The next season of shows for the DES will begin in just a couple of months!
Lee Ann Benson and Cindy Coles are Co-Chairs of the Dryden Entertainment Series. They were at CKDR studios and provided an update about the ’26-’27 season……
Lee Ann: “We have a great lineup starting in September, kicking things off with Sass Jordan. Most people may know Sass Jordan is a Canadian icon who’s voice defined an era, the 80s and 90s. In addition, she will have Gary Borden with her, who is originally from Dryden. Gary has played with Sass Jordan for years and has said he is so happy to be coming to play in his hometown. Then in October, we have our annual pub night. The Centre has tables and chairs in the back instead of regular seats. This has been a huge hit with our audience as they can enjoy a beverage and some snacks during the show. We will have Maggie’s Wake for our pub night. They’re a contemporary folk group with jigs, reels, fiddles and reggae rhythms. Maya Kelly will also be here later in October with Bassett. She blends folk, rock and blues. And to kick off the Christmas season, we are featuring George Canyon and Aaron Pritchett. They toured some of northwestern Ontario last Christmas and decided to come back and do another tour. This will be an unforgettable Cowboy Christmas show.”
A great line-up to start things off for the first 4 months of the Dryden Entertainment Series! Lee Ann says the latter half of the DES season begins in mid-January and will be just as good as the first half of the season.
“Kicking off 2027 will be Crystal Shawanda, an Indigenous artist from Manitoulin Island. Crystal was the first Indigenous woman to win a Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year and she is also a Juno Award winner. And in February, we have Jory Nash joining us. He’s been here before and he’s a great singer, songwriter and storyteller blending folk, jazz, blues, pop and soul. Our last two performances of the year are well known to our audience. The Royal Manitoba Theatre will be here in late February with their play Misery. And our last show of the season will be the TBSO (Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra). Both are audience favourites.”
Cindy has details about ticket pricing….
“We’re currently offering our series passes, which are an absolutely fantastic deal. An eight series is $215 and that gets you into all of the shows. So when you break that down it amounts to $26.88 per ticket. So where else can you see a concert for that price? We also offer a five, a six or a seven series pass, which are also a great deal. The five series starts at $165 and so that’s still a really good price per ticket. If you want to purchase individual tickets you can purchase them online starting August 10th. You can also purchase tickets at the door the night of the concert, but you’re taking your chances with seat availability at that time. So we encourage online ticket sales. But again, we highly recommend a series pass. Individual tickets online for SASS Jordan and Cowboy Christmas will be $45 plus fees this year and the rest of our concerts will be $35 plus fees. So when you do the math, you really can’t beat the price of a series pass. As again, an eight series equals $26.88 per ticket. And the other incentive is if you purchase a pass now, you not only get your tickets for a lot less, but you also get to choose the best available seats before individual tickets go on sale to the general public.“
If you need more information Leanne says there are a few different ways to get it….
“We did a mass mail out this year. So all households should have received a postcard in the mail that provides information. But you can also visit our Dryden Entertainment Facebook page or our website: http://www.drydenentertainmentseries.ca/ We hope to see folks out enjoying live music this coming season.”
Cindy shares some final thoughts…
“D.E.S. would not be able to bring such amazing artists to Dryden without grants and sponsorship. We receive a couple of government grants every year, in addition to the generous support of our local sponsors. We have 18 local businesses and organizations that provide sponsorship, which helps us deliver great season after great season, as well as outreach to our local schools.”
(The audio version of the interview is below)
