News

Blues in the Schools Returns!

An important part of our mandate as a blues society is to bring professional musicians to area schools at no charge to the students! On April 16 we are fortunate to bring Jay Moonah, performing as Broke Fuse, to the students of Huron Heights Public School and St. Anthony Catholic School in Kincardine.

Jay will perform his songs with a variety of instruments common to blues music and explain the rich origins of the blues!

19th Anniversary Show!

Join us on Saturday March 29 as we celebrate our 19th Anniversary, bringing LIVE blues to Bruce County! Our featured performer is Larry Kurtz and The Lawbreakers from Orangeville ON. Larry has been playing major festivals and blues venues across Ontario, as a duo, Trouble and Strife, as guest harp player with Murray Kinsley and Wicked Grin and now with this four piece band.

Tickets: $30; BCB Members $25

Available at The Bruce

Bill Durst Returns to The Bruce!

We are happy to report that we're bringing one of our favourite bluesmen, Bill Durst, to The Bruce on Sunday, February 16, 2:00 pm. Bill has played here a number of times and has many, many fans so we're expecting a full house!

This is our 18th Annual Winter Reunion, a show that we first started back in 2008 and has become a popular gathering for blues fans (and a good excuse to get out of the house on a winter afternoon!)

Be sure to reserve your table and get your tickets early for this in-demand show!

Our Spring Season for 2025 ~

We have three upcoming shows this spring that we are sure you'll want to see:

On Sunday, January 26, we are gathering 16 of our talented Bruce County blues artists for a full afternoon of LIVE music. In fact, there are so many we want to showcase, we're moving up the start to 1:00 pm. instead of the usual 2:00 pm. start time for these Sunday afternoon matinees. See our poster below...
Then on Sunday, February 16, we welcome back the Bill Durst Band for a our 18th Annual Winter Reunion. Bill is a local favourite with a large fan base, so the house will be packed! This is the Sunday of the Family Day Weekend ... there's no work the next day!
And on Saturday March 29th we celebrate our 19th Anniversary with Larry Kurtz and The Lawbreakers. Larry is a phenomenal blues harp player, fronting a really tight, talented band. Showtime 7:30 pm.

All three shows are at our host venue, The Bruce, 750 Queen St., Kincardine. We strongly recommend you reserve your table and purchase your tickets well in advance!

Our First Show in 2025 ~

With so many talented blues musicians in Bruce County, we have decided to showcase 16 of them on Sunday, January 26, at The Bruce, with the music starting at 1:00 pm!

Plan on joining us and be sure to get your tickets from the bar AND reserve your table in advance as we expect this will be a "standing room only" afternoon!

Tickets: $25; BCB Members with Card, $20

Our Fall Season for 2024

We have three shows planned for this fall that we know you'll enjoy!

We start with The Mackenzie Blues Band from Owen Sound on Sunday, September 29, The Bruce, 2:00 pm. This five piece band has been a favourite of ours for 12 years, frequently playing at The Bruce as well as a couple of appearances at the Lighthouse Blues Festival. Lead by the talented guitar player Trevor Mackenzie and Tara Mackenzie on vocals, the band also includes Peter Devlin on guitar, Joel Dawson on bass and Mike Weir on drums.Tickets: $30; BCB Members with card $25.
Coming on Sunday October 20 to The Bruce, 2:00 pm is Mark Crissinger. Mark is from Nanaimo, British Columbia and will be touring selected venues and festivals in Quebec and Ontario throughout October. This is a solo acoustic show featuring Mark's original Canadiana roots/blues tunes. No Cover.
On Sunday, November 3 at The Bruce, 2:00 pm we bring in Rosie's Smokehouse Deluxe, from Wasaga Beach. This band played on the Lighthouse Blues Festival Main Stage last July and were enthusiastically received so we're happy to have them with us again for this club show. Tickets: $30; BCB Members with card, $25.

18th Anniversary Show Sunday April 21

It's amazing that we've been doing this for 18 years and are still going strong with over 150 paid members! During these 18 years we have been presenting international and national touring artists 4-5 times a year and brought our "Blues in the Schools" program to area schools every year! Finally we have supported our local artists who have sought the chance to raise their exposure by sending solo/duo and bands to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis every January.

We have a lot to celebrate on April 21 and are bringing one of our favourite bands from Memphis to make it a real party!

Two Upcoming Shows You Don't Want To Miss!

17th Annual Winter Reunion

FOG Blues and Brass Band

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Show 2:00 pm

18th Anniversary Show

Ghost Town Blues Band

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Show 7:00 pm

Tickets $30; BCB Members with Card, $25.

Our Boys Head for Beale Street

On Sunday, January 7, we hosted a fundraiser for both Darren Steckle, our solo representative, and The Greg Ritchie Band, our band representative. With a generous, full house we were able to send Darren off with a $1000 cheque and The Greg Ritchie Band with a $2000 cheque!

