ENTERTAINMENT & SPECIAL EVENTS
If you’re looking for some music to spice up your time in Westport, The Cove is the place for you to set yourself down. We bring in the best we can find and keep a healthy mix on rotation. From Blues to Jazz, Rock to Folk, Country to Bluegrass, Soul to Funk, we love it all. In the warmer months, larger performances and full band shows take place on our Lounge stage while solos, duos and small groups play to the patio crowds. When it gets cooler, all shows happen in the Lounge.
Always best to call ahead for reservations so you have a seat too! 1.888.COVE.INN
To discuss a gig, please email thecoveinnwestport@gmail.com with your name, number, email, web/social media links, particular dates you might want to play and anything else we might need to know about you. We appreciate your request but know that we can only book a limited amount of acts. Thank you for your understanding.
Check out our CALENDAR of EVENTS below for the next show!
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TERRY TUFTS (Acoustic Folk Guitar Master, Lanark)
September 14, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The return of TERRY, Folk Legend! Terry is an accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist, as well as working as a session musician and sideman for a variety of artists including Tom Paxton, David Francey, Ian Tamblyn, The Arrogant Worms, Wayne Rostad, Susan Aglukark, and George Fox. He has 7 albums. He blends a well-traveled personal history into music without boundaries. He blew the socks off our place at the Canadian Songwriter Summit with host Kevin Head.
Superb singer, writer and guitarist.
1997 regional winner of Standard Radio’s National Songwriting Competition and one of the three winners of the 1998 Ontario Council of Folk Festival’s Songs From The Heart Awards
Superb singer, writer and guitarist: those are words frequently used to describe Ottawa-based performer Terry Tufts. All of those attributes – and more – are on display in his new album, The Better Fight, which is scheduled for release this fall.
Terry’s songwriting contemporaries refer to him as a musical triple threat. He’s also an avid environmentalist, dedicated dad and loving husband, all elements that colour his striking original material. Terry’s lyrics speak straight from the heart – and from a charged social conscience. His stirring melodies are supported by sophisticated finger-style guitar orchestrations. The result: songs that are often anthemic, and always profoundly affecting.
Born on the shores of Lake Erie the son of a Canadian diplomat, Terry grew up in Denver, Rome, South Africa and Ottawa. He has been playing music since he was nine, starting with the mandolin and later moving on to guitar. He cites influences ranging from Gordon Lightfoot and Red Shea through Keats, Byron and Shelley to Lenny Breau and Tommy Smothers.
Always the brilliant guitarist, Terry spent much of his early career working with other singers. However in the mid-1990s, he released two albums of original material: Walk On and Two Nights Solo. Both were greeted with critical acclaim, and his songwriting was recognized when he was named a winner in Standard Radio’s National Songwriting Competition in 1997. He is also the only two-time winner of the Ontario Council of Folk Festival’s Songs From the Heart competition, taking that honour in 1998 and 2001.
Terry’s latest recording, The Better Fight, reflects his continuing growth as songwriter and musician. In it, he explores the pop, jazz and folk idioms, moving seamlessly through all three in the company of some of the best musicians in Eastern Canada. Apart from the sheer musicality of the new recording, The Better Fight is, as one writer noted “the culmination of Terry Tufts’ career as a gifted and passionate songwriter. Whether he’s tackling the dilemma posed by an unjust war or savouring moments in time, Tufts displays a boxer’s heart wrapped inside a troubadour’s spirit.”
Reviews
“Call me an American chauvinist, but “country” has always called to mind “Nashville” or “Austin” – not “Ottawa.” Now Walk On from Terry tufts has changed by mind. In a dreamy ramble through 10 originals and covers, Tufts proves that his roots go as deep as those of all the Hanks and Dollys on this side of the U.S./Canadian border. He displays a wry, Nashville-ready wit with lyrics like “You got a habit of bein’ so sweet…the kind of woman any man could wanna meet…hope nobody knows this but me.” Canada’s national treasure Willie P. Bennett wails away on mouth harp and joins Peter von Althen on drums, Ken Kanwisher on bass, and a cast of seemingly thousands to keep the uptempo “Look to Yourself for Heaven” chugging and “Swing Her About” swinging. Every so often, Tufts and company dip into the deeper pool from which all good country music is made, with mediations on death and eternity like the haunting “In the Eleventh Hour” and the homage to his father, Floyd, on “My Father Would Say.” The covers include John Martyn’s “Sweet Little Mystery” and a suitably corny “Deep Purple.”
Dirty Linen
BLUES ON THE RIDEAU @ THE COVE INN, WESTPORT ANNOUNCES 2019/20 LINE-UP
Choose The Blues Productions in co-operation with The Cove Inn, Westport is pleased to announce the 2019/20 LINE-UP for Blues On The Rideau @ The Cove – our 15th year!
BOTR @ The Cove is now recognized as one of the premier Blues Series in the country featuring some of Canada’s best Blues, Soul and R&B artists (all Juno, Maple Blues Award, Western Canadian Music Award and/or Quebec Lys Blues Award winners/nominees). The Cove venue is friendly and intimate located in a beautiful 140 year old country inn in one of the most scenic villages in eastern Ontario – Westport – located on the shores of Upper Rideau Lake on the historic Rideau Waterway (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) – only a 1.5 hour drive from Ottawa, 45 minutes from Kingston, 2.5 hours from Syracuse, 3 hours from Toronto and Montreal.
