Concert Series




Upcoming Winter 2026 Shows

Once again, we are offering Season Subscriptions.

Catch 1 show per month that is listed here for $80. (save ~20%)

Simply send an etransfer to tickets@emmanueluc.ca with your full name in the memo line (eg “Roberta Smith”) and we’ll add you to the list.  There is no security answer needed for etransfers.

Most shows offer student pricing which is $5 lower than the listed price.

$20 Advance / $20 Door
$10 Unwaged, Student & Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

Arielle Soucy dares to explore folk music with a radical sensibility on Passages, a grandiose offering that follows the intimate Il n’y a rien que je ne suis pas (named Best album of 2023 by the iconic newspaper Le Devoir and nominated for the Polaris Music Prize). The artist effortlessly sweeps us into a striking tableau where the acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies reign supreme, inspired at times by modern poetry, at others, by sacred music. Disarming, solemn, hushed – Arielle Soucy’s show grips us at our core and elevates us to the highest heights of lyrical expression.

Justin Orok is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter best known for his intricate, character-driven narrative songwriting. His debut album Kanata, featuring Polaris-prize winning producer Jean Martin (Tanya Tagaq), was released to critical acclaim on Paraphenalia Records in Japan. Releasing in 2025 are two new recordings: Debt, a collection of cover songs by his mentors, and California Shutters, his sophomore full-length album.

$20 Advance / $20 Door
$10 Unwaged, Student & Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

Emily Gilbart: Emily Gilbart is an indie-pop artist based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Her music centers around her unique voice, acoustic guitar and raw, introspective lyrics. She has released two 5-track EP’s and 5 singles as a solo artist, along with a full-length EP with the band HouseCat in 2024. She has plans to release more music in the fall, after completing her Masters of Music and Psychotherapy at Laurier.

Nico Valeriote: Nico Valeriote is an indie-folk/rock singer songwriter raised in Guelph, Ontario. He is most known for his role in the band You Might Be Sleeping, and recently has ventured out to start a solo project, releasing singles under his name.

Amanda Braam: Blending heart-wrenching folk sincerity, crunchy jazz harmony, and catchy pop melody, an Amanda Braam performance is a musical and emotional rollercoaster that leaves listeners enthralled. Hailing from Kitchener, Ontario, Amanda is a singer/songwriter known for her siren-like vocals and intricate acoustic guitar lines. She performs solo, supported by her bandmates “The Paper Cranes”, and as half of the jazz-folk duo “Roundabout Dance”.

$15/PWYC at the door

Senseless Sensibilities presents
Last Fridays at Emmanuel United:
Monthly concerts of noise and experimental music dedicated to sharing Ontario’s greatest and strangest artists

The last Friday of every month in 2026 I will be presenting a concert of noise and experimental music at Emmanuel United Church in Waterloo, ON. All shows will be $15/PWYC.

Expect to hear: harsh noise, industrial percussion, free improvisation, free jazz, ecstatic joy, overwhelming dread, glitching laptops, chaospunk, buzzing motors, folksongs, popsongs, sustained drones, blissful ambience, large waves of feedback, immaculate beauty, harsh noise and more

All concerts will also feature an original prelude on the pipe organ composed for that night by @important.hair , so come early if you like that kind of thing

Organ: 7PM, Noise: 8PM
$15/PWYC
Emmanuel United Church, 22 Bridgeport W, Waterloo

See you there (Note: July, August and December are not the last Friday)

  • January 30, 2026
  • February 27, 2026
  • March 27, 2026
  • April 24, 2026
  • May 29, 2026
  • June 26, 2026
  • July 24, 2026
  • August 21, 2026
  • September 25, 2026
  • October 30, 2026
  • November 27, 2026
  • December 18, 2026
$25 Advance / $25 Door
$10 Unwaged, Student & Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

Hailing from Six Nations of the Grand River, and fresh from his triumphant performance at the Los Angeles Kia Forum in front of 18,000 screaming fans for ‘Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson’, Mohawk artist Logan Staats continues to prove his performance and songwriting ability. Recent highlights include a Juno Award nomination for his album ‘A Light in the Attic’, receiving the TD SOCAN Indigenous Songwriter Award, earning a Native American Music Award win in the U.S., and charting #7 iTunes Rock Chart for his single ‘Deadman’. Logan first rose to national prominence when he won CTV’s ‘The Launch’ and released his debut single ‘The Lucky Ones’ which peaked at #1 in Canada.

