‘Music at the Market’ brings live, local music to downtown Kitchener

You can expect the sounds of live music to echo through the stalls at the Kitchener Market on Thursday nights, as the City of Kitchener has launched it's 'Music in the Market' initiative, bringing live, local artists to a new performance space in the Eby Street vendor area. 

Delivered as part of Kitchener's 'Summer Like No Other' event, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the city is looking to provide opportunities for residents to get out and reconnect with their community, while also experiencing arts and culture once again — whether that be through single events or performances or the larger festivals in Kitchener that have been “rethought for the current year” to comply with COVID-19 measures. 

The concert series is expected to run until Sept. 30, with tickets made available through the Kitchener Market website.

According to Vrbanovic, the multi-performance showcase has been made possible through partnership with The Registry Theatre, Downtown Kitchener BIA and Canadian Heritage. A wide variety of artists are expected to play throughout the series – including acoustic ballads, string quartets, R&B, flamenco guitar and more. 

“They're all great acts — some of them have sold out already, but others still have seats available so we encourage people to go to the Kitchener Market website (…) and you can see who's playing on what night and get some tickets.” said Vrbanovic. 

Though some of the evenings may have already sold out, Vrbanovic said that the coming weeks may see additional tickets made available ahead of scheduled performances. 

“We obviously want to continue monitoring the rules and regulations from the province and the current situation locally with respect to COVID-19,” said Vrbanovic. “If we can add some additional seats, we'll do that closer to the dates in question.”

According to the Kitchener Mayor, local vendor partners will also be offering food and drink options for ticket holders to purchase in advance of their concert experience. 

While Vrbanovic said the current call-out for artists has closed for the series, he did note that Kitchener Events continues to plan events for the upcoming fall season as he encouraged local artists who may be interested in performing to reach out to the city's event team.