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Trewsfest brings back-to-back shows to The Station

Troy Shantz It’s simple: Sarnia loves the Trews and the Trews love Sarnia. So says John-Angus MacDonald, guitarist for the popular Canadian band. “We’ve been going to play Sarnia since 2003.
The Trews
The Trews

Troy Shantz

It’s simple: Sarnia loves the Trews and the Trews love Sarnia.

So says John-Angus MacDonald, guitarist for the popular Canadian band.

“We’ve been going to play Sarnia since 2003. I don’t think we’ve ever gone more than a year without playing there.”

No one knows that more than businesswoman and concert promoter Michele Stokley. She’s brought the Trews to town a remarkable 21 times.

“We joke about calling it their second home and they should get a cottage here,” she said.

“They had shirts made up that said, ‘The Trews love Sarnia!’”

The band knows a good crowd when they see one – they play more than 200 dates some years.

“I don’t think it’s just us. A lot of bands I talk to have really great shows in Sarnia. It’s a credit to the people that live there that they like to let loose and have fun and support their domestically grown talent,” MacDonald said.

The city is preparing again to welcome back its honourary rock residents - this time for back-to-back shows dubbed “Trewsfest.”

They play the Station Music Hall on successive nights, with proceeds to support the Women’s Interval Home and the Sarnia Humane Society.

“A couple years ago I said to them, ‘I want to do a Trewsfest some day,’” Stokley said. “They put on such a tremendous show that people want them to come back.”

MacDonald said the band is having fun planning its Time Capsule Tour, which spans 16 Canadian cities with a mix of old and new tracks on each set list.

The level of Trews knowledge is really high in a Sarnia crowd, he said.

“I remember the last time we were there we played 65 Roses off our last record. I was impressed that as many people knew it that did. It shows that they dig deep and listen to the whole record, not just the radio tunes.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: LiUNA! Sarnia’s Trewsfest, part of the Trews Time Capsule Tour

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3. (The Saturday show is now sold out).

WHERE: The Station Music Hall, 505 Campbell St.

TICKETS: $35, available at Stokes Bay, Stokes Inland and online at www.sarniabayfest.com. Must be 19 or over to attend.


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