As a land defender, a cultural tastemaker, and a sought-after collaborator, he has performed and created with artists such as Allison Russel, Terra Lightfoot and Serena Ryder. He has brought his raw and electrifying performances across Canada, and around the world, with dates in the U.S., Europe and South America, and acted as support for Mumford & Sons, Eric Clapton and Steve Earle.

$20 Adults
$10 Unwaged, Students and Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Tiny Size, Mighty Joy!

Emerging from the ukulele sub-culture of southern Ontario, the Sonic Uke Ensemble is a group of seasoned players that came together during the Covid lockdowns of 2021. Their video performances – showcasing their unique blend of vintage and more-contemporary material, served with a few laughs – have been entertaining thousands of viewers on-line. Their live shows are delighting audiences with their ukulele skills and vocal arrangements, along with a few surprises!

$25 Adults
$10 Unwaged, Student and Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)

Get Tickets Now

Garry Wesley has been performing his tribute to Elvis for several years.
He has performed in Las Vegas Productions such as American Super Stars & Legends In Concert. He has performed with the Legendary Jordanaires, Sweet Inspirations, DJ Fontana, Millie Kirkham, Joe Esposito, & The Blackwood Brothers Quartet. He has performed Worldwide across the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Mexico, and Santiago Chile.

Garry also produces his own productions under the title of “Legends Alive”, Tributes to Yesterday and Todays Stars. He is the only tribute artist to perform in Memphis now consistently for 36 years at Alfred’s on Beale Street where Elvis began and listened to Big Mama Thornton sing Hound Dog and performed with BB King in his early career.

Garry is the only Tribute Artist to perform to a crowd of 10,000 plus in Santiago Chile, and be filmed. His performance then went Via Satellite around the world. Garry has numerous awards from the city of Memphis and Graceland. He received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas. He won the standing largest purse awarded to a tribute artist in competition in the Tribute to the King competition in the amount of $55,000.00. He has been an opening headline act with such artists as Chubby Checker, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, The Nelson Twins, Bellamy Brothers, TG Shepard, Gary Morris, Juice Newton, and many others.

$35 Adults
$10 Unwaged, Student and Veteran (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)

Buy Tickets

RIDGE, by Brendan McLeod, performed by The Fugitives

The Globe and Mail Top 10 Arts Pick, 2020

“The best theatre piece about World War One since Billy Bishop Goes to War. ”— Jerry Wasserman, Vancouver Plays
“This show is simply brilliant.” — The CBC

Often called the “battle that made Canada,” Vimy Ridge resulted in over 10,000 Canadian casualties. Through direct storytelling, verbatim theatre, and live music, Brendan McLeod examines misconceptions and varying perspectives around the battle, while drawing parallels to other formative events in our nation’s past. Featuring inventive musical interpretations of WWI soldier songs, Ridge probes difficult yet necessary questions about how and why we grieve. A vivid, kinetic ride through history, as well as an intimate, personal examination of our connection to the past, Ridge is a visceral work that passionately argues against the exploitation of young lives.

“In my life, I have never seen a piece of theatre that addresses the realities of war in a way that seems so clear-eyed to me. So I am deeply grateful to Ridge. There’s sorrow and anger in this show, but also beauty, relief, and genuine honour in its honesty.” — Colin Thomas, Fresh Sheet

“Serves to give the sacrifices of those who served and died a human dimension beyond mythology.” — Vancouver Sun

“A more sensitive, thoughtful, deeply personal look at what really went on at Vimy is hard to imagine. ” — Jo Ledingham, On the Scene

“Riveting…The way history was meant to be told.” — Entertainment Vancouver

THE FUGITIVES: A Canadian folk staple, The Fugitives were formed in 2005 and are releasing their 7th album in 2026. They’ve been nominated for a JUNO, as well as 7 Canadian Folk Music Awards, including Best Vocal Group, Best Ensemble, and Best Songwriter. Having toured heavily across Canada, the UK, and the EU for two decades, they’ve been awarded the Best Folk Album of the Year by the German Music Critics’ Association, performed at Glastonbury, and most major folk festivals across Canada. They’ve also branched out into theatre with their show, Ridge, which was a 2020 Globe & Mail “Top Arts Pick of the Year” and has toured to 50 theatres across Canada. They have earned a reputation for unforgettable live shows, brimming with complex harmonies, infectious storytelling and top-notch musicianship.

$25 Adults
$10 Unwaged, Students and Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Valdy, born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa, Canada has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for almost 40 years. A man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand, he’s a singer, guitarist and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life.

