic that happens when these three women combine those wonderful songs and voices on stage. Each brings their own brilliance to the whole. Magical’s the word. I was transported.”

Boreal first came together in 2006 with a shared vision for Songs for the Snowy Season, a winter-themed show that quickly blossomed into an annual touring tradition across Ontario. Their first album, Winter’s Welcome, followed in 2014. In 2019, after founding member Jude Vadala retired, Angie Nussey joined the group, contributing her own distinctive and creative flair.

Their latest release, Winterbirds (March 2025), grew from long-distance collaboration into a powerful creative retreat—three immersive weeks writing and recording at Les Stroud’s home studio near Huntsville, Ontario. The album includes nine originals and a tender Gordon Lightfoot cover, all marked by harmony, heart, and the unmistakable chemistry of a band that listens deeply to each other.

Since the release, Boreal has toured widely across Ontario and Manitoba, bringing Winterbirds to festivals and theatres including Guelph’s Hillside Festival and Owen Sound’s Summerfolk. With a year-round touring schedule and ever-evolving musical synergy, Boreal continues to connect with audiences through powerful storytelling, shared artistry, and unforgettable live shows.

It was just announced that Boreal has been nominated for THREE Canadian Folk Music Awards for 2026 – Vocal Group of the Year, Ensemble of the Year, and Contemporary Album of the year. Congratulations, well deserved!

Learn more, and sample some of Boreal’s music at www.borealsongs.ca

The Take Note! Music House is thrilled to welcome back Joe Jencks on Thursday, October 30 at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30). Joe Jencks is an international touring musician, award-winning songwriter and celebrated vocalist, known for his performances of musical beauty, social consciousness and spiritual exploration. Having penned several #1 Folk-songs including the ever relevant “Lady of The Harbor”, Jencks has become a fan favourite throughout North America, and is the co-founder of Brother Sun.

Suggested donation is $25, and reservations are required – please email concerts@takenotepromotion.com to book your seat and get the address. (A private home, just east of Barrie City Hall.) Also a heads up that, s there are no tickets sold in advance, anyone offering to sell tickets they can’t use is 100% a scammer – please report anyone making such offers.

Joe Jencks

"The spirit of Folk music is people working together. Joe is a fantastic singer who carries on the traditions.." - Pete Seeger

Joe Jencks is an 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Having penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor, Jencks was also co-founder of the harmony trio, Brother Sun. From Festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Jencks has enthralled diverse audiences with his approachable style. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel.

“If one can master a craft after investing 10,000 hours, Joe Jencks’ hours are showing! Jencks tells our stories, his story, and the untold stories, as only an American folk master can - with heart and unfettered perfection.” - MarySue Twohy, Program Director - SIRIUS XM Radio

In August of 2022, Jencks released his 17th recording, The Coming of the Years, an album that stands firmly in the modern Celtic traditions and is still quintessentially a Joe Jencks record. Centered around songs Jencks wrote while on tour in Ireland over a 12-year period, this album emerges as a synergistic blend of past and present merging with themes of immigration spanning multiple generations. The album was received with critical acclaim. On the stage, in the studio, or in lecture halls, Jencks applies conservatory training to contemporary genres, bridging styles and techniques. Drawing on his Irish heritage (dual U.S./Irish Citizen), Jencks uses his lyrical voice to enchant, heal, and inspire. Jencks has won numerous songwriting awards and is also highly regarded as a song interpreter. Jencks weaves a diverse web of stories with brilliant musical skill, ensnaring even the most rigid of hearts, inviting them to open. His songs invite us to live inside of our passions and our beliefs.

“You can expect many a gifted artist to move you deeply, but Joe Jencks will change who you are.” - Angela Page – WJFF, Radio Catskill, Jefferson, NY

Learn more, and sample some of Joe’s music at https://joejencks.com

The Take Note! Music House is thrilled to welcome back James Gordon with Katherine Wheatley on Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7pm).

Suggested donation is $25, and reservations are required – please email concerts@takenotepromotion.com to book your seat and get the address. (A private home, just east of Barrie City Hall.) As there are no tickets sold in advance, anyone offering to sell tickets they can’t use is 100% a scammer – please report anyone making such offers. We’re looking forward to having James and Katherine back at TNMH, and looking forward to hearing them together!

for up-to-date info, please visit https://takenotepromotion.com/event/5918893/708962811/james-gordon-with-katherine-wheatley

James Gordon

“This fine Canadian songwriter is still on a roll. A mature, astute observer of the human heart in all its conditions. Unhurried personal narratives that anyone can share- songwriting on a conversational scale with universal relevance.” - Rock and Reel Review

