A familiar Canadian artist will be back in Chatham to perform at a charitable event, however, this time it'll be in a different setting.
The Sam Roberts Band will take the stage at Tecumseh Park Friday night as headliners during a busy weekend, celebrating RetroFest and RM Sotheby’s 40th Anniversary.
The band had recently performed in Chatham -- albeit for a short period of time -- when the CP Holiday Train made a stop in town on December 1, 2018.
"That was amazing! Honestly, it's something that we still talk about," said Roberts. "We saw so many places in just a short period of time, that you almost don't have time to process everything that you experience."
As Roberts and his bandmates get ready to play in an outdoor setting, this won't be Roberts' first time in Tecumseh Park. Roberts had been in town for a show at a former bar in Chatham known as The River Rock about 10 years ago. While in Chatham, Roberts spent time in the park and wrote down some lyrics.
"I was just scouting out the location for a festival, I just didn't know it was going to be 10 years in the making," laughed Roberts. "I'm sure those words found their way into a song at some point."
The Sam Roberts Band has played at various venues over the years -- in Chatham alone, those include a bar, a train, and now a park. However, when it comes to preference, Roberts said each setting has a quality that he enjoys as a musician.
"Whenever you play outdoor festivals there's a magic of being outside and people's spirits being lifted," he said. "But by the end of the summer season, you start thinking about going back into the clubs and the sort of intimacy and the connection that you get from being an arm's length away from people... I think as a band its more about just adapting to wherever you are on that given day."
Gates at Tecumseh Park will open at 6 p.m. Friday evening. Walkin '47 is expected to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and the headliners will start playing for the crowd at 9 p.m.
"I'm glad that this kind of show is early on in the season too because everybody is just really excited to be outside," said Roberts.
Tickets for the concert can be purchased in advance or at the door (depending on availability). Proceeds from this concert specifically will go towards the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation. Saturday's concert, featuring Big Sugar, will support the Chatham-Kent Hospice Foundation.
-With files from Chris McLeod