Join us for a free concert from the legendary Valdy!

Date: Thursday, August 21st

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Fusion Credit Union Stage at The Riverbank

Valdy 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.

Opening up the evening is Brandon's Mitchell Makoons!

Mitchell Makoons (he/him) is a Roots/Rock musician from Brandon, Manitoba, who currently resides in Winnipeg. At the age of seven, Mitchell began playing the guitar to accompany his grandfather and brother as they played Metis fiddle tunes. Makoons continues to be an active member of the Manitoba Metis community and writes songs that combine traditional Ojibway music and culture with modern influences.

Makoons has toured several times across Western Canada and has begun to break into the Canadian festival scene. In 2024, he performed at Dauphin’s Countryfest, Harvest Sun Music Festival, Gentlefest, and Winnipeg Fringe Festival, to name a few.

Makoons released his debut album “Lady Boots” in April of 2024. Of the 8 tracks on the album, 4 have reached the top 10 on the Indigenous Music Countdown with “Courage” and “Changing Man” becoming his first and second No. 1’s. Mitchell’s music is spun frequently on Canadian and American radio and receives international play on Sirius XM. Since 2022, Makoons has been nominated for 9 Manitoba Country Music Awards and won the Emerging Artist of the Year Award in 2024.