1000 Islands Regatta delivers a taste of summer to the 1000 Islands!

Canada Day weekend is often one of the busiest weekends of the year as we have teams covering events and festivals across Canada. We’re proudly based in the 1000 Islands region of Ontario so when an event comes around in our home territory we are sure to attend and help spread the word. This summer the annual 1000 Islands Regatta promised an all-star entertainment lineup with headliners Platinum Blonde, Jason Blaine and the Northern Pikes hitting the stage over the weekend with loud and fast hydro-plane racing skimming the water on the St. Lawrence River during the day.

As the weekend approached the weather forecast was almost perfect. Slight chance of rain on the Friday night and chance of thunderstorms on Saturday and nothing but sunshine on Sunday with warm temperatures expected all weekend long.

Day 1 – Friday June 28, 2019

Friday night’s weather held strong with nothing more than a drizzle to dampen the spirits of concert goers hungry to kick off the summer season on the river after a winter that was far too long. Local and provincial dignitaries opened the event for the weekend as HRL fans from near and far descended on Brockville to cheer on their favourite racers.

Local band Bourne to Rock kicked off the music for the night with a few hours of classic rock and country covers while crowds began to build in front of Canada’s Oldest Railway Tunnel.

The sun set, the clouds (mostly) cleared and the lights dimmed and a familiar tune emerged from the speakers as 80s heartthrobs Platinum Blonde exploded onto the stage with their 1987 single “Hungry Eyes”.

I grew up a Platinum Blonde fan and this was my third time catching them live, my first being way back in 2001 at Mattawa Voyageur Days and more recently when they opened for Boy George and Culture Club in Ottawa a few years back.

There’s little comparison to a live show under the stars, especially with the St. Lawrence River as a backdrop and Platinum Blonde showed the packed venue that even after 30 years of cranking out the hits they still know how to rock the house and put on a show for the memory books. From hits like “Standing In The Dark” to their smash 1985 #1 hit “Crying Over You” it was 2 hours of solid gold rock. Mark hinted to the crowd that a 30 year anniversary tour is in the works for next year which, in itself, was music to our ears. Platinum Blonde will return to Mattawa’s Voyageur Days later this month where they’ll, once again, take to the stage at Explorer’s Point along with Static Shift, Harlequin and Honeymoon Suite. For all Platinum Blonde info and details of the 30th Anniversary tour visit www.platinumblondeworld.ca

Day 2 – Saturday June 29, 2019

Saturday started out very promising. The sun was out, the weather was warm but as the afternoon turned into evening storm clouds and tornado warnings threatened to spoil the party. Local rockers Whiskey Rocks enjoyed a spirited set on the stage and Kingston, Ontario native Jordy Jackson managed to squeeze out a couple of songs on the stage before mother nature unleashed her fury on Blockhouse Island with heavy rain, winds and lightning. We took refuge in our vehicle while it received it’s second free festival car wash of the festival season, so far, courtesy of mother nature. Periodic checks of the radar weren’t very promising as early indications were that the storm would be intense and long lasting but, as it frequently happens in the 1000 Islands, suddenly the storm seemingly ran out of steam and the storm clouds started to clear and the rain came to an end.

As we returned to the drenched venue we could see that the stage was still empty but still there was music coming from somewhere. We followed the sounds of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” to the beer tent where we found Jordy and his acoustic guitar keeping the party going for a few dozen of country music fans who weren’t about to let a bit of rain and lightning spoil their party.

Pembroke’s own Jason Blaine took to the stage next. Fresh off of his 6th Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament and Gala, which raised an incredible $125,000 for local charities in and around the Pembroke area, Blaine would be the first official country artist ever to headline the 1000 Islands Regatta. Although the rain was too much for some many made their way back to the venue for Jason’s set and by the time he was rolling the concert bowl had filled in nicely.

