Aurora Cultural Centre presents Newberry & Verch (FOLK)
March 1, 2025 – 7:30PM
IMPORTANT SEATING UPDATE: Instead of the previously planned reserved bleacher seating, the event will now feature a cabaret-style seating arrangement with tables and chairs and entry will be general admission. If you have any specific accessibility needs in regards to seating, please let us know; we will do our best to accommodate you to ensure your comfort during the performance. All patrons who have previously purchased tickets to this event will be contacted by phone to confirm these new seating arrangements. Please be assured that the artists will be performing on a raised platform or stage, so sightlines to the performance should not be impacted by the new seating arrangement. Thank you for your understanding, and we are looking forward to welcoming you to what promises to be an unforgettable evening with Newberry & Verch. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at info@auroraculturalcentre.ca
Missouri Ozarks banjo legend Joe Newberry sums it up best when describing his collaboration with Ottawa Valley fiddle sensation April Verch: “We may be from a couple of hollers over, but the heart pulse rhythms, her love of tradition mirrors my family's love of tradition. My family in Central Missouri listened to Canadian broadcasts.” You won’t want to miss a magical evening of folk traditions and new discoveries.
Joe Newberry comes from a family of singers and dancers. A clawhammer banjo and guitarist since he was a boy, he also learned the violin from some of Missouri’s finest fiddlers. Later in his career, Garrison Keillor (A Prairie Home Companion radio hour) chanced to hear Joe’s music. Within the month, he was invited as a regular on the beloved nationally syndicated radio show. April Verch grew up in the Ottawa Valley, listening to her Dad’s country music band. She was step dancing by age 3, and had a fiddle in hand by age 6. A Canadian Grand Master and Canadian Opening Fiddling Champion, she has 14 recordings to date, and a passport filled with international touring through 18 countries.
Their show celebrates their musical roots, their love of performing and strong musical connection. Original songs join timeless classics, with stories to warm the heart, lively fiddle and banjo numbers to get the toes tapping and traditional dance steps that celebrate hearth and home. While they’re on the road much of the time, they’re rarely homesick because their music means they always have a bit of home wherever they go.
