The festival stretches across two months and several cities, with the goal of bringing well-known artists as well as emerging ones to small and intimate venues across Ontario. Cochrane is one of the biggest names associated with this year’s edition, with a 50-year career including his work with the rock group Red Rider and his smash hit solo record Mad Mad World, including the iconic “Life is a Highway.” Ontario Festival of Small Halls programming manager Cat Cote expressed excitement about the upcoming concert:
“We’ve been receiving a lot of positive feedback about the festival’s expansion throughout the province, while we’ve been tapping into our programming resources to present our best lineup ever.”
The Guelph event is one of two dates for Cochrane in association with the Festival, with a second concert held in Brantford on the same weekend, both marketed as “Tom Cochrane – Songs & Stories – The Duo”. The full Festival of Small Halls will bring well-known Canadian artists like Chantal Kreviazuk, Hawksley Workman, Kathleen Edwards and The Trews to hometown venues around Southern Ontario ranging from the Pontypool Community Centre to Oakfield Rugby Park. Concerts and music festivals like this often use methods like poster printing and radio marketing to help get the word out.
Tom Cochrane will perform at the River Run Centre in Guelph on the evening of October 12.