Remembered for Play Me a Rock and Roll Song, his bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968, Valdy has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has two Juno Awards (Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year), a total of seven Juno nominations and four Gold albums to his credit.

Valdy’s recent CDs include “Contenders”, a collaboration with friend and fellow singer/songwriter, Gary Fjellgaard, with whom he has an absolute blast touring, and a solo release, “Viva Valdy: Live at Last”, a two-CD package, one live, one studio, with a total of 25 tunes, and a lyric booklet.

One of Canada’s most influential songwriters, Valdy’s composition A Good Song was recorded under the title Just a Man by the venerable Quincy Jones ( he sang lead on the recording!). Play Me a Rock and Roll Song has been recorded by a few artists, including John Kay of Steppenwolf.

Along the way, Valdy has taken his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to Australia and been an often-invited performer at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas. His past television appearances include Canada AM and Open Mike with Mike Bullard. Valdy has also been a panelist on Front Page Challenge, and played a lead role in an episode of The Beachcombers original series.

$30 Adults
$15 Unwaged, Students and Artist (14+) / Children (0-13 Free)
Get Tickets Now

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

The Rowdymen are Gerry Finn, Greg Hawco, and George Masswohl, a band dedicated to sharing the music of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Greg Hawco: Bodhrain/Mandolin/Bouzouki/Vocals

Bell Island, Newfoundland’s Greg Hawco is an established composer for television and film. His music has been broadcast on major networks such as CBC and Global TV.  You can hear his music on the highly acclaimed television series, ‘Republic of Doyle’ and ‘Caught’. 

Apart from his work as a TV composer, Greg’s classical compositions have been performed with ensembles and orchestras in Canada as well as in Poland, Australia, and parts of the United States. Greg is also the percussionist in the international juggernaut musical ‘Come From Away’.

Gerry Finn: Guitar/Vocals

Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Gerry Finn has spent the last 30 years touring the world playing music. He is the recipient of numerous awards including multiple gold and platinum album awards both domestically and internationally, a Socan #1 award, three Juno Award nominations with one win.

Gerry has toured, recorded and shared the stage with a long list of acts including Burton Cummings, Killer Dwarfs, David Usher, Brian Byrne (I Mother Earth), The Carpet Frogs, Rock Star Live to name a few.

George Masswohl: Lead Vocals

George Masswohl is an award winning actor and singer from St. Catharines, ON. A veteran of multiple seasons with the Stratford, Shaw, and Charlottetown Festivals, he has appeared on stages across North America, touring with Broadway shows, working in most of Canada’s regional theatres, and touring with baritone trio BRAVŪRA. For 3 years, George  starred as Gander, NL Mayor Claude Elliott in the Canadian company of “Come From Away” in Toronto.

Home Routes 2025/2026

We are pleased to announce the Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous  2025/2026 line up.  This a joint concert series with Brubacher House on the University of Waterloo campus. Some shows are are at Emmanuel, others are at Brubacher House.

Admission: $25 cash at the door. Free for kids ages 12 and under, and $15 for students (*NEW* student pricing!) and youth ages 12-17.

Get all 6 shows for $135.00, a 10% discount.  Available for purchase at the September 20 show.  Cash at the door or by etransfer to tickets@emmanueluc.ca

Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous was founded in 2007 with the direct purpose of building more infrastructure for Folk Musicians to play more concerts in more communities across Canada. This was achieved by partnering with local community members to create a network of hosts across the country who donate their time and homes, or find appropriate venues to host folk music events in intimate and unique settings. 

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Reserve your spot here

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Two unique and wonderful songwriters from Manitoba

Onna Lou is an Argentine singer-songwriter blending Latin pop-rock with Argentine folk, jazz, tango, flamenco, and Latin rhythms. Born in Buenos Aires, her music features poetic lyrics that explore human nature with honesty and sensitivity. She studied Classical Composition in Argentina and graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production. Since 2011, she has performed internationally, including collaborations with Latin Grammy winners Javier Limón and Alejandro Sanz. Now based in Canada, Onna Lou’s debut album Ahora showcases her warm, acoustic sound. She continues creating new music and performing with a full band.

Keri Latimer is a Winnipeg-based musician and songwriter with over 20 years of international touring experience, both as a solo artist and with her alt-folk group Leaf Rapids and former band Nathan. Known for her evocative lyrics and diverse talents, she plays the theremin, scores films, and provides backup vocals for artists like Suzie Ungerleider and Steve Dawson. Career highlights include solo performances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, including the 2018 Canadian premiere of Björk’s Family for strings. She has composed music for acclaimed films such as Frozen River, Only Dream Things, and Before Anything You Say.

