Alicia Toner joins Under the Spire’s 29th Season as Artist in Residence
After over two decades of curating unforgettable performances at Historic St. Mary’s, Robert Kortgaard stepped down as Under the Spire’s Artistic Director in 2023. Kortgaard had been actively involved with programming the annual concert series since its early days, and served as Artistic Director for 25 years in the 29 year history.
Under the Spire is excited to announce that this long-standing tradition of artist-led programming will continue in 2024 with Alicia Toner as this year’s Artist in Residence! She will curate a number of performances in the upcoming season, which will be announced in just a few short weeks!
A note from Alicia:
“I’m so grateful to Under The Spire for the opportunity to create for the summer in this beautiful setting. What an honour to be the Artist in Residence. I don’t take it lightly as opportunities like these for artists are rare. I hope this will start a tradition of a new artist every year, bringing the Under The Spire audience their heart and soul for a season.”
UTS audiences may recognize Alicia Toner as a previous performer at Under the Spire, whether as a solo artist, sharing her songwriting experiences, or as the creator of our sold-out “Sundown: The Songs of Gordon Lightfoot” show from last year. Check out her full bio below.
About Alicia Toner
Hailing from the East Coast of Canada, Alicia Toner’s star is quickly on the rise. With a presence that will grab you from the very first note, lyrics that hit you straight in your heart, a sound that will leave fans of pop, rock, folk and Americana thoroughly satisfied and a voice that soars above it all, Alicia is capturing the hearts of Canadians.
Born in Fredericton, NB and now residing in Charlottetown, PE, Alicia grew up surrounded by music. Singing since she could speak she was also trained classically on the violin and was a member of the prestigious New Brunswick Youth Orchestra with whom she played Carnegie Hall. A performing veteran, she spent 10 years pursuing a successful theatre career before releasing her critically acclaimed and award-winning debut album, “I Learned the Hard Way” in 2017.
Her latest release “Joan” (2021) was an unexpected explosion onto the Canadian Music scene.
Nominated for 7 Music PEI awards (taking home Solo recording of the year), 2 East Coast Music Awards and winning Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, “Joan” is deeply personal and vocally stunning. Says Bob Mersereau “”Call My Name” is a giant song, showing off every bit of her vocal prowess. It starts with moody, mysterious and slow verses, Toner singing sweet and pure. Then it explodes, and as the music thunders, she lifts and soars above it all, with opera-singer power. With a fast return to its quieter level and quick ending, it leaves you a little stunned at all the emotion she packed into that four minutes… Seeing her live confirmed the energy and tension she brings to her songwriting, and why she’s become an East Coast A-lister.” Beautifully produced by Stuart Cameron (Crash Test Dummies) and Peter Fusco (Matt Good, The Heartbroken), “Joan” is an album not to be missed.
Since becoming a mother in 2020, Alicia’s desire to travel for work every few months diminished and she has started producing shows like “Northern Lights: Reimagining The Canadian Songbook” for the Canada Games IllumiNATION Festival, an all female and non- binary group of incredible artists, songwriters and musicians reimagining songs from the Canadian Canon, as well as “Sundown: A Gordon Lightfoot Tribute” for Under The Spire. Currently, she is co-writing a show for Harmony House with Mike Ross titled “Ladies of the Canyon”.