Spend your summer evenings surrounded by great music, good company, and beautiful sunsets on Manitoulin Island. The Sunset Music Series returns with a diverse lineup of storytellers, singer-songwriters, bands, and DJs performing throughout July and August. From intimate acoustic sets to high-energy performances and theatrical storytelling, each night brings something new to discover. With a special Pride Weekend celebration, family-friendly programming, and a grand finale to wrap up the season, there's something for everyone. Bring your lawn chair, kick back, and enjoy free live entertainment all summer long in the heart of the community.
Wednesday, July 1
ColdCut / Facepainting with Gail Andrews / Storytelling
Facepainting with Gail Andrews, storytelling, and ColdCut performing at 7:00pm.
ColdCut is a four-piece band from Sudbury, Ontario, bringing years of experience to weddings, festivals, corporate events, and community celebrations. Featuring strong three-part vocal harmonies with guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, ColdCut plays a wide mix of crowd-pleasing hits from the 1950s to today, including rock, pop, country, and everything in between.
Friday, July 3
Rural Roots
Rural Roots is a Manitoulin Island band made up of a crew of familiar local musicians featuring Patrick O’Leary, Norman Assiniwe, Scot Hughson, Mike Wardy, Reg Moore, Hoody Body, and Charlie Finlay. Rural Roots plays the best of the new and old, covering crowd favourites from the last 60 years. From classic rock and country-rock to roots, party tunes, singalong anthems, and newer hits, the band plays the songs people know, love, and remember.
Saturday, July 4
Ricardo Chavez
Ricardo Chávez is from Oaxaca City, Mexico, and now lives in Spring Bay, Ontario. He studied classical guitar at the University of UABJO in Oaxaca City and comes from a musical family where he learned to play traditional Mixtec music on guitar and fiddle. Ricardo’s passion for music has given him the opportunity to perform in a wide range of styles, including traditional, Latin, classical, blues, and jazz, both as a soloist and in ensembles.
Ricardo has performed in venues in Oaxaca, throughout Mexico, and internationally. Since 2023, he has performed at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury, Edwards Art Studios in Kagawong, Art in the Maples Festival in Evansville, Nuit Blanche Art Festival in Sudbury, on the North Channel Cruise Line in Little Current, and on the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry in South Baymouth.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/fr-IL22dC2Y
Tristen Hall
Tristen Hall is proud to call Manitoulin Island home, and much of his original music is inspired by the Island. His music has upbeat storytelling with alternative country and a splash of folk rock interspersed.
Friday, July 10
Chris Walker
Chris Walker is a talented guitarist and singer. Originally from Burlington, Ontario, he moved to Manitoulin Island eight years ago and lives in Spring Bay. While living in Southern Ontario, Chris was the primary organizer of a seven-piece rock and roll band, playing music from The Beatles to Lady Gaga. Leaving the South, he focused more on his interest in folk music as a solo performer. His repertoire, performed on 12-string acoustic guitar, includes music from John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Jim Croce, and several others.
Chris also performs in various locations on the Island. Since moving to Manitoulin, he has become involved with the Sunset Music Series. The goal is to provide free music to audiences at Providence Bay Beach.
Website: www.chriswalkermusic.ca
Saturday, July 11
Shawna Caspi
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Shawna Caspi takes her time crafting lyrics that are poetic and meaningful, often using unusual rhymes and surprising turns of phrase. She spent years on the road playing solo shows at festivals and in concert halls, train cars, backyards, and living rooms, supporting her warm, clear voice with intricate fingerstyle guitar accompaniment, and drawing energy from shifting landscapes and long drives through Canada and the United States.
After taking a break from the road to rest, reflect, and write, Shawna returns with her fifth album, Hurricane Coming, a collection of raw, deeply personal songs set against a backdrop of colourful cinematic soundscapes. Shawna also created a series of abstract paintings inspired by the songs on the album, seamlessly combining her work as a musician and visual artist.
Website: www.shawnacaspi.com
Sunday, July 12
Drum Circle
Providence Bay Beach, 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
Friday, July 17
The Ards
The Ards, featuring Marc Savard and Dan Bedard, return to the Sunset Music Series with special guest Don Reed, a two-time Canadian fiddle champion. Together, they will perform a variety of music for all ages.
