NOT TO BE MISSED! Jon McLurg and Steve Kennedy. On Sunday Sept 28 (1-3pm) at Belleville’s UpFront Café, these two masters of songwriting and performance take the stage. Recommended Cover charge: $10. All welcome. The Songwriters Orbit is a performance showcase for master and developing songwriters of Folk and Alternative music. Songwriters will also share their inspirations, influences, techniques, and past performing joys and nightmares with the audience.
JON MCLURG is a singer-songwriter based in Kingston, Ontario. He has been a staple of the local Folk music scene for 20 years as a solo performer and member of Turpin’s Trail, Crooked Wood, and The Goodnight Irenes. Audiences are captivated by Jon’s smooth vocals and masterful guitar playing. His repertoire of original songs and covers draws from a deep well of genres including Folk, Celtic, Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and Classic Oldies. He has toured across the Maritimes several times and has 6 solo albums of original songs.
STEVE KENNEDY grew up in a treehouse on Little Long Lake near Sydenham, Ontario, with loons for lullabies and the Max Ferguson Show on CBC Radio as his morning soundtrack. This early blend of nature and Canadiana shaped a musical voice that’s as heartfelt as it is homegrown. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, Steve’s journey began in a high school guitar class and quickly expanded to include ukulele, banjo, and piano. But it’s his songwriting—rooted in honest storytelling and rich with the textures of Canadian life—that truly sets him apart. His ballads are tender, reflective, and often tinged with the warmth of Celtic tradition.
Steve has performed with local bands like SOS, Crooked Wood, and Turpin’s Trail, gracing stages at Mariposa Folk Fest, headlining the Brimstone Head Folk Festival in Newfoundland, and opening for icons like Lunch at Allen’s and Leahy. He’s also hosted a celebrated song-circle series at the Royal Theatre in Gananoque, fostering community through music and story. To balance his role as happy husband and dad to seven kids, Steve continues to perform solo at festivals like the Emerald Music Festival, Shirefest, and even as far afield as Whitehorse, Yukon. His shows are a blend of soul-stirring ballads, Celtic flair, and quick-witted banter that leave audiences smiling and singing along.
STEPHEN BRUCE MEDD (Host) is a performing songwriter of historical ballads and spiritual songs. These songs are inspired by Canadian history; the remote and beautiful landscapes he explored as a geologist; and environmental and social issues of the day. Stephen’s most recent project entitled, "If Lilacs Could Sing" is a book of ballads and accompanying recordings about fascinating historical moments and people of Upper Canada and Colonial America. In 1999-2000 Stephen recorded 3 Spiritual-Folk songs that he wrote for Avril Lavigne that were her first studio recordings before being discovered by the music industry. Some of his influences include Gordon Lightfoot, Pete Seeger, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Mac Beattie and Celtic Music.
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