Inaugural Highly Likely Festival warms hearts during a cold winter

An unusually cold winter in Peterborough might mean you leave the house less, see less shows, and in general isolate yourself and wait out the chill. Peterborough’s newest music festival aimed to change that by bringing musicians and writers together to perform during the coldest time of the year.

Highly Likely is a collaboration between Michael Cloud Duguay of Miracle Territory, an independent music and arts presenter in Peterborough, and brothers Andrew and Sean Fitzpatrick of Take Cover Books in East City. The three have worked together for previous Miracle Territory shows, hosting most of them in the bookshop. Highly Likely is a festival of music and literature, featuring authors and musicians locally and afar. From Thursday to Sunday there was music and readings happening at the shop, and The Pulse was there to check it out!

Night one | February 27

Coming into the little bookstore I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve been to previous Miracle Territory shows and they’ve always been weird and wonderful. Often with instruments I can’t recognize. (Have you seen a baritone recorder before?) I was curious to see how the literature would be folded in.

Sean Fitzpatrick of Take Cover Books

We were welcomed to the festival by Sean, he advised the only washroom was past the performing area so please use it before the music began. He read the names of the performers off of a receipt. Unfortunately, Naomi McCarroll-Butler was absent that night, but we would be starting with Charlie Petch and then 3C84 (Charlie Glasspool and José Contreras)

Charlie Petch

Charlie Petch performed original poetry, accompanied by their own live playing of ukulele and a saw (like the kind you cut down trees with. For real.) Their poems were performed lighthearted and comically, while the substance ranged from speculations that C3PO and R2D2 are gay lovers, to what it is like growing up trans and realizing people you may have idolized are not what you may have thought.

3C84

3C84 came on shortly after with a keyboard and a synth. They performed tracks from Myrtle in the Forest. An ambient soundscape took over the room. The performance had many moving and funny moments. A highlight was when a series of happy apples were handed out to the crowd to shake and participate in the music.

Night two | February 28

The Trent University Alternative Arts Collective (TUAAC) were affiliated with this show, which in my experience means two things. It’ll sell out + it will be mostly young folks. Both were correct. Almost all the chairs were consistently occupied and Trent made their presence known, both in attendance and by the line up including Trent groups Absynthe Magazine and Yackbard. Potions were also on the bill, a Toronto band I had never heard of before, but nonetheless was excited to see.

Andrew Fitzpatrick of Take Cover Books

Andrew kicked us off tonight and again let us know to resist the urge to cross the stage while performers were playing. As well, advising there were now hats for sale! With characters designed by Christopher Green (who also designed the festival's poster!)

Absynthe Magazine

Absynthe Magazine had two writers read original work, both were splendid! (Unfortunately we didn't think about writing an article about the festival until the end of night three so I didn’t write down the names of the poets, but trust me, they were great! PS if you’re reading this DM us and I’ll edit this to include you)

Potions

Following the poetry came Potions. There were a lot of strange noises coming from this band, likely a drum pad hidden slightly out of view, but a soundscape brought across a sort of electro-acoustic jazzy indie vibe. Another onlooker described it best saying “I feel like I just witnessed the start of something that's going to be big.”

Yackbard

Finally capping off the night were the local cool kids Yackbard. A rockin 'little band typically with two basses. This particular evening they were a bit more toned down, even going as far as forgoing the drumset and instead relying on shakers, tambourines, and a triangle to fill the percussion role at different times. They played a mix of covers and spacy punk rock originals.

Day three | March 1

It was a brisk morning but that didn't stop the kids from showing up in full force. For the only daytime show of the festival there was no ticket price and it was geared towards younger audiences.

Local artist Kathyrn Durst started it off with a brief description of what it’s like to be an illustrator and driving in the point of how important it is to play, for both kids and adults alike. She led this example by doing a quick live drawing with no wrong answers drawing a cookie and asking the audience what should be on it.

Kathyrn Durst (left) and Mark Romeril (right)

Then she was joined by Mark Romeril for some celtic and french folk music with Durst on accordion and Romeril on the fiddle. It was a stomping good time.

Their set was finished with a reading from the new book Natterjack Toad Makes a Mighty Crunch, which Durst Illustrated. The children were enamored the whole way through.

King Spatula and the Rubber Band

We were then blessed to be under the presence of royalty as King Spatula and his Rubber Band treated us to a series of songs about patience, an axolotl on the stairs, and what it might be like to work at a button factory. I think the adults may have laughed more than the kids, and the kids were hollering

Night three | March 1

As day turned to night we returned to Take Cover Books for another evening filled with song and story. Michael reminded newcomers once again that the only bathroom was past the stage, and while not prohibited, it was highly recommended to go before the performances started.

Annais Linares (left) and Ben Finley (right)

Annais Linares sang and Ben Finley played the bass for us first. Most of their music had beautiful imagery focusing on nature and the connection between us and itself. However the standout and likely most beloved song from the crowd was titled "Medieval Haircut” and focused on just that.

Daniel Sarah Karasik

Daniel Sarah Karasik took the stage afterwards and read a few short poems before reading a passage from their book Disobedience. The story follows a community of people who escaped a prison camp and have built their own society with their own rules and governance. The crowd was silent throughout as the heavy subject matter filled the room. The book was available for onlookers to purchase and bring home if they wanted to figure out what happened next.

Jos. Fortin

Saturday was headlined by the much-hyped Jos. Fortin, who may as well have been a comic the way he had the crowd laughing along with him. He played a bean medley of covers with some tech issues before playing some original music he had been working on and hoping to put out soon.

Night four | March 2

Justin Hiscox (left) and Caylie Staples (right)

The final night was upon us! The room filled up early with excited onlookers looking forward to seeing local heroes Justin Hiscox and Caylie Staples perform. They performed an incredible set of 100% improvised music, both in lyrics and on the piano. They even called upon the crowd for suggestions at one point, creating a song about gardening, lego and magic. For their final song they invited the audience to join in, creating a haunting choir that filled all available space.

Luka Kuplowsky and The Ryokan Band

Following the duo was Luka Kuplowsky and The Ryokan Band from Toronto. They took poems as inspiration and paired it with music. It was interesting to see just how modern some of these poets seemed. The most catchy of which was “What Luck!” originally written by Ryōkan Taigu who was born in 1758. The song follows an excited monk who finds a coin in his bag, and now can finally get drunk with his friend Sleeping Dragon.

Colleen Coco Collins

The final act of the festival was Colleen Coco Collins from the East Coast who did a reading and then performed some songs. With impressive lyricism she put a splendid final touch on the festival and left everyone feeling a deeper connection to each other and the space we were in.

Conclusion

(From left to right) Sean Fitzpatrick, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Michael Cloud Duguay, Courtney Classens, Nathan Truax)

Behind the scenes, the festival was made possible by a couple of mostly anonymous heroes. Nathan Truax handled all the sound and set up of everything musical. Courtney Claessens wore many hats during the festival, from handling the door and ticketing, security, and general vibe police. The event wouldn't have been possible without both of them.

From an onlookers perspective, the festival was a complete success. There was a great environment throughout which let us experience music and literature in a way we may have never been exposed to otherwise. Plus what else is going on at the end of February?

Michael, Sean and Andrew had all made it clear that they intend to make this an annual event. We can’t wait for next year!