It was nice to see the Canadian Country Music community represented at this year’s event, although now a Nashville resident Jason has never forgotten his Canadian roots and remains an ambassador for Canada and the Ottawa Valley, in particular. For two hours Blaine took the crowd through his biggest hits including “Country Side”, “Dance With my Daughter”, “Boy with a Guitar”, “Spotlight” and his breakthrough single “Flirtin’ With Me” . “They Don’t Make Em’ Like That Anymore” is a song that grips me every time I see Jason perform live; The first ever festival we covered, way back in 2011, was the Capital Hoedown. Jason performed this song for his grandparents, who were in attendance, at that festival. His grandfather passed away in 2015 but the song remains a staple in every Jason Blaine set. Adding to his own hits Jason threw a few covers into the mix including an homage to the Hip with a bit of help from a member of the audience, Jonathan, who blew the crowd away with his incredible vocals on “Blow at High Dough”. He wrapped up his set with a cover of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of 69” which was fitting as it’s the 50th anniversary of that summer this year and something tells me we’re going to see a lot of 6 strings this summer. If you weren’t able to make it down to Brockville on Saturday you can catch Jason in Carlton Place on July 27 for their 200th Anniversary with Brea Lawrenson. For more information visit him online at https://www.jasonblaine.ca/

Day 3 Sunday June 30, 2019

The festivities on Sunday started on a more somber note as a tragic accident during one of the qualifying heats resulted in one of the drivers losing their life. It’s the worst thing that you can imagine happening at any sporting event, especially hydroplane racing. I’ve been a fan of this sport since I was little and one thing I can tell you is that these men and women are fierce competitors on the open water but when the boats are out of the water and the racing stops they are more like family. The party and celebrate together at night and many keep in touch throughout the year so when tragedy hits it hits hard and it hits deep. Brockville is a community that has a lot of heart so when tragedy strikes within it’s borders the community rallies and wraps it’s arms around the grieving teams and fans and lifts them up.

There was a tragic accident today at the 1000 Islands Regatta in Brockville, Ontario – our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those involved, and will be with us as we take the stage this evening at the music festival. #thenorthernpikes #1000islandsregatta pic.twitter.com/21hMNhqyiG

— The Northern Pikes (@northernpikes) June 30, 2019

As news made it’s way through the community initially it was unclear if the Sunday night concerts would proceed as scheduled until this message was posted by the Northern Pikes themselves.

The message summed up everything that needed to be said.  As the sun began it’s journey west local dignitaries once again took to the stage, only this time to pay tribute to Mathieu. Flags above the stage were lowered to half-mast and the music began. Dead Root Revival was on stage by the time I arrived on site. To describe their music as a single genre would be a gross injustice to the band. They had elements of Blues, Rock, Hard Rock, Jazz all mixed and molded into one. It was one of the most interesting acts I’ve seen in a while and they’re requested to come to the festival every year. It’s worth checking out their set if you ever cross paths with them at a festival or event near you. To learn more about them visit their website here.

It’s been a couple of years now since we crossed paths with the Northern Pikes. The band is currently touring across Canada in support of their first album in 16 years, Forest of Love (you want this album in your collection, you can take our word for it). The Brockville performance was an anniversary of sorts as it was the 2 year anniversary of Kevin Kane (of the Grapes of Wrath) joining the band as the official fourth member and boy what an addition. Kane joined the band about a year after we last saw the Pikes live and, as a fan of the Grapes of Wrath already, he helps take the Northern Pikes into the next dimension of amazing.

The setlist was a good mix of new and old tracks and even sprinkled in a couple of classic Grapes of Wrath tunes for good measure. The band paused for a minute early in their set to pay tribute to the fallen driver and offer their best wishes to his family and friends and dedicated an extremely moving rendition of “Don’t You Give Up” off of Forrest of Love to them. Emotions were raw among many in the audience on Sunday night and this was as beautiful a tribute as you could get.

You could tell that these guys were having a blast playing together on stage, they were having as much fun as the audience was and it came across in their performance. It was a rock show for the ages and one of the best performances I’ve seen by a group, of any genre, so far this year. No gimmicks just straight up rock and roll. These guys are legit and I love that they’re still going strong.

They capped off the night and the festival with a mashup of “Highway To Hell”, “I Want You To Want Me” and their smash hit “She Ain’t Pretty”. I left the festival pumped, even tonight 48 hours after the music ended the energy still runs through me from that night. Still plenty of opportunities to catch the Pikes as they’ll be performing at Festivals across Canada all summer and then return for a show in Toronto November 2 at the Horseshoe Tavern. For a full listing of upcoming dates visit https://thenorthernpikes.com/

For full details on the 2019 Regatta and plans for 2020 visit https://1000islandsregatta.com/

In Memory of Mathieu “The Dog” Daoust 1987-2019

A GoFundMe page has been setup for Mathieu and has reached over $11,000 in donations at the time of publishing this post. If you would like to donate and support his family you can visit the campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1oo8e8ds6o

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