ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
Solo Show with William Hess
From September 15-October 27, the ICCA is very proud to present an exhibition of
the work of the singular painter William Hess. Hess, who emigrated from West Germany in
1951, ran a toy store in Inverness, and created some of the most memorable images ever
painted of Cape Breton Island. His work, which also depicted many other subjects, is well
known in the area, and many pieces are owned by local art lovers. We will be appealing to
the community to help make this show a huge success, and a formal request to loan work
to the centre for the exhibition will be forthcoming.
Wintersleep
Wintersleep, Halifax indie-rock stalwarts, are lacing up the skates for a limited run of Nova Scotia shows for this summer. Drawing on 7 albums worth of material, these sets will be varied and bespoke, full of joy and surprise. Come join us! Wintersleep will be performing with us at Inverness County Centre for the Arts on August 31, 2024
Doors open at 6:30pm
The Gilberts will be opening, following Abbey Mullendore and Steve Luxton
We look forward to seeing you there!
This project is supported by investment from the Province of Nova Scotia through Music Nova Scotia (MUSIC NOVA SCOTIA) under its Music Nova Scotia Investment Program/
Tracy and Martina
Tracy and Martina are two fun-loving best friends from Cape Breton.
As their motto suggests, “savin’ money, savin’ time, for gettin’ loaded,” Tracy and Martina are experts when it comes to partying on a dime. Despite living in a rural post-industrial community, these girls always find entertainment and glamour in everyday activities.
Whether they’re playing bingo, getting groceries, shootin’ the sh!t, or going out, Tracy and Martina never miss an opportunity to cake on some makeup and cause a scene.
This show will be 19+.
Brett Matthews with Claverhouse
Brett Matthews, a Cape Breton native, redefines Americana with influences from R&B to Country, akin to Bon Iver and City & Colour. Starting music at 13, he joined Classified's band in 2019, playing over 40 shows. His song "If I Die Today (feat. Classified)" was selected for the top 25 finalists in the American Songwriter Song Contest and has been chosen as a semi-finalist in other international songwriting competitions. He has also just released his single "Tomorrow" on all streaming platforms.
With Brett's mix of soft vocals and strong message to push on - and fight to hold on, the song takes you on the journey of finding and offering help for those who need it most. The key lyric, "tomorrow may never come" is in reference to how we are never promised tomorrow, so we should be living in the moment, and be the most present and we can be with ourselves and those around us.
Brett Matthews and Claverhouse will be taking ICCA by storm this August 3
Doors open at 7:00pm
Al Golpe del Guatimé
Al Golpe del Guatimé's concert "Son de Jade" is a project that celebrates the relationship between traditional Son Jarocho music from 18th century Veracruz in Mexico, and oriental music of the east. The Oriental influences are evident in Jarocho melodies, such as the Fandanguito, Cascabel, and Petenera, reflecting minor modes and the Arab-Andalusian heritage that traveled to Mexico during the conquest.
The concert highlights an important oriental melodic base in this Mexican genre that is linked to mystical and profound evocations of moods, musical ideas, everyday moments, socio-political and even religious events, a heritage undoubtedly from the genre's oriental roots which are demonstrated in the Menoreados Jarocho songs such as the Fandanguito. In Jarocho music, music and poetry blend, forming an infinite symbol: poetry inspires the musician, music inspires the poet. This synergy is manifested in lyrics, sometimes inspired by music, sometimes by poetry.
Singer and requinto player José Ángel Gutiérrez, with over forty years of experience, has developed a strong Oriental melodic base and great improvisational ability, integrated into both traditional Jarocho music and his original compositions.
Evelyn MacRae at ICCA
Evelyn MacRae will be performing at ICCA June 16, from 2- 4pm.
Tickets will be available at the door, and will be cash only. We look forward to seeing you there!
Youth Art Exhibit
The reception will take place May 5 from 2 - 4pm
The show will run from May 5 - May 25.
