Welland Downtown BIA announces line-up for 2023 Concerts on the Canal

Niagara Welland Entertainment Festivals & Events Music

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Published May 17, 2023 at 10:48 am

The Welland Downtown BIA recently announced the Concert on the Canal bands for the seven Friday nights gigs plus one bonus Saturday night show, kicking off on June 23 and wrapping up on August 25.

An average of about 3,000 people hit the hillside and bleachers near the floating stage at Merritt Park in Welland in 2022 and earlier. It was, of course, cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Concerts on the Canal was established in 2015 to offer family friendly content while showcasing local Niagara talent. This year, the event features a wide variety of musical genres and includes artists from both Welland and the Niagara Region.

The dates and line-up for the concert series are as follows:
• Friday, June 23 – Desire: U2 Tribute with special guests Back To The 80s
• Saturday, July 1 – The bonus Canada Day show will feature LMT Connection with special guests Khea Emmanuel and JIN
• Friday, July 14 – Thunderstruck: The AC/DC Experience with special guests Just Heart: Heart Tribute
• Friday, July 21 – It’s Latin Night featuring Sugar Heat with special guests Rubin & Renne
• Friday, July 28 – The Bowie Lives: David Bowie Tribute with special guests Gravely James
• Friday, August 4 – ABBA Revisited: The ABBA Tribute with special guest DJ Tanner
• Friday, August 18 – Exodus: The Bob Marley Tribute with special guest Andrew George Poirier

However, the Welland Downtown BIA has one more concert to finish the summer series on Friday, August 25 and they’re playing it coy. While they’re calling it the “Biggest Concert of the Summer” with opening act Thunderclap, so far they’re only referring to the main act as “???” to keep music-lovers in suspense.

There will be a licensed area, as there has been in previous years, a fenced-off section at the top of the hillside where concertgoers must remain to consume alcohol. It will hold roughly 100 people.

All concerts starts at 7 pm each night with food and drink available from 6 to 9 pm.

Tourism Niagara filmed a segment on the Concerts on the Canal series and while this was back in 2016, it still gives newcomers an idea of what the music night are like.