The Fonthill Bandshell summer concert series ended with its 11th and last performance of the 2024 season on Thurs., Sept. 5, with a progression of wailing guitar solos, heavy pumping blues tunes and much love for the artist and bandshell volunteers alike.
At the outset, patrons provided hearty applause for the time and effort put forth year-round by the volunteers – affectionately known as the red-shirt brigade – as well as for the many sponsors and donors, and for the audiences themselves, for this 12-week annual summer series.
Music director Jim Casson then introduced the evening’s four talented performers, fronted by national award-winning blues recording artist Spencer Mackenzie. Mackenzie grew up in the blues, Casson noted, and went from teen phenom to internationally renowned success while still at a young age (his mom could be seen front and centre taking photos and videos throughout the evening).
Hailing from Niagara, this native son played mostly original works, showing off a rich, throaty voice and his left-handed mastery of the guitar, alongside David Hollingshead on keyboards, Justine Fischer on bass, and Matt Burns on drums. The band’s interpretation of Everybody’s Talkin’ At Me (think Midnight Cowboy soundtrack) left the song nearly unrecognizable, but in the best possible way, involving solo instrumental meanderings on keyboard and drums, and a heart-pumping, octave-building guitar solo that had the audience on its feet halfway through the song.
Towards the end of the evening, as the darkness of a late autumn day settled in, Mackenzie played a more soulful piece about one of his idols, BB King, and his guitar Lucille. While the tune and lyrics are grounded in the legendary American blues artist, he dedicated the song to a Canadian ‘giant’ in the music industry, Jack Long, founder of Canadian music store chain Long & McQuade, who died the day before the concert, on Sept. 4.
Next year’s lineup will be released in the spring, with the first anticipated concert happening June 19, 2025. Information on all of the performers from this year, past years, and the history of this concert series, can be accessed anytime on the concert series website.