Saturday, July 18
The Moonlight Buskers
Parker and Fabio Cinel started performing together for the public in 2021. They have performed at the Northern Lights Festival, Massey Fair, Burwash Festival across eastern Canada on The VIA Rail and many other venues. They perform songs for all age groups, and incorporate a variety of styles in their presentation such as pop rock, blues, jazz, country and instrumentals.
moonlight buskers facebook.com
Friday, July 24
Zaynab Wilson
Zaynab Wilson is a soulful, genre-blending singer, drummer, strummer, and composer whose roots run deep in rhythm, community, and creative expression. Raised in a family steelpan band, she grew up immersed in the sounds and style of her Afro-Caribbean heritage. Her musical mosaic pulls audiences into a world of wonder, reflection, and ancestral rhythms.
Her latest EP, A Way Home, earned a 2025 MusicNL R&B Artist of the Year award and praise from Caribbean Beat magazine for its heartfelt take on diaspora, heritage, and home.
Website: www.zaynabwilsonmusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ZaynabWilsonMusic
Instagram: instagram.com/zaynabwilsonmusic
Saturday, July 25
Emma McDaniel and Jamie Dupuis
Emma McDaniel and Jamie Dupuis are a unique duo based in Northern Ontario. First brought together through music, the now husband-and-wife pair perform, record, and tour throughout Canada and the United States. Jamie holds down the rhythm on bass and guitar with his harp guitar, an instrument from the 1800s that he has brought back into the spotlight with his own distinctive playing style. His YouTube channel, featuring various harp guitars, has reached more than 80 million views.
Emma complements Jamie’s musicianship with expressive vocals and a unique jazzy style, capturing the soul and emotion of each song. With music ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, along with original material, the duo creates a sound all their own.
Sunday, July 26
Drum Circle
Providence Bay Beach, 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
Friday, July 31
Piper & Carson
Piper Hayes is an artist, storyteller, and educator. Performing as part of Piper & Carson, they bring a heartfelt, engaging presence to the stage through music, story, and connection. They are returning to perform on the beach again this year.
Websites:
www.pipersings.com
www.piperandcarson.com
Saturday, August 1
Frostline
Frostline is an artistic collective from Peterborough County focused on developing young rural artists. The band shares the sounds and stories of small-town Canada through folk, rock, R&B, country, and original music. A community-hearted group creating music for all ages, Frostline’s goal is for every audience to feel like they are gathered around a bonfire beside the lake, singing and sharing special moments. They always count on the audience as the guest artists at the show.
Sunday, August 2
Dale Morningstar
Performance information coming soon.
Friday, August 7
Rennatha Bernadin & Vybe
Rennatha Bernadin lives and performs in Ottawa, where her artistic practice is rooted in both community and cultural identity. She was raised and vocally trained in St. Catharines, Ontario, where she developed strong foundations in jazz, R&B, and gospel technique through workshops, ensemble work, and performance-based training.
Her early musical formation took place in churches, choirs, and vocal groups, where gospel traditions of storytelling, collective participation, and emotional expression shaped her voice and artistic direction. Her work blends jazz, R&B, gospel, and contemporary inspirational music, creating songs that explore faith, resilience, healing, and cultural memory.
Saturday, August 8
London Trio Plus
The soulful London Trio Plus Ensemble is a gospel and harmonic vocal group in Ottawa. It is made up of three London sisters, Vanessa, Valerie, and Celeste. The “Plus” in their name signifies a larger flexible group beyond the initial trio, including additional family members and friends as vocalists and band members.
Under the dynamic direction of Valerie London, the group has thrilled audiences for over 20 years with uplifting and inspirational music that spans a variety of genres, sharing their talents through concerts, churches, and other community initiatives.
Sunday, August 9
Drum Circle
Providence Bay Beach.
Friday, August 14
Natalie Edward
7:00pm to 9:00pm.
Natalie Edward is a Manitoulin-based singer-songwriter, writer, and co-founder of Manitoulin Farmstead. Her music career began in the early 2000s and has included years of writing, recording, and performing in Ontario and British Columbia.
Rooted in folk and country-influenced songwriting, Natalie’s music is shaped by real life: motherhood, relationships, rural living, grief, creativity, and nature. After years spent raising a family, farming, and growing Manitoulin Farmstead with her husband, she is returning to local stages with songs that are honest, reflective, and grounded.
