Arts events returning to Osprey Centre

“We have been working hard to create a great 2022 season that will have people back in the theatre and enjoying what these performers bring to the stage.”

Music, comedy and theatre is coming back on stage at the Osprey Arts Centre on Shelburne's historic waterfront.

On May 26, the Osprey is welcoming, for the first time, Roland Grant, a virtuoso, composer, and vocalist from Windsor, N.S., who is also known for his showmanship. He will be performing with ECMA winner Christine Campbell as his guest vocalist.

“Roland's performance is part of our return to regular events at the Osprey and is the start of our busy summer season that is coming up,” says Marja Himmelman, executive director of the Osprey.

Grant's style of music is described as rock fused with Latin and Spanish guitar, with some orchestral elements. He is also an orchestral composer, with his Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra premiering in 2019. He won Best Tonal Music in 2017 at the International Antonín Dvořák Composition Competition that was held in Prague, Czech Republic.

“I'm looking forward to playing in Shelburne for the first time,” says Grant. "The

Osprey is a charming little venue…and I'm looking forward to bringing my best show to this charming little theatre.”

The show at the Osprey will be the second stop for Grant on his spring tour that opens at the Alderney Landing Theatre in Dartmouth on May 21 then continues to Ontario for five shows in June.

Campbell, who recently won an ECMA for 'Best Blues Recording of the Year' with her duo Campbell and Johnston, will be accompanying Grant on the tour, as will band members Ashton Wisener, keyboards; John Janigan Mills, bass; and Morgan Zwicker, drums.

Grant says while the pandemic has been “absolutely devastating, we're rising from the ashes now.”

In addition to touring,

Grant has been working on a new single to be released this summer.

Himmelman says the Osprey has a new board of directors who are “super enthusiastic and ready to bring the Osprey back."

"We have been working hard to create a great 2022 season that will have people back in the theatre and enjoying what these performers bring to the stage,” she says.

Aside from the shows so far booked for the Osprey in the coming months, work is also underway creating the line up for the third annual Ancient River Festival, being held in September.

“We are always adding more events, so it is always good to check out our website or our Facebook page,” says Himmelman.

Tickets for the any of the Osprey's upcoming shows can be purchased at the Osprey website, the Osprey Box Office, which is open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by calling the Osprey at 902-8752359.

Marja Himmelman Osprey Executive Director