Inverness County Singers
After a day of Christmas shopping, come visit the Inverness County Singers at ICCA December 9th for an evening of Christmas music. There is no admission fee.
Catherine MacLellan - Holiday Tour
Catherine MacLellan - Holiday Tour
Friday December 2, 2022
8:00PM, Doors open 7:00PM
Tickets are $40 plus taxes
JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter Catherine MacLellan is bringing her Christmas Show to the Maritimes this year. Sharing beloved classics, self-penned holiday songs and some rare gems, Catherine will be joined on stage by her long-time guitarist Nick Gauthier.
Catherine says, “I’ve always loved the music of Christmas, and the fun times singing in kitchens with friends and family over a glass of eggnog. That is the energy I’ll be bringing with me, hoping that people sing along and catch some of that holiday spirit!”
Last year, Catherine released her first Christmas album, a self-engineered and self-produced EP, which includes the original single ("Calling You Home (for the Holidays)") and three beloved classics ("In The Bleak Midwinter", "Blue Christmas", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas").
"I love the coziness of winter, it’s a time for introspection but also a time for gathering around fires and feasts. Christmas shows bring in all of that for me, the balance between joyful silliness and the sacred. It makes me feel like a child again," says Catherine.
Matthew Good
Matthew Good - solo acoustic
@ Strathspey Place
Opening Act: Carly Thomas
Presented by ICCA / Sponsored by 101.5 The Hawk
TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 29, at noon
$45 General Admission - Available here
Bio
Matthew Good is one of Canada's most recognizable and relevant recording artists. He began his career as the iconic frontman of The Matthew Good Band, one of the most successful Canadian alternative rock bands during the 1990s and early 2000s, earning multi-platinum sales along with numerous awards and nominations.
Since disbanding in 2002, Good has enjoyed a successful solo career. He has released nine studio albums and has toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and the UK. His most recent album, Moving Walls, was released in 2020.
With six Juno Award nominations to his credit as a solo artist- and wins for Rock Album of the Year for 2011’s Vancouver and Video of the Year for 2003’s “Weapon” – Good has never been one to shy away from pushing musical boundaries.
Through his music, Good’s defiant spirit anchors his vulnerable, and at times, cinematic outlook on life. Never one to bite his tongue, his hyper-focused outlook on the world, including political and socio-economic issues, has earned him accolades for his thoughtful and deliberate approach.
Live music at ICCA is supported by Canada Heritage
Nick Beaton- Comedy
NICK BEATON- COMEDY
From a blue-collar background, Nick Beaton cuts through the bullshit of an overly bureaucratic society that takes itself way too seriously. Whether it’s done through his opinionated rants, hard-hitting jokes, or his disarming "every man" personality Nick Beaton is a favourite wherever he performs. He has performed on 4 continents, 7 countries, and over 40 cities. His run at the Edinburgh Festival received glowing five star reviews, from both “Broadway Baby” and “Three Weeks,” the latter of which described him as having, “enviable confidence, timing, and manner of a comedian with decades of experience beyond his years.” Nick wrote for the hit show on CTV, Spun Out staring Dave Foley was a panellist on Match Game and was featured on CBC's The Debaters. He has performed at Montreal’s International Just For Laughs Comedy Festival three times, as well as the Halifax Comedy Festival, the Moncton Comedy Festival, the Sudbury Comedy Festival and the Icebreakers Comedy Festival. He has received numerous accolades for his comedy, including winning the 2007 Just For Laughs Toronto Home-grown Competition, and being nominated for two Canadian Comedy Awards, including one for his comedy special, “Comedy Now!” that aired nationally in Canada.
