Hustle and Agility: The Spirit of Springtide Music Festival

Uxbridge’s Springtide Music Festival evolves in the face of COVID-19 restrictions.

After two fantastic years celebrating music and community in downtown Uxbridge, COVID-19 restrictions hit Springtide Music Festival like a brick wall. At first, the festival–initially scheduled for early May–was simply postponed to October, but as the number of cases continued to rise into the summer months, it became evident that Springtide 2020 would not be happening in its current form and was going to have to evolve in order to survive.

Virtual Community

“We wanted to keep Springtide relevant and stay top-of-mind while also providing support to the community in some way,” says Tania Joy Senior, Project Coordinator (and more) for the festival.

As summer heated up, the Springtide team worked to bring value to Uxbridge at large by sending weekly newsletters to their email subscribers featuring spotlights on local musicians, artists, businesses, and community initiatives that were working to help others, such as Connecting in Uxbridge Township and Uxbridge Helping Hands.

The Show Must Go On

The team had already done so much planning, so when it became clear that an October festival wasn’t in the cards either, they pivoted their perspective, and the idea of Springtide Presents was born: a series of live outdoor performances at various partner venues with enough space for social distancing. The series ran throughout the autumn months and was a massive success in bringing together well-known (and well-loved) local musicians like Tamara Williamson, Matt Gunn, and Tania Joy herself, with businesses like Corner House Pub & Grill, Wixan’s Bridge, and Banjo Cider.

“It was disappointing (to have to cancel the full festival),” Tania says, “but we were happy to help get some music out there.”

Springtide’s Evolution

Fortunately, Springtide’s infrastructure has remained strong despite these difficult times.

“None of our sponsors pulled out, and a lot of the venues still wanted to participate, no matter what that looked like,” Tania says.

In fact, even most of the ticket holders opted to either hang onto their tickets for next year or simply take the loss on this year’s ticket, with the plan to purchase new tickets when Springtide makes its triumphant return. It seems the spirit of community is alive and well in Uxbridge.

Of course, Tania remains “cautiously optimistic” for the festival’s future. Will the bands they booked for 2020 still be available? Will the bands still even be together? Will all of the venues still be around next year? Will more of them have moved to smaller spaces to save their businesses, like Nexus Coffee.

Planning for all potential future outcomes is essential, she explains, because “it can’t all be ‘wait and see.'” With their budget still intact, Springtide is ready to rock regardless of the future form it might take.

“We really want there to be something to look forward to when this is all over,” Tania says.

Whether it’s the full weekend-long festival in all its glory, small batches of indoor shows over longer stretches of time, more pop-up-outdoor-physically-distanced shows, or drive-in style setups, Springtide has already become an Uxbridge fixture in its short life and will remain so for many years to come thanks to the “hustle and agility” of its dedicated and passionate team.

While it’s unclear whether the festival-related pun was intended or not, Tania ends on a hopeful note: “We’re all just rolling with the tide right now.”

Supporting Springtide’s Partners

While Springtide Presents is done for the winter, showing your support for the venues, sponsors, and performers is always in season! Here’s a selection to consider:

Venues

Banjo Cider
Traditional ciders made with all-natural ingredients, with a patio perfect for events of all kinds.

The Bridge Social
Café and meeting place turned boutique featuring locally-sourced goods.

Blue Barn Creative
Gifts, clothing, and home items with a quirky, personalized twist.

Blue Heron Books A little bookstore with a big selection and home to the Book Drunkard Literary Festival, which went virtual this year.

Col. McGrady’s Pub & Grill
Cozy neighbourhood pub with daily specials available for takeout.

Corner House Pub & Grill
Lively pub and venue offering daily takeout specials.

Bee Architecture
A talented architecture team providing a diverse range of skills and services.

The Lemonade Stand

Passionate Cook’s Bistro & Essentials
Sophisticated bistro and boutique offering kitchenware and gourmet foods to go.

Preston Gallery
Bright, beautiful gallery featuring artists from Uxbridge and afar.

Second Wedge Brewing Co.
Brewery and venue championing local ingredients, artists, and cyclists.

Urban Pantry
Classy, modern restaurant serving daily takeout and ready-to-go Sunday Family Dinners.

Wixans Bridge Restaurant
Classic pub offering limited seating for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.

Woods Clothing
High-quality clothing and accessories with friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Durham Region-Based Artists

7th Concession
Trio trading off on vocal leads and harmonies, performing an acoustic blend of folk, blues, and roots rock originals and covers.

Alannah Kemp
Folky, laid-back songstress.

All that Madders
Jazzy, bluesy singer/songwriter.

Band of Weeds
Folk and indie rock made by friends, for friends.

Brian Wride
Accomplished fingerstyle guitarist based in Uxbridge.

Burs
Traditional folk, rock, and indie with meaningful lyricism and modern production techniques.

Cassidy De Freitas
Laid-back indie alternative.

CROW
Dual electric ukuleles performing original songs with experimental harmonies.

Dan Buninga
Rhythmic, pure-hearted folk.

deepsix
Engaging, high energy rock.

Else Langhans
Sweet acoustic folk featuring guitar and ukulele.

Jeye Daye
Sultry, genre-defying vocalist.

Julien Kelland
Cinematic dark pop featuring haunting melodies.

Just.Jess
Soulful, gritty folk with a punk rock edge.

Joel Saunders
Funky, jazzy, upbeat multi-instrumentalist.

M.H.Vernon
Unique live looping setup featuring guitar, bass, synth, and vocals.

Peter Bradley
Simple, vulnerable, and honest acoustic singer/songwriter.

Richard Henderson
Edgy acoustic lap steel embracing traditions of blues, country, and rockabilly.

Robyn Ottolini
Quirky, honest country artist, newly signed to Warner Music Nashville thanks to Tik Tok!

Savanna
Soulful vocalist performing a variety of genres.

STRNGR STRNGR
Sweet alterna-rock serenades.

Wavy Dave Haines
Acoustic blues and roots in a variety of styles.

Whitney Ross-Barris
Accomplished jazz singer/songwriter performing an eclectic mix of standards, modern covers, and playful, sultry originals.

Wooly
Four-piece art-folk ensemble rising in the ranks of the Canadian music scene.