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
Upcoming events
14
Ottawa Jazz Orchestra: Beyond the Cool 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: Beyond the Cool at NAC 4th Stage!
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026, 8 PM
*UPDATE - IT IS SOLD OUT*
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.Beyond the Cool
Don’t miss this sublime, one-night-only programme presented by the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra! Experience the sumptuous sound of our nonet, featuring unique pairings of alto and baritone saxophones, trumpet and trombone, and French horn and tuba, all anchored by a piano trio.
We’ll kick things off with a complete performance of the celebrated “Birth of the Cool” suite, made famous by Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, and the original nonet from their landmark 1957 recording.
You’ll love the sound of the nonet but is nine enough? We’ll find out in the second half of the show as award-winning singer and songwriter Diane Nalini joins the band for a special dectet set, featuring arrangements written exclusively for this show. Join Diane and our “little big band” for a truly unforgettable night!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
Stretch Orchestra: Tall Tones & Unruly Grooves at Robo Lounge!
Robo Lounge Ottawa, 275 Carling Ave Ground Floor, Ottawa, ON, CAHey, Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here. Come join us for Stretch Orchestra: Tall Tones & Unruly Grooves at Robo Lounge!
Prepare for an evening of bold improvisation, gritty grooves, and genre-bending jazz with the Stretch Orchestra — a trio that defies easy categorization and makes serious noise (in the best way).
At the core of this towering ensemble is Matt Brubeck — cellist, composer, and the son of Dave Brubeck — joined by equally commanding collaborators. Together they stretch jazz into bluesy, experimental terrain that can swing, snarl, or simmer, driven by deep improvisation and constant musical conversation.
This isn’t polite background music. It’s raw, expressive, and alive, with a sound that feels larger than a trio should — fitting, given that the band members themselves are famously over six-foot-five and bring a striking physical presence to the stage. The music carries both lineage and edge: a Brubeck sensibility refracted through modern, risk-taking jazz that’s earned serious recognition while still sounding untamed.
This is jazz that refuses to behave — and that’s exactly the point.
Featured musicians
Matt Brubeck — bassist, composer, and son of the legendary Dave Brubeck, carrying one of jazz’s most influential bloodlines forward
Kevin Breit — fearless guitarist and sonic shapeshifter
Jesse Stewart — explosive, genre-defying percussionist (three lines from eventbrite)Date: Friday May 1, 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: 8-10-pm. Show up early. Get a nice seat. Chat.
Tickets : 27$ (I recommend stage side seats- much better. seats on the other side are only $17.) BUY YOUR TICKET FOR THE FRIDAY MAY 1st HERE! (do not just show up)
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!
13 attendees
Steve Poltz, indie-rock - at the Red Bird!
Red Bird Live, 1165 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1S 3X7, Ottawa, ON, CAHey Note Lovers, it's Carolyn here....Join us for Steve Poltz, indie-rock Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist, - at the Red Bird!
" It might’ve even been last night, but Steve Poltz just played the greatest show of his life. Guess what?
The next show will be even greater, making that show the greatest show of his life.
Are you starting to notice a trend?
He isn’t shy about it either.
Even after most likely thousands of shows (but who’s counting?), he hits the stage with the same amount of energy and always makes sure to declare, “This is the greatest show of my life.”
It’s why he’s quietly emerged as the kind of live phenomenon celebrated passionately by a diehard fanbase worldwide and renowned as a festival favourite everywhere from ***Bluesfest ***in Byron Bay and High Sierra Music Festival in California and Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado to Cayamo Cruise (where he actually got married). It’s why his music has crept into pop culture via collaborations with everyone from Jewel and Billy Strings to Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Nicki Bluhm, Oliver Wood, and even the late Mojo Nixon. It’s why after over a dozen albums, he’s still creatively firing on all cylinders and critically acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Billboard, and many more.
Nevertheless, the next gig will be the greatest show for him (and maybe for you too)…" words from RedBird.
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Date: Sat May 2, 2026
Time: show up at 7:00 to chat, music 8- 10:30pmLocation Red Bird, 1165 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3X4
Tickets :
50$ plus fees. Purchase online at 10am Friday Dec 12th and onward: BUY YOUR TICKET HERE! choose Saturday May 2I’ll be there at 7:00 to get a nice seat and you should too. We’ll sit around and chat in a cluster and the music starts at 8. As always, be sure to find me and the group.
If your photo is on your profile, I'll be looking for you! Please RSVP to this meetup group if you're coming and cancel your RSVP if you change your mind .
Good times!
9 attendees
Brad Mehldau, at Saint Brigid's in Ottawa
Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts, 310 St. Patrick St. (Cumberland St. entrance), Ottawa, ON, CAHey, Note Lovers, it’s Carolyn here. Come join us for an evening with one of the most thoughtful and lyrical voices in modern jazz piano — Brad Mehldau.
Mehldau’s playing is something special: deeply introspective, harmonically rich, and full of surprising twists. He blends jazz improvisation with classical romanticism and reinvents songs by artists like The Beatles, Paul Simon, and Nick Drake, alongside his own beautiful compositions. Many critics consider him the most influential jazz pianist of the last couple of decades.
This performance takes place at the lovely Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts, an intimate space that should be perfect for hearing every detail of his touch at the piano.Date: Wednesday May 6, 2026
Location Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts, 310 St. Patrick St., Ottawa, ON K1N 5K4 CanadaTime: Doors open at 7pm so show up then to get a seat Music at 730 - 8:45pm
Tickets : 77$. general admission. 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!
Note: Brad Mehldau is touring. He is also performing in a duo in Montreal with Kirill Gerstein (more of a classical fusion evening) the following evening May 7th. That show was announced months earlier. *I'm going to both* Because he is that good.
14 attendees
Past events
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