Lennie Gallant
Lennie Gallant
8:00PM show, doors at 7:30PM
BIO: Born in Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Lennie Gallant is a multi-award winning Acadian-Canadian singer-songwriter, folk musician and storyteller, a veteran performer and an “Order of Canada” recipient with both award winning english and french albums. As a successful solo artist, he is the recipient of 19 East Coast Music Awards and multiple JUNO Award nominations and his song Peter’s Dream has been entered into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame and he is also one half of the successful francophone duo, Sirene et Matelot.
His songs have been recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Measha Bruggergosman, The Rankins, Matt Minglewood and he has shared stages and played with Jimmy Buffett, David Foster, Patti Griffin, Lucinda Williams, Roger Hodgson and toured with Céline Dion and he has songs that appear in soundtracks for movies and television shows including Canvas, Conquest, Dawson’s Creek, Joan of Arcadia and the recent award winning movie, "Still The Water".
He wrote and performed Searching For Abegweit, a multimedia show that ran for 180 performances and toured Eastern Canada, has played for the troops in Afghanistan and performed at the Winter Olympics medal ceremony and has performed multiple times with symphony orchestras. His last show before the pandemic was two sold out Symphony Nova Scotia performances at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax.
Lennie has written songs with Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges, Myles Goodwyn (April Wine), The East Pointers, John Wiggins and he co-wrote the theme song , Acadie De Nos Coeur, for the first Acadian World Congress. (first massive Acadian/Cajun gathering since the expulsion of 1755). He also wrote and performed the theme song for the city of Halifax 200th Anniversary, accompanied by a choir of 2000 voices on a stage built on MacDonald Bridge especially for the occasion, as well as wrote the theme song for Pier 21, Canada’s Ellis Island, the gateway to Canada for immigration for decades.
PEI Red Cross Humanitarian Award was presented to him for his charity work and support for humanitarian causes and his CD ‘When We Get There’ was taken to the International Space Station as part of a small collection of Canadian albums for the astronauts to listen to. Lennie jests that his “songs from that album (When We Get There), circled the planet 248 times..How’s that for high rotation!”
Live music at ICCA is supported by Canada Heritage.
Rum Ragged
Rum Ragged
Doors open at 8:00PM, showtime is 8:30PM
Bio
2021 JUNO Award Nominees, Rum Ragged, take a bold approach to the distinct folk music of their home, the Eastern Canadian island of Newfoundland. With a reverence for their roots and a creative, contemporary edge, this young band has quickly become known as the finest performers of their great, living, musical tradition. Boasting bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar, and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music enliven and enlighten audiences with their signature brand of Newfoundland folk. Always honest, thought-provoking, and often humorous, it’s Rum Ragged’s live show that makes them a fast favourite with any audience. Their combination of striking vocal harmonies, staggering musicianship, and captivating storytelling gives concert-goers an experience they won't soon forget. Since their inception in 2016, Rum Ragged has maintained a rigorous tour schedule, performing at some of the worlds premier folk, celtic and roots venues all while managing to record four acclaimed, award-winning studio albums. Rum Ragged is not your run-of-the-mill folk band, they are the genuine article.
Live music at ICCA is supported by Canada Heritage.
Travis Lindsay, Claire Belford, and Clifton Cremo
Travis Lindsay
Travis Lindsay is the most prolific writer in East Coast Comedy. His great mix of jokes and storytelling has been captivating audiences since the age of 16. Travis has been named “Best Nova Scotia Comedian” (2016 Bell TV's Comedy Boot Camp), has been heard on Sirius XM, Appeared on CBC at the Halifax Comedy Festival (2018,2020) and recently joined This Hour Has 22 Minutes as an on air Correspondent and writer. In 2021 He recorded for Just For Laughs Originals and last year he released his debut album "The Kid is Alright" that went #1 on itunes Comedy Charts.
Claire Belford
Clare Belford is a strikingly sincere comedian. Early in her comedy tenure, she cut her teeth on the road all over her home province of Alberta, telling deeply personal jokes to crowds of drunk tradesmen, from Fort McMurray to Red Deer. She quickly moved to the home of the nation’s largest and most competitive comedy scene, Toronto, where she spent five years honing her craft, and establishing herself as a fixture in Canadian comedy.