Website: https://natalieedward.com/
Saturday, August 15
Ian Reid
Ian Reid is the son of an artist’s son and a salesman’s daughter. His sensitivity and gift of the gab make for a uniquely engaging stage presence and an ability to connect with audiences. He loves to augment his voice, guitar, and ukulele with quirky anecdotes from home and abroad.
Since returning from years of overseas teaching in 2008, Ian Reid has made well over 1,000 public appearances and has written and recorded ten albums, earning respect from musical peers and fans alike.
Friday, August 21
Christine Graves
Christine Graves is an eastern Ontario-based singer-songwriter with musical roots in Nova Scotia. She has toured across Canada and ventured south of the border with the four-woman a cappella world music group Malaika.
The youngest of a large musical family, Christine grew up listening to her brothers play acoustic renditions of contemporary 1970s songwriters like Sandy Denny, Bruce Cockburn, and John Martyn. She eventually created her own compositions, combining rhythm guitar, vocal improvisation, and a quirky sense of wordsmith poetry.
Website: christinegraves.com
Saturday, August 22
Ball & Chain
Jody Benjamin is an Ottawa-based musician originally from Regina, Saskatchewan. In 1997, Jody formed Ball and Chain & The Wreckers with longtime partner and fiddler Michael Ball. Together they have released multiple albums, toured across the country, and built a loyal following in the Ottawa dance community.
They play a mixture of honky tonk, roots country, Cajun, Creole, country, folk, blues, and Zydeco music. Their songs include stories about drinking too much, bad marriages, bad luck, bad decisions, tender waltzes, rousing fiddle tunes, and original songs written by Jody or Michael.
Sunday, August 23
Drum Circle
Providence Bay Beach, 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
Friday, August 28
J3M
Blending pop, disco, and a little bit of soul, J3M creates melodies that stay with you long after the first listen. The singer, songwriter, producer, and JUNO/Polaris-nominated pianist has been featured by Queerty and CBC Q, and named one of the most promising emerging artists by Canada’s Walk of Fame and SOCAN.
He has collaborated with Canadian sweethearts like Lu Kala, Kellie Loder, and Tanika Charles, and has shared stages with icons like Cyndi Lauper. No stranger to big stages, J3M has lit up River & Sky, Casa Loma, and Toronto Pride with electrifying performances.
Saturday, August 29
AIYANA
Aiyana Louis, known artistically by her first name AIYANA, is an Ojibwe and Caribbean singer-songwriter based in Ottawa on unceded Algonquin Territory. Raised in Sudbury, Ontario, her family roots intertwine M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Robinson-Huron Treaty Territory, and the Caribbean island of Barbados.
Blending elements of soul, folk, and pop, her music weaves raw emotion and poetic honesty. Accompanying herself on keys and ukulele, AIYANA crafts songs that explore vulnerability, healing, and self-discovery.
Email: aiyanachanecia@gmail.com
Sunday, August 30
Buninuz
Buninuz Neil is a charismatic, passionate, and extremely talented Jamaican roots reggae artist based in Montreal. He has fronted multiple bands and has been the driving force behind some of Montreal’s most noted reggae bands.
Website: InusasoReggae.com
Friday, September 4
Lynn Blunt
Lynn Blunt is a recording artist from North Bay, Ontario. She brings refined musicianship and a rich songwriting catalogue that reflects years of dedication to her craft. Her voice carries both strength and subtlety, and her songs explore themes of identity, perseverance, and human connection.
During COVID, she wrote and recorded two self-funded albums of original music, I’ll Follow You Anywhere and Feels Like Hope.
Saturday, September 5
Marcus G. White Band
Alternative Rock.
Marcus G. White moved to West Manitoulin from his hometown of Collingwood and has family roots on the Island. He has been performing for 20 years, has opened for Honeymoon Suite and Carole Pope, and has performed throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
He released CDs in 2007, From the Soul, and in 2017, Be Safe Do Nothing. He is currently part of the Meldrum Bay Kitchen Party.
Sunday, September 6
Netish and Friends
Netish is a multi-talented singer-songwriter with musical roots in Hamilton, Ontario, where she studied, taught, and performed. She is known for intricate guitar playing, powerhouse vocals, and unique twists on familiar songs.
Drawn by the call of Spirit Island, Netish now resides on Lake Manitou, sharing her musical passion with the community.
