Spotlight on Music
Date: Aug 10
2:00 pm
- 4:00 pm
Where: Level 3 Atrium
Enjoy performances by local outstanding musicians as they fill The Rooms with music and songs from our province’s rich musical history. Be prepared to sing along, tap your toes or just sit back and delight in the moment. Included in the cost of admission.
Featuring:
Fergus O’Byrne – July 13 and August 10
Fergus O'Byrne is widely acclaimed for his musical legacy, as a member of Ryan's Fancy, Tickle Harbour, working as a duo with Jim Payne, or performing with his son, Fergus Brown-O’Byrne, and as a solo artist. He proudly celebrates the songs of his adopted province, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Ireland, England, Scotland and the Maritimes in his performances.
O’Byrne has received many awards acknowledging his contribution to folk music including an ECMA Lifetime Achievement Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Folk Arts Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, and an NLAC Arts in Education award. Besides touring nationally and internationally, he works extensively mentoring young folk music enthusiasts and students throughout the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Jim Payne – July 27 and August 24
A native of Notre Dame Bay, Jim Payne is an award-winning performer, collector and producer of traditional Newfoundland music, as well one of the province’s most prolific songwriters, whose songs and stories reflect the folklore of the province as well as historic and contemporary issues faced by coastal peoples of the North West Atlantic.
Jim is a recipient of Arts NL’s Outstanding Cultural Achievement and Arts in Education Awards, and has been awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has also received a Cultural Tourism Award from the NL Dept. of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, the federal Dept. of Canadian Heritage, and Hospitality NL. He was inducted into Arts NL’s Hall of Honour in 2016, presented with the ECMA’s Stompin’ Tom Connor’s Award in 2017, and received both the NL Folk Arts Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Music NL’s Industry Builder Award in 2021.
Events & Programs
Unleash Your Inner Artist at The Rooms!
Come draw at The Rooms and practice your skills with focused exercises.
What to Expect:
Our experienced instructor will guide you through fundamental drawing techniques. Each session focuses on a different theme, from drawing the harbour view to capturing the details of our natural history collection.
This is a creative and supportive environment; all skill levels and experience are welcome! Designed for ages 15 and up.
Quality drawing supplies are available, or feel free to bring your own sketchbook.
Cost: $20 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Drop-ins welcome!
Peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador
Stroll across land and sea, and through time, to meet the peoples who have made Newfoundland and Labrador home for the past 9,000 years.
Each tour is approximately 30 – 40 minutes and is included in the cost of admission. Free for Rooms members.
Unleash Your Inner Artist at The Rooms!
Come draw at The Rooms and practice your skills with focused exercises.
What to Expect:
Our experienced instructor will guide you through fundamental drawing techniques. Each session focuses on a different theme, from drawing the harbour view to capturing the details of our natural history collection.
This is a creative and supportive environment; all skill levels and experience are welcome! Designed for ages 15 and up.
Quality drawing supplies are available, or feel free to bring your own sketchbook.
Cost: $20 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Drop-ins welcome!
For the last 20 years, Landfall Trust in Brigus has been hosting an Artist in Residence in partnership with The Rooms. Landfall Trust has more recently expanded this idea to include writers and musicians.
Come and hear some of the artists talk about the importance of residency programs to their careers, while they showcase their work through music, songs, readings, and artist talks.
Cost: $15 plus HST. 10% discount for Rooms members. Get your tickets online or by calling (709) 757-8090.
About the Artists:
Ian Foster – A storyteller from Newfoundland, Ian uses music and film to bring his stories to life. Described by CBC’s Bob Mersereau as “a fine example of what a 21st century folk performer should be doing,” Foster continues to evolve and defy genre, as seen in his latest album and film project Close to the Bone (2022). He has toured in Canada, the U.S., Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, and Italy, with music played internationally. He is a MusicNL and ECMA (East Coast Music Award) winner, a finalist for the International Songwriting Competition, and has co-written with legendary folk songwriter Ron Hynes.
Veselina Tomova – Born in 1958, Veselina studied with Prof. Rumen Skortchev at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia (1977–1979), completed her MFA at the Academy of Graphic Art and Book Design in Leipzig, Germany (1979–1983), and continued postgraduate studies with Prof. Rolf Kurt (1983–1985). Since 1990, she has lived and worked in St. John’s, Newfoundland. A founding partner and graphic designer at Vis-à-Vis Graphics, she works in printmaking, illustration, publishing, painting, pottery, and interpretive design. Her book The Wall & The Wind was listed in The Globe & Mail’s Best 100 Books (2020) and was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She has illustrated over 40 books and received awards in Bulgaria, Germany, and Canada. Represented by the Red Ochre Gallery in St. John’s.
Sharon King-Campbell – A theatre and literary artist based in Ktaqmkuk, Sharon was the 2017 recipient of the Rhonda Payne Award and a four-time winner of the Arts and Letters Awards in fiction, dramatic script, and poetry. Her plays Original and Give Me Back have reached audiences throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and mainland Canada, and the Canadian premiere of Dayboil won 6 Robert Merritt Awards. Her poetry collection This Is How It Is (2021) and Dayboil (2024) were both published with Breakwater Books. Sharon holds a BFA and an MA from Memorial University, where she is currently pursuing her PhD.
Nico Paulo – A Portuguese Canadian musician and visual artist, Nico’s critically acclaimed self-titled debut (April 2023) introduced listeners to her melodically dynamic, open-hearted songwriting, exploring relationships and the flow of time in lush, sophisticated pop arrangements. Her upcoming EP, Interval o (March 2025), celebrates transformational time with warm ambient and minimalist soundscapes. Both records feature textural intricacy with collaborator Joshua Van Tassel (Villages, Fortunate Ones).