We are starting to see all kinds of troubadours request shows and come through our storied halls. The Canadian rock 'n roll highway has backroads too, you know. Ron Leary found us, and is on his way from his hometown of Windsor en route to shows in Ottawa, Toronto and the like. Fun find! Exciting for us all to experience these gems and for them to find our little gem of a town as well. Ron plays our increasingly prolific and popular Original Thursdays series on May 1st from 5-8pm. Please attend and if you do, be generous in your welcome and support! Details and reservations here: web link

Seamus Cowan: I’m always excited to hear new artists, especially those who seemingly randomly find us. I’m curious, how did you hear about our little venue and can you tell us about some of the other shows you will be playing on your run to eastern Ontario from the deep southwest of the province?

Ron Leary: It’s one of those things where I kept seeing other singer-songwriters post they were playing The Cove Inn. After seeing that a few times you make a mental note. And over the years I’ve always loved and made it a priority to perform up in the Ottawa/Wakefield area so it’s one of those gigs that just lines up perfectly geographically speaking as well as making stops in places like Ottawa, Montreal and Kingston which I will be on this tour. London, Guelph, Osgoode, Oshawa and Toronto as well. My ancestors initially settled in the Valley so perhaps that’s something that continues to pull me back up from the deep south as well. Whatever it is, I love the area.

Q: It’s just my observation, but I’m getting a Jeff Tweedy vibe on your vocal and songwriting style. I sincerely hope you dig that as I am a big fan of his. Do you have some real influences that have helped shape you and show you the way?

Ron: I’m a huge Jeff Tweedy fan, he’s definitely influenced my writing style. I love that older folk structure to writing songs, whether it’s Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams or UK folkies. But my most listened to songwriter over the past many years now would have to be the late great Ron Hynes. I just can’t get enough of him. A brilliant songwriter who I put in the same breath with folks like Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot.

Q: I noticed that you mentioned on your website that you have played in performed with some notable artists, including The Sadies, Ron Sexsmith and…Noam Chomsky. Like, THE Noam Chomsky, the political scientist? If so, how did that come about and do you like to project a political side to your artistry?

Ron: Haha, yep ‘the’ Noam Chomsky. That was an amazing gig. It was at the Chrysler Theatre in Windsor, Ontario and part of an event being held by the University of Windsor considering the impact and relevancy of Noam’s great work Manufacturing Consent at it’s 20th anniversary of first being published. Noam gave a long talk, then me & my band performed with K’Naan, the Somali/Canadian rap star ending off the night. It was an incredible night and in a beautiful theatre. I could get used to more like that. I suppose I do project a bit of a political side at times in my music, but I always aim to do so in subtle ways as I’ve never been a fan of preaching. But yeah, I do care about the humans and the planet we live on and that creeps in but more as a subtle song setting and not in some overt Billy Bragg kinda way. No slight against Billy though, I love him. Just not my style.

Q: Clearly you have been performing, touring and recording for a while now. Great to see you continue to forge on! Your songs really have a character to them. I really hear a dark, yearning, historical angle in there. How do you like to lay out your stories for your listeners? I’ll bet you find your audiences get mesmerized by them.

Ron: I’ve been at this for a while. My parents threw me on stage into their country band when I was around 6 or 7 and well I can’t really remember a time where I wasn’t performing regularly since. It’s an incredible passion that only deepens as the decades pass. I do find it fascinating to talk with people and learn their personal histories and regional histories as I move up and down the highway. So, I definitely have some strong historical leanings and if I weren’t so passionate about writing and performing I’d surely have attempted to become a history professor. As for setting up the songs on stage, I like to roll the dice and improvise the setups, try to get a chuckle or two or somehow throw the audience off balance a little bit and then hit them with the tune. Often the approach works and sometimes it fails miserably. But it keeps every gig unique and interesting.

Q: I’m sure you continue to do this for a long time as you seem committed to the art. If you had a chance to either record with, open for, play/tour with, anyone, who would it be? What’s in store for your next musical creation?

Ron: No doubt if I could tour with anyone it’d be Wilco. But I’d also be equally happy on tour opening for Daniel Romano as I think he’s just unbelievable and is currently making great art. As for what’s next, I’m well into writing the next album, it’s likely around 50-60% written now. I’m in no rush, I’ll hit the studio once confident of knocking it out of the park. I’m emptying the bank account for the next record, which’ll be my first major budget record since 2018’s Tobacco Fields, so I'm gunning for a serious effort. Hopefully we’ll start recording in January 2026. Posted: Apr 23, 2025