James Gordon has been there. He’s done that. He has had a remarkably diverse and resilient career in the Canadian cultural sector. As a solo singer-songwriter and with the ground-breaking trio Tamarack, he’s recorded 42 albums and toured relentlessly around the world. He’s written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre and dance works, scored films, and for more than ten years was heard on CBC radio as songwriter-in-residence for the ’Basic Black’ and ‘Ontario Morning’ programs. Between tours, James is a record producer, playwright, community activist, theatre director and he was a Guelph City Councillor for eight years. After a long break because of you-know-what, Gordon is touring again either solo, as a duo with Katherine Wheatley, or with his band consisting of David Woodhead, Katherine Wheatley, Anne Lindsay, Ian Bell and Randall Coryell on drums if the situation allows! “A remarkable Canadian performer. His body of work is truly original” - Penguin Eggs “A confident artist with important things on his mind.” - Toronto Star “Rootsy sound, strong songs, with a poet’s eye for telling details and a picket-line singer’s passion.” - Sing Out Magazine James will be accompanied by the incredible Katherine Wheatley, a respected singer-songwriter in her own right, but also high in demand as a collaborative singer and guitar player.

“…she exudes sheer kindness and love. Blessedly, refreshingly, a truly Canadian original.” - Chronicle Journal

Learn more, and sample some of James’s music at https://jamesgordon.ca

After an extended “pause” in 2024, the Take Note! Music House concerts are back, with TNMH faves Tragedy Ann, on Thursday, January 30 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7pm). Suggested donation is $20, or pay-what-you-can, but reservations are required – please email concerts@takenotepromotion.com or call 705-305-1687 to book your seat and get the address. (A private home, just east of Barrie City Hall.)

Liv and Braden first played here in 2016, and were supposed to return in 2020 as part of The Lifers, but… sigh… then 2020 happened. We’re so excited to have these lovely people and amazing performers return, at last!

Tragedy Ann

Tragedy Ann is a forward-looking folk duo from Guelph, Ontario

“...chockfull of talent and things to say... lovingly crafted, no note out of place.” - Hayley Mullen (CFMU 93.3 Hamilton)

“A collective fresh breath was taken as Tragedy Ann took the stage and emanated romance, harmony and joy with such charm and dynamic interplay that the hush became palpable. The applause rose in wave upon wave throughout their set.” - Paul Corby (Corby’s Orbit, Roots Music Canada)

Braiding organic vocal harmonies with organ, accordion, singing saw, and guitars, Tragedy Ann’s arrangements are as delicate as they are driving. Their concerts emanate “…the honesty and enthusiasm of people who can’t help but create and perform.” (Jon Farmer, Georgian Bay Roots).

With their new album Heirlooms, Liv Cazzola and Braden Phelan issue a call for deeper connection with each other and with the natural world. The answer to this call is reflected both in the collaborative creation process and the meaningful ways in which Heirlooms is being shared. Setting these intentions rooted them and provided the insight needed to nourish the project and create something lasting.

"We want Heirlooms to encourage listeners to question their individual choices and reconsider the experiences of others in their communities, provoking critical thought rather than merely expressing our opinions. In order to encourage this in others, we must do so ourselves. "

Heirlooms is an opportunity to reconnect, share stories and learn. The album is a follow up to their 2018 release Matches which garnered them two ‘Songs from the Heart’ songwriting awards (Folk Music Ontario), international critical acclaim, Canadian folk/roots radio charting, and syndication on CBC Radio and Stingray Music.

Tragedy Ann has performed at such venues as the National Arts Centre, Haliburton Folk Society, Brampton Folk Society, Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club, Blue Skies Music Festival, Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival, Home County Folk Festival, and Egersund Visefestival (Norway). They have gratefully received sponsorship and financial support from the Ontario Arts Council, FACTOR, SPARC, and Stonebridge Guitars.

In addition to their musical endeavours as a duo, they can also be seen on-stage with The Lifers, heard on their peers’ albums, and found facilitating songwriting workshops and music lessons.

At home, their musical and personal lives are inevitably married - both literally and figuratively. Cazzola and Phelan are passionate about community-building, gardening, and culinary adventure. Braden is the president of the Guelph Arts Council’s board of directors, and Liv is a founding member of the Canadian chapter of Music Declares Emergency. Dedicated to living gently and ethically in community, they attend meetings, town halls, and demonstrations organized by local environmental and social justice organizations.

Learn more, and sample some of their music at https://tragedyannmusic.com

**Not a TNMH concert, but we know our audience would be interested in attending!

For more than 20 years, the artists of the Barrie and District Association of Singer/Songwriters have been meeting to perform our songs with one another. Join us as we showcase our best original tunes.

Featured Performers: Cyndy Ryder, Edward St. Moritz, Moon Racoon, Dave Hawkins-Johnson, Dave Joyce, Cassandra Rutherford.

Minimum donation $20 per person, $10 for ages 17 and under Doors open at 7pm, light refreshments will be available

For advance tickets and other inquiries, email BadassConcert@gmail.com