The Gig Report - Layney Ross w Ava Grace @ Fidelio Cafe





 Date: June 12 2026

 

Venue: Fidelio Café: Downtown Woodstock (6:00pm – 8:00pm)

 

The Scene… 

           Watching live music at the Fidelio Café is no joke; For, there are no riddles to solve. You step off the sidewalk, on main street, into a place that breathes warmth and familiarity, even if you have never been inside before. I believe it was designed that way. Really; the perfect venue for Layney Ross & Ava Grace to share their music with you; in a live setting.

         I firmly believe, whether, or not, you can play an instrument or read music, or, you have the ability to do so, in some capacity, and you have created an environment for your kids to grow up with a philosophy that if you can speak, you can sing and if you can walk you can dance…well then you are a “music educator” because nurturing is not a miracle. I am writing this because, it isn’t lost on me that the first two people I see walking into the Fidelio are Traci & Tasha (Layney and Ava’s mothers to be exact) You have fostered your daughters to a point where they can perform in front of people…and do it well.  And the music world is a much better place because of your families.

The Warm Open:

               Ava Grace (cool stage name) has been writing songs since she was in Grade 5. And performing them since she was in grade 9. She is now seventeen. It only takes the multi-instrumentalist two songs into her thirty-minute set to play one of her originals. She’ll end up doing three, of her own songs in total.  And even though she is seventeen, she writes like someone who has a lifetime of experiences.  Almost like if Tiffany (I think were alone now) had the mind of Joni Mitchell.  In short, her lyrics are very mature. I found Ava’s voice exceptional (no auto-tuning necessary). And I predict she will grow into her talent, become even better and before you know it… She’ll be featured in the next section.

On with the Show:

                 Layney Ross (Shimmer, that’s what I sometimes call her) doesn’t really need me, or anybody for that matter, to write something that will convince you, on how much talent she possesses. If you have grown up in Carleton County there is a great chance that you have seen her perform, already. Either with one of her Father’s bands, performing with her sister (the other shimmer twin) or at a school recital, music recital, talent contest…you get the picture. You already know that you are going to be entertained by an artist that has immense control over one very powerful and multi-octave voice. And, with Layney, there will be a set-list that ranges from Kasey Musgraves to the Foo Fighters. There isn’t a genre or song that she couldn’t cover or be too afraid to. Of course, if you were at the Fidelio, you could have seen that happen right before your eyes. One of the best things about seeing her perform is the new artists that Layney will introduce you too. She’s a perfect gateway for introducing people to new music by artists you probably would never know existed, unless you went to one of her shows.  She also writes her own original songs as well. Next year or earlier Layney will have recorded those originals. Maybe she’ll call the release “A Little Happy” that’s quote from the show. To understand its context, you should have been there.

 

In closing:  The Layney Ross & Ava Grace show at the Fidelio Café drew more people than Mallory Chipman (Canadian Solo Artist of the year, nominee, at the 2026 Folk Music Awards) show just a week prior. We have a lot of talent in this area.  

 

The Scene











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Scene Report w Ken Moir Album Review #1 The Follow Ups - Know Who Your Friends Aren't

Image
  From G to Shining C – East coast Punk An Album Review Know Who Your Friends Aren’t – The Follow Ups The Scene Report By Ken Moir   I listened to the first song, “Freak’n Out” from the Follow Ups, first Full-length album, “Know Who Your Friends Aren’t” at least 3 or 4 times before I was able to review the whole album. Not that it was a bad song It’s that something was missing. And it had nothing to do with the band. Truthfully, I really didn’t know them or their music. I usually go down a rabbit hole and try and find out as much as possible about a band before I write anything about them. I didn’t do that, in this case. In fact, the only thing I knew, was that, they were billed as the East Coast Ramones. “That’s lofty”, I said to myself. Now when I review or write something I sit in my office and clear my mind. A mental “please be seated, as it were, before I begin to express my thoughts on paper. But in my opinion, you cannot review a punk record sitting down…you g...
Read more

The Gig Report - Peter Brennan @ Cross Creek Brewing

Image
  The Gig Report – Peter Brennan @ Cross Creek Brewing   The Gig: Peter Brennan (performing Solo)   Date: June 13 2026    Venue: Cross Creek Brewing: Downtown Woodstock ( 8:00pm – 10:00pm)       The Scene…           Eight years ago, if you went to any type of drinking establishment to see live music, you would probably be met at the door by a staff member/ bouncer. This system would serve two purposes; one, being the infamous ID check, and the second, to see that none would enter without paying the cover charge.    Back then, the night’s entertainment would have been paid a flat performance fee, or been given the proceeds from the door, and sometimes a percentage of it.    But; then Covid happened and then the economy happened, with grocery prices sky-rocketing people just don’t have the means to go out on the town, so-to-speak, anymore.    In short, they have stopped going out.  ...
Read more

Brass Camel; Listen Up "They've come for our ears"

Image
Brass Camel;  Listen up! “They’ve come for our ears”                          Brass is an alloy of copper & zinc  in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic, and chemical properties .  A camel;  well, we all know what a camel is,  but  it is what they do, more importantly, that makes them special.  In short, they provide and they work.  These are just facts!                    However, if you formed a band and decided to call yourself “Brass Camel” …well you could be defined as this… Brass Camel is a band of 5 different musical Rasputin’s, which when brought together  achieve a sound of different textures and genres that exhibit musical properties of Progressive Rock, Funk, R&B and everything in between. And what makes them special is that it all works. These are j...
Read more