These days, Clare continues to make waves, bringing her authentic delivery and unique brand of preposterous pragmatism to festivals like the Halifax Comedy Festival, JFL 42, Field Trip Festival, North by Northeast and more. Her debut album, The Entire Cabbage was released in August 2021 and can be heard regularly on SiriusXM.
CLIFTON CREMO
Clifton Cremo is a Mi'kmaw stand-up comedian from Eskasoni First Nation. In just two short years he became a fixture in the Nova Scotia comedy scene through his deft brand of storytelling and wry absurdism. Nothing is off limits, particularly when it concerns family and his First Nations heritage.
Clifton's unique outlook on his Mi'kmaw upbringing and First Nations issues caught the attention of Ha!ifax Comedy Festival, where he is scheduled to perform in October at Best of the Fest and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, where he has been booked for virtual fundraising events, and of local comedy show-runners that have seen him open for the likes of JUNO Award Nominees Nick Nemeroff and Matt Wright.
Whether he's on stage at a comedy club, a local bar, or even a funeral (yes, seriously), Clifton always manages to bring the laughs. He is an incredible self-starter who has gone out and created lots of shows in the Maritimes as a producer in addition to excelling on stage every night. He recently hosted Tatafest - The Tatamagouche Festival that also featured everyone’s favourite New Brunswick-based rapper Wolf Castle!
Lone by DMNikas - Series Screening Premier
Lone by DMNikas - Series Screening Premier
Saturday June 4 - 7:00PM at ICCA
Tickets are $10 plus taxes and fees - available here
Premiere screening of “LONE” at the ICCA on June 4th 7-10 pm. LONE is a new TV series created & produced entirely by one person: Michael Nikas aka DMNikas. The Premiere screening of all six episodes will be held at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts aka ICCA June 4th, 2022 from 7 to 10pm … registration information will be posted by ICCA shortly.
Plan to attend! This is a one-time-only presentation with live musical performance by Brian Doyle - a minimal fee of $10 will apply. “LONE” features six unique individuals from our community. The series will air exclusively on Bell Media, Fibe TV, channel 1 and the Fibe TV app.
#CapeBretonIsland #homeofourhearts #bsinverness #Lone “Never a dull moment Here” supported by the Inverness Oran & by Shean Co-op.
Gunning & Cormier
Gunning & Cormier
Doors open at 8:00PM, showtime is 8:30PM
Two of Canada’s greatest roots singer-songwriters have finally done what everybody’s wanted — heck, what they’ve wanted — for years. Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier are releasing their first album together, called Two. Great friends, frequent collaborators, co-writers and touring partners, the pair has been talking about this album since pretty much the day they met. Now it’s here, and it’s everything fans hoped and dreamed it would be.
The album is called Two because that’s what it is, just the two of them.
“We wanted to keep it simple and honest so we essentially made a 4-track recording, just two guitars and two vocals. Limiting ourselves this way actually helped inspire the arrangements and the performances. It forced us to dig a little deeper.”, says Gunning.
“A lot of artists like us feel compelled to put these massive productions together, and we said we’re not going to do that,” adds Cormier. “We’re going to make this record be that large with only two instruments and two voices. And we did that.”
Two is made up of everything the duo excels at. There are new collaborations between the two writers (Brothers, Home To Mary), new arrangements of antique folk numbers (Johnny Armstrong, Katie o’ the Gowrie), and some tasty, surprising covers (Never Picked Cotton, Stompin’ Tom’s Songbird Valley).
Every song had to meet their very high, combined standards. “We didn’t take it lightly,” confirms Gunning. “We really put our heart into it.”
No refunds will be issued unless event is cancelled based on the direction of the NS Health Authority. Proof of full vaccination is required for entry.