About us
Welcome to Note Lovers - Live Music Listening in Ottawa!
This is a group where we welcome you to join us listening to good music here in town. We love local small venues, the kind of place we can chat together before the show. The kind of place we can meet the musicians. Most of the music is jazz, blues, and folk. But now and then some tango, flamenco, rock and musicals. If you are up on Sunday mornings, we do like a classical collection on the Quebec side so check that out. Festivals in summer.
Please buy tickets early when you want to see a show. Small venues with great musicians sell out! Out of courtesy for those on the wait-list, always cancel your RSVP if you are not coming.
I ask that you have a real portrait photo on your MeetUp profile because at these events we really are looking for you. Please look for me, sit with the group, and get to know others who like to listen to live music!
Good times!
Carolyn
Featured event
Great Lake Swimmers at the Bronson Centre!
Hey, Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for the Great Lake Swimmers at the Bronson Centre!
Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by Tony Dekker. Based in Southern Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically resonant and historical locales with a revolving cast of personnel. They are renowned for homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their live shows.
Their newest album, Caught Light, out Oct 10, 2025, is their most immediate and instinctive album to date. Recorded in just five days in Ontario’s Ganaraska Forest with producer Darcy Yates (Bahamas) and engineer Jimmy Bowskill (Blue Rodeo), it draws warmth from early ’70s folk-pop while embracing a new spontaneity and directness in Dekker’s songwriting.
Great Lake Swimmers have been shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”
“A stunning variety of tones and textures… nothing less than both cerebral and sublime” – American Songwriter, 4/5 from Reviews on their website
Date: Sat Apr 18 2026
Time: Doors 7pm. I’ll be there a little before that for the line up. Music at 7:30.
Location: Bronson Centre. 211 Bronson Ave, Ottawa, ON K1R 6H5
Tickets : 39$ plus ticket fees (which are 13). BUY YOUR TICKET HERE!
-*enter code Caughtlight* for early purchase if asked (the name of their new album released today)
-general admission and 19+
-ticket is formally emailed to you 3 days before the show. check your junk box that week!
There are a few seats and more standing room at the front. You can get a drink in the venue. We’ll all bunch together and find each other in the line up at the door.
Good times!
Upcoming events
13
Basia Bulat in Gatineau!
Salle Jean-Desprez located, inside Maison du Citoyen (Gatineau City Hall), 25 rue Laurier, Gatineau, QC, CAHey Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for Montreal singer-songwriter Basia Bulat, at Gatineau City Hall!
Montreal singer-songwriter Basia Bulat (Polaris finalist, multiple Juno nominee) brings her soulful, folk-inspired sound and powerful voice to the stage. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, she’ll perform songs from her latest album Basia’s Palace — an intimate, late-night collection full of warmth, memory, and heart.
Join us for an atmospheric evening of thoughtful, beautifully crafted indie-folk.Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026, 8:00 p.m.
Time: 8pm. show up a few minutes early to chat with the group. assigned seating.
Location: Jean Despréz room, Gatineau Citizen's Center/ City Hall, 25 Laurier St, Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3Y9, (Beside the Museum of History/ Children's Museum)
Tickets : 43$. I'm posting this a bit last minute but there are still 22 seats left. BUY YOUR TICKET HERE!
Photo of me below to make it easy for you to find me and I'll update it with what I'll wear closer to the date. *please be sure that your Meetup profile has your portrait photo because then we'll be looking for you also.
Please RSVP to this meetup group if you're coming and cancel your RSVP if you change your mind.
Good times!
4 attendees
Ottawa Jazz Orchestra: My Fair Lady Goes to Town at NAC 4th Stage!
NAC 1 Elgin Street Fourth stage, 1 Elgin Street Fourth stage,, Ottawa, ON, CAHey Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for Ottawa Jazz Orchestra: My Fair Lady Goes to Town at NAC 4th Stage!
Date: Thursday Feb 12 2025
**BUY THE CORRECT EVENING- THURSDAY**
BUY YOUR TICKET HERE! 45$ purchase online, in person at the NAC Box Office, or by calling the box office at (613) 947-7000 x620.My Fair Lady Goes to Town
Prepare for an extraordinary evening of big band excellence! The Ottawa Jazz Orchestra presents a thrilling programme featuring two remarkable suites, each lending unique sounds and styles.
Our programme begins with an exquisite “appetizer”: a delightful nonet suite penned by composer Terry Vosbein. This charming work comprises eight distinct musical creations, written for a unique 9-piece band with pairings of alto and baritone saxophones, trumpet and trombone, and French horn and tuba, all supported by a dynamic piano trio.