Location: Brubacher House Museum, Frank Tompa Dr, Waterloo
– Map, directions, parking, and accessibility info: https://uwaterloo.ca/brubacher-house/plan-your-visit

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Reserve your spot here

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Singer/Songwriter

Zachary Lucky is a Canadian folk and country songwriter originally from Saskatoon, now based in Orillia, Ontario. Grandson of country legend Smilin’ Johnnie Lucky, he began his career in pop bands before launching a solo career in 2009. Known for his relentless touring and authentic storytelling, Zachary has become a standout artist from Saskatchewan’s vibrant roots scene alongside peers like Colter Wall. He credits the prairie landscape and its people for shaping his music’s spirit. Since his 2010 debut Come and Gone, he has released four more albums, including Saskatchewan, The Ballad of Losing You, and Midwestern, released in 2023.

Location: Brubacher House Museum, Frank Tompa Dr, Waterloo
– Map, directions, parking, and accessibility info: https://uwaterloo.ca/brubacher-house/plan-your-visit

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Reserve your spot here

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Two generations of folk musicians delivers rustic and lively danish folk music including everything from good ol’ polka just like mamma played it, lyrical tunes to warm-hearted waltzes. Three award winning musicians form Fionia Stringband all from the island of funen meets around a shared passion for traditional melodies. Expect a toe-tapping performance with Danish fiddle tunes added a great deal of humor and energy.

Location: Brubacher House Museum, Frank Tompa Dr, Waterloo
– Map, directions, parking, and accessibility info: https://uwaterloo.ca/brubacher-house/plan-your-visit

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Buy Tickets

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Folk/Rock

Alan Gerber is a dynamic and captivating performer known for his fiery piano playing, soulful vocals, and engaging stage presence. A multi-instrumentalist and prolific songwriter, Gerber’s music blends blues, rock, and roots with unstoppable energy. Originally from Chicago and now based in Canada, he was a founding member of the legendary rock group Rhinoceros and has since built a celebrated solo career. His live shows are renowned for their spontaneity, humour, and musical brilliance. With decades of touring across North America and Europe, Alan continues to win audiences over with his passion, originality, and deep love of music.

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Reserve your spot here

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Contemporary Latin Music

Viento South is a Winnipeg-based folk project blending North and South American traditions through the evocative pairing of Paulina’s strong, subtle vocals and Lucho’s fierce guitar. Their name—“viento,” meaning wind—reflects their sound: at times a gentle breeze, other times a fierce hurricane. Performing as a duet or full five-piece band, they explore sophisticated Latin American folk and fusion with Canadian roots. In 2025, their Traveling Songs Concert Series uses music to explore themes of travel, immigration, and cultural identity. Their multilingual repertoire features original and global songs, celebrating multiculturalism in Canada with warmth and depth.

Location: Brubacher House Museum, Frank Tompa Dr, Waterloo
– Map, directions, parking, and accessibility info: https://uwaterloo.ca/brubacher-house/plan-your-visit

$25 Adults
$15 Students (12-17) / Children (0-12 Free)

Buy Tickets (Ticket link to follow soon)

6:00pm Potluck
7:00pm Concert

Traditional Irish Music

Mick McAuley is an acclaimed Irish musician, composer, and songwriter known for pushing traditional Irish music’s boundaries. A multi-instrumentalist skilled on accordion, melodeon, concertina, whistles, and guitar, he toured extensively as a key member of the Irish-American ensemble SOLAS, recording nine albums. Mick’s solo work, including An Ocean’s Breadth and Highs and Bellows, has earned critical praise. Collaborations with artists like John Doyle and performances with Sting highlight his versatility. Raised in a musical family in Ireland, Mick blends tradition with contemporary influences, bringing Irish music to diverse audiences worldwide with passion and innovation.

Live Local Entertainment

Embrace the arts and culture of the Waterloo region with live musical performance and entertainment organized and hosted by Emmanuel. Keep an eye on our upcoming events and join us in gathering, building community and enjoying ourselves.

Follow Our Spotify Playlist

This Spotify playlist highlights artists that we’ve hosted in the past as well as upcoming artists.  Curated from us to you with love.

Donate to Emmanuel United Church

Donations to any partners of Emmanuel can be found on their respective webpages.