On April 26th at Scarborough Museum, the City of Toronto held the first Métis fiddle concert in a series of four, featuring the music from accomplished Métis fiddler Alicia Blore, accompanied by Jacob Wanuch on guitar and Megan Southwell leading the jigging lesson. TYRMC Senator Paul Irvine spoke about the history and development of Métis fiddle music.

It was a beautiful, sunny day – perfect for an outdoor concert and jigging. The event was a lot of fun, with all ages attending.

On May 2nd, the second concert was held at Gibson House. Community gathered in a cozy space, answering questions from TYRMC Senator Paul Irvine, Alicia Blore and Jacob Wanuch about Métis history and instruments and listening to the concert. Jacob Wanuch debuted a lovely original song while including the audience in singing the chorus.

On May 13th, the third fiddle concert was held at Montgomery’s Inn. The audience had great questions and knowledge, interacting with the performers as the show went on.

On May 22nd, the final fiddle concert was held at Colborne Lodge. Laughter filled the room as we stomped along to TYRMC Senator Paul’s bagpipe chanter accompanied by the audience’s drone pipe performance, with everyone enjoying playing their spoons to Alicia and Jacob. The audience was entranced by Megan’s jigging footwork, and we even got to learn some jigging! The Métis Fiddle Concert Series 2026 ended with the audience dancing the 7-step Jig out on the lawn, laughing as they kept up with the music, amoungst the blossoms around Colborne Lodge. Thank you to the City of Toronto, Isabel Zaw-Tun and her team, and the Toronto Museums & Heritage Services that hosted these concerts.

Image Credit: Megan Southwell

Image Credit: Megan Southwell