For our grand “main course,” we’re excited to serve up the incredible “My Fair Lady – My Way” suite, penned by the brilliant Johnny Richards. This astonishing reinterpretation of Lerner and Loewe’s beloved musical is brought to life by an 18-piece big band with a truly unique sound. Richards, a prolific Mexican-born composer, was renowned for his work with Stan Kenton and his contributions to film and television scores. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the music for this performance has been meticulously prepared from the original, handwritten, and unpublished scores. Don’t miss this rare gem of lost music, brought to vivid life on stage!Time: Show up at 7:30. Be on time to sit with the group! There will be a line up. Music is 8pm.
Location: Fourth Stage. NAC -National Arts Centre 1 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
It’s a lovely venue with tables for four. We’ll get a few of those in a bunch and enjoy a drink before the performance. Photo of me below and I'll update it with what I'll wear closer to the date. Please be sure that your Meetup profile has your portrait photo because then we'll be looking for you also. Please **RSVP to this meetup group if you're coming and cancel your RSVP if you change your mind. **
Good times!
12 attendees
Love Songs & Late Nights for everyone: Peter Woods Live at Robo Lounge!
Robo Lounge Ottawa, 275 Carling Ave Ground Floor, Ottawa, ON, CAHey, Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for Love Songs & Late Nights: Peter Woods Live at Robo Lounge!
Peter Woods: “is an Ottawa-based saxophonist whose sound blends bluesy swing with warmth and lyricism. A longtime presence in Canada’s jazz scene, he has performed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival and in venues ranging from intimate lounges to festival stages. His playing is conversational and soulful, marked by decades of collaboration with top musicians. Whether in duo, trio, or larger ensembles, Woods brings a deep joy and generosity to the music.
A minister in the United Church of Canada, Woods seamlessly blends his spiritual vocation with his passion for music.” (from petewoods.ca/bio)Come spend the evening together with us whether you are a group of one, two, or any number!
Featured musicians
Pete Woods, sax
Tim Jackson, guitar and voice
Chris Pond, double bass
José García, drumsDate: Saturday Feb 14, 2026
Location Robo Lounge Café. 275 Carling Ave Ground Floor, Ottawa, ON K1S 5Y2. (Although the street address is 275 Carling Ave., there’s also an entrance on Cambridge Street South.)
Time: 7-10-pm. Show up early. Get a nice seat. Chat.
Tickets : 23$ (only 50 are being sold. So get a ticket right away.)
BUY YOUR TICKET HERE!
Please be sure that your Meetup profile has your portrait photo because then we'll be looking for you also. Please **RSVP to this meetup group if you're coming and cancel your RSVP if you change your mind. **Good times!
23 attendees
Canadian Jazz Pianist Jeremy Ledbetter at Meridian Theatre!
Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, 101 Centrepointe Dr, Nepean, ON, CAHey, Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for Canadian Jazz Pianist Jeremy Ledbetter at Meridian Theatre!
The Jeremy Ledbetter Trio is a force of nature—blurring the lines between jazz and world music with a fearless, high-voltage sound. The experience of seeing them live can only be described as exhilarating and utterly unforgettable.
Jeremy Ledbetter
The trio is led by the visionary Canadian-born pianist Jeremy Ledbetter on piano. Known as a fiery, passionate performer whose music knows no boundaries, he features prominently on Canada's jazz and world music scene. His compositions are wildly creative and deeply emotional. At Ledbetter’s hands, the piano roars, whispers, cries, and laughs, telling stories as only he can, evoking cinematic images in the listener’s mind***.***Featured musicians
Rich Brown on Bass
Marito Marques on Drums
Date: Thursday February 19, 2026
Location Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, 101 Centrepointe Dr, Nepean, ON K2G 5K7
Time: I’ll arrive by 7:30 and you should too to chat before the show. The show is 8:00-9:30ish.Tickets : 30$. READ THIS. BUY A FIRST ROW BALCONY ticket here! Buy the first or second row balcony if you want to sit with the group. I've attached a photo of where I bought my seat. It's the first row of the back part. My seat is right in the middle. It's called G9. Let's fill that whole row. Please post in the discussion below which ticket you bought so that the next person that's buying a ticket can see because these are individual seats that we are purchasing and it is not open seating. If you buy your ticket now, you'll probably sit with the group. If you buy your ticket later, you might sit somewhere else, but we will still have lots of time to chat together.
Please be sure that your Meetup profile has your portrait photo because then we'll be looking for you also. Please **RSVP to this meetup group if you're coming and cancel your RSVP if you change your mind. **
Good times!21 attendees
Past events
272
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