Darren and Greg's band are both featured at a Canadian Showcase on TuesdayJanuary 16 and will begin the first round of competition on Wednesday January 17.

Both Darren and Greg and his band were heading off to Memphis on the weekend of January 12, the very weekend the northeast was getting hit by a massive snowstorm! We wish them safe travels and a successful week on Beale Street!

The Greg Ritchie Band

The Greg Ritchie Band Located along the shores of Lake Huron, Saugeen First Nation #29 and Port Elgin, Ontario Canada. On Guitar/vocals, Greg Ritchie. On bass, Adrian Mitchell and on Drums, Mike Campbell. Greg and Adrian, both grew up playing and listening to gospel music in church from an early age and have known Mike for many years. They have a unique sound and play a variety of blues styles ranging from Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clear Water Revival to Gospel. Representing the Bruce County Blues Society. The band hopes to get in the studio in 2024!

Darren Steckle

Darren Steckle born (October 31, 2000) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, based in Zurich Ontario, Canada. At 16 years of age with a passion to sing and create music, Darren began writing songs, playing in bands, teaching himself guitar, piano, and vocals. Ever since, he has been playing festivals, private events and bars over northern canada. With roots firmly planted in blues music Darren also takes influence from many artists and genres such as: jazz, country, alternative, bluegrass and more. Darren is currently in the works of his first EP that is to be released early 2024!

Our Boys Are Off to Beale Street!

With some stiff competition in both the band and the solo/duo categories, our judges finally selected The Greg Ritchie Band and Darren Steckle to represent Bruce County Blues at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January. BCB is just one of eight Canadian blues societies sending Canadian artists to perform on Beale Street this year.

We will host a fundraiser for both on Sunday, January 7 at The Bruce, 2:00 pm. Please plan on joining us as we try to help these boys meet all the necessary expenses of travelling to Memphis. And, if you have a chance, get out and support them as they perform in area venues over the next month.

Regional International Blues Challenge Qualifier

On Sunday November 5, 2023 we will host our Regional International Blues Challenge Qualifier at The Bruce. Every year we try to send a solo/duo act and/or a band to compete in Memphis at the IBC. We're quite proud of Shakey Trill, who represented Bruce County in 2019 and made it to the Finals!

Join us on Sunday November 5 to see who will represent Bruce County Blues on Beale Street next January!

Steve Strongman wsg. Shakey Trill

Sunday, October 22, The Bruce, 2:00 pm

BCB is proud to present multiple award-winning Canadian bluesman, Steve Strongman, in this special solo acoustic performance. Strongman has been delighting audiences around the world with his take on the blues for decades, liberally applying swampy swagger and sweetness to shuffles, ballads, and four-on-the-floor chuggers alike. Now seven albums deep, Strongman is already well known as a solo artist within the blues community.

Opening for Steve will be our own Bruce County blues duo, Shakey Trill! Mike MacDonald and Tyler Pantlin represented BCB at the 2019 International Blues Challenge, where they were FINALISTS! Making this a special afternoon is the fact that Tyler is moving to BC so this will be the last performance of Shakey Trill. Join our send-off party for Tyler.

Our 2023/24 Season Kicks Off October 1

Tickets for our first show of the 2023/24 now on sale at The Bruce!

Two Great Bands, One Show!

On Sunday, October 1, BCB is proud to bring two awesome blues/rock guitarists to The Bruce for a special afternoon show, 2-5 pm. The Bruce is just one of five Canadian venues that have landed a show during this tour of the northeast.

"Blues rock guitar greats Alastair Greene and Chris Antonik are teaming up for a series of Canadian co-headlining shows this fall beginning September 27 in Hamilton Ontario then hitting Toronto, Kingston, Kitchener, and Kincardine.

The Austin, Texas-based Top 10 Billboard-charting Greene and Toronto-based 3x-Maple Blues Award-nominated Antonik will be bringing audiences an explosive evening of unique and powerful modern blues rock, as part of a special limited series that will feature intense, guitar-soaked blues from both acts.

Greene affirms, “I was thrilled when Chris approached me with the idea of doing some shows together. Not only is he a fine and accomplished musician in the blues rock world, he’s also a stand up guy with an incredible work ethic and great sense of humor! I’m really looking forward to this run of shows, hearing Chris’ band live, and getting the opportunity to make some music with him onstage.”

Antonik adds, “I’ve long admired Alastair’s innovative approach to modern blues rock, in addition to his tremendous guitar playing and songwriting. With our schedules aligned, I jumped at the opportunity to team up for these shows, as we’re both like-minded artists grounded in traditional blues, while interested in new sounds for the future.” ~ American Blues Scene