Roots and Soul curate Thursdays nights at Wilser’s Room

A new folk-rooted performance series begins this week at Wilser’s Room with performances by Shaun Ferguson and The Big Spree.

By Matt Carter

After several successful years hosting live music events at Grimross Brewery, Fredericton-based Roots and Soul Music Promotions are launching a Thursday night performance series downtown at Wilser’s Room in the Capital Complex. The series will include performances by local and touring musicians and will include a songwriter’s circle hosted by the Montgomery Street Band in partnership with the ninth annual Shivering Songs festival.

Roots and Soul founder and event coordinator Eddie Young sees the move to a downtown stage as a way to reach new audiences and support the growth of live music within the city.

“There are a couple of reasons for doing this,” said Young. “We want to try and expand our own audience and bring a new stage into what Roots and Soul is currently going.”

The series will run during January and February and see a variety of folk-rooted artists take to the Wiler’s Room stage. The series begins this week with a performance by Music NB’s Folk Artist of the Year, Shaun Ferguson.

“Grimross is still fully a go,” said Young, “but moving Thursday shows to the downtown will maybe make it not so saturated at Grimross and may even increase attendance there. Also, I find that the age demographic at Grimross is 35 and older, people with families and day jobs seem to be more of a weekend crowd.”

Young also hopes the Thursday night series will connect with students from the city’s two universities, something several promoters have been struggling with for some time. Students attending performances organized by Roots and Soul will receive a 50% discount on cover.

“The main goal is just to reach as many different people as possible,” said Young.