Make Me Sing and Sahira Q’s Love Ball at TTOK this weekend

You’re reading the February 20, 2025 edition of the Peterborough Currents email newsletter. To receive our email newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up here.

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Hello, and welcome to the arts and community newsletter from Peterborough Currents. I’m Alex, and I send this newsletter every week to catch you up on what’s happening in Peterborough.

This week, I’m sharing a new article by local writer Gabe Pollock, former editor-in-chief of Peterborough’s now defunct Electric City Magazine. His story highlights vinyl records made by musicians with local roots. Incredibly, at least eleven new vinyl records were produced by local musicians in 2024, and Pollock spoke with artists and a local independent record store employee about the rewards and challenges of releasing music on vinyl.

Also in this week’s newsletter:

• Celebrating BIPOC talent at the Love Ball
• Improvised musical theatre at TTOK
• Plus, some things to do around town this weekend

Let’s get started!

Local artists released 11 vinyl records last year

A glowing smile crosses Charlie Glasspool’s face as he looks at the striking, oil-painted cover of his band 3C84’s latest album, Myrtle in the Forest, and speaks about his decision to release it on vinyl. “There’s something very special about this project,” he says. “I wanted to have a piece of art. It’s really quite magical to listen to it in this format.”

It remains a tenuous and uncertain time to be making and selling music as an independent artist. Digital streaming services dominate the market, driving down prices and shifting listeners’ inclinations away from owning any music at all.

But in a small act of resistance to digital streaming’s hegemony, the vinyl revival continues apace, with records having overtaken CDs as the second most popular format for music sales in Canada.

In 2024 alone, Peterborough area musicians released at least eleven new vinyl records. Music ranges from the noisy punk rock of Cross Dog’s All Hard Feelings, to the hot-rod rockabilly of Nicholas Campbell’s Gonna Have a Ball Tonight, to the ambient industrial sounds of Gnostic Front’s All War is Spiritual War.

The going hasn’t been easy for these artists. The low prices streaming giants have conditioned listeners to expect simply can’t cover the costs of producing an album — studio time, mixing, mastering, and paying session musicians, not to mention the sweat equity of the countless hours that go into songwriting.

“There’s no money in the music business,” Bluestreak Records employee Bennett Bedoukian said bluntly. So, if an artist releases their music on vinyl, “it’s only going to be because [they] care about it immensely, and [they] want to show people that [they] care about it.”

To learn more about the local musicians who put out fresh vinyl records last year, read Gabe’s full story on the Peterborough Currents website.

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Love Ball returns for Black History Month

Local drag performer and queer community organizer Sahira Q describes the upcoming Love Ball at The Theatre on King as “a night filled with energy, glamour, and unapologetic self-expression.” They began hosting the event in 2015 as a queer prom for those who weren’t able to show up to their own high school prom as their authentic selves. 

In the years since, the event has opened up to the broader community, but remains a space that centres “queer joy,” Sahira Q said. 

“The Love Ball has always been about more than just a party,” they said. “It’s about giving people a space to show up exactly as they are, to be celebrated, and to feel that sense of belonging.” 

After a hiatus in 2024, the Love Ball returns this weekend with an all-BIPOC cast of performers to honour Black History Month. Acts include Mx. Caligula, Pu Ssay, Missery, and Kenya Rami. 

“Bringing it back this year felt like a necessary act of defiance and love,” Sahira Q said. “Right now, queer and trans communities are facing increasing pushback… When we gather, when we dance, when we uplift each other, we’re building something that can’t be erased.”

The event is co-sponsored by OPIRG Peterborough, Peterborough Pride, and BLM Nogojiwanong.

“It’s a celebration of the talent, culture, and resilience of the communities that have always been at the heart of ballroom and queer nightlife,” Sahira Q said. 

The Love Ball will take place at The Theatre on King starting at 8 p.m. this Saturday, February 22. Tickets cost $20, with a pay-what-you-can option available.

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Local improv duo stages full musical based on audience prompts

Most performers do their best to avoid getting food hurled at them on stage, but that’s exactly what local improv comedy duo Marc Rico Ludwig and Mark Rostrup are asking the audience to do at their upcoming show.

The pair behind Rapid’s End Improv have set themselves the challenge of improvising a full-length musical at The Theatre on King this Friday, February 21. Audience members will be handed bread rolls to chuck on stage if there’s a lull in singing for too long, Rostrup said.

“That’s how we’ve given the control of the musical portion to the audience,” he said.

The performers will make up the entire show and all the songs on the spot, after interviewing an audience member about an interesting story or character from their work-life as inspiration.

“Right after we grab our suggestions, it’s a full musical all the way to the end, and we’re going to make it happen,” Ludwig said. 

Made up tunes are often part of their improv shows, but this is their first musical, Rostrup said.

“We had found we got really big reactions from the audience, from [improv] games where we would sing.”

The duo will be accompanied by Take Cover Books co-owner and pianist Andrew Fitzpatrick on piano.

Rico and Rostrup: Make Me Sing is on at 8 p.m. Friday, February 21 at The Theatre on King. Tickets are available online for $20.

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Live music in Peterborough this weekend:

• The Peterborough Public Library is hosting a free Afrocentric story time this Saturday, February 22 from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Families can gather in the story corner for African folk tales, fables, and stories from around the world.

• As part of its Music in the Hall series, All Saints’ Anglican Church will present The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music this Saturday, February 22 at 7 p.m. The family-friendly show features live performances by local musicians Beau Dixon and the Colton Sisters to celebrate Black History Month. Tickets are $25 and are available online or at the door.

• Internationally touring illusionists Ted and Marion Outerbridge will offer “comedy-magic”, “mentalism”, and more at Showplace Performance Centre this Saturday, February 22, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 to $55 and are available online. 

• Peterborough band Tapes In Motion will celebrate the release of their new album, Holy Socialites, this Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Jethro’s Bar and Stage. The show will include a full live performance of the album. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

• Peterborough Comic Con is back this Sunday at a new location, the Peterborough Curling Club, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission costs $5 for adults, and children 12 and under get in free. Comics and collectibles will be available for purchase, and special guests will be on-site to sign autographs. Tickets are available online or at the door. 

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