There are 12 shows this season including three 2 Night Stand – Hogtown Allstars in October, Samantha Martin in November and Jack de Keyzer in January and a December show with MonkeyJunk as well! All shows take place from 7-11 pm. The ticket price increases – the first price increase in 5 years – $70 + HST. That includes a delicious full course buffet dinner, dancing, door prizes and a chance to win 2 Grand Prizes at the end of the season. A portion of proceeds from each show go to support different local charities. To date $74K has been raised for the Westport community and the goal is to raise over $5K this season.
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September 13 From Hamilton HARRISON KENNEDY & BAND (Soul/Blues/Roots male vocalist) www.harrisonkennedy.ca
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October 11 & 12* From Toronto THE HOGTOWN ALLSTARS (Big time Blues, Soul & R&B from 6 members from 2 of Canada’s most famous Blues bands, *2-night stand) http://www.garykendall.com/Bluestime/THAS.htm
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November 16 From Toronto SAMANTHA MARTIN & DELTA SUGAR (Fabulous Soul Blues with beautiful harmonies) www.samanthamartinmusic.com
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December 13 From Ottawa MONKEYJUNK (High powered Blues/Funk/Roots/Rock) www.monkeyjunkband.com
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January 17 & 18* From Toronto JACK DE KEYZER BAND (Canada’s King of the Blues guitar. One of BOTR’s favourites. *2 Night stand)
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February 21 From Stratford BILL DURST BAND (Blues hard & heavy in the style of ZZ Top) www.billdurst.com
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March 20 From Nanaimo, BC DAVID GOGO BAND (Here’s another famous Canadian Blues Rock guitarist/singer/songwriter) www.davidgogo.com
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April 17 From Kingston MISS EMILY w. BAND (Soul/Blues/Jazz/Rock Queen of Kingston) www.themissemily.com
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May 8 From Victoria, BC DAVID VEST w. BAND (Authentic, Southern-bred dynamite boogie-woogie piano player, old style Blues shouter vocalist and consummate entertainer) www.davidvest.ca
Full details on the Series including the artists’ Bios, links to their websites and YOU TUBE videos – plus the charities that are being supported this year – can be found at www.BluesOnTheRideau.ca More info on The Cove at www.coveinn.com
Advance reservations are required for all shows and can be made at The Cove, by phone 1-888-COVEINN 613-273-3636 or email thecoveinnwestport@gmail.com Well priced accommodation is available at The Cove and nearby B&B’s and a motel but book well ahead. All the beds in Westport usually sell out on BOTR nights.
Blues On The Rideau is produced by Choose The Blues Productions www.choosetheblues.ca in co-operation with The Cove Inn www.coveinn.com Sponsored by Perth Brewery www.perthbrewery.ca, Jacob’s Creek Wines www.jacobscreek.com, DAWG FM Ottawa www.dawgfm.com, LAKE 88 Perth www.lake88.ca and the Ottawa Blues Society www.ottawabluessociety.com
For more information contact:
James Doran, Choose The Blues Productions, 613-574-0086 james@choosetheblues.ca
Maureen Price or Seamus Cowan, Managers, The Cove Inn, Westport ON 613-273-3636 thecoveinnwestport@gmail.com
POLICY FOR 2019/20
FOR CANCELLATIONS, REDUCTIONS OR NO SHOWS TO RESERVATIONS FOR
BLUES ON THE RIDEAU SHOWS
You will be required to give your credit card number plus phone number and/or email address when you make your reservations.
Your card will not be charged at the time of reservation. You pay the night of the show.
You have until one week (7 DAYS) prior to the show to cancel or change the number of spots you have reserved for and/or your rooms – at no charge.
The Cove will also continue its policy of calling or emailing everyone who has reserved in advance one week prior to the upcoming show as a reminder.
If you do not notify The Cove that have to CANCEL or REDUCE the number of reserved spaces on your reservation AT LEAST ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE SHOW – or if you are a NO SHOW the night of the Show – then YOUR CREDIT CARD WILL BE CHARGED THE FULL AMOUNT for the number of spots you have reserved.
However – understanding that sometimes unforeseen things come up at the last minute which can cause a cancellation – and in the spirit of good will – if this happens we will CREDIT you the full amount that your card has been charged FOR A FUTURE SHOW in 2019/20 (on a space available basis – Advance Reservation still required). We will do this on a ONE TIME BASIS ONLY..After that, if it happens again, your card will be charged and there will be no credit for a future show.
We are introducing this Policy due to the large number of last minute cancellations and No-Shows we have experienced on BOTR nights over the years. It is simply not fair to the people who would like to attend the Show but have been turned down because we have a full house reserved only to find on the night of the show that there are extra spaces because of late cancellations and No-Shows. And the loss of revenue from this is not fair to Choose The Blues Productions or The Cove Inn who have to cover all the fixed expenses regardless.
Bottom line: If you aren’t SURE you can make the show – or if you aren’t sure some of your party can make the show – then CALL AND CANCEL AT THE LATEST ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE SHOW – or your credit card will be charged.
Fair? More than fair we think. Thank you for your understanding.