Mudmen to perform in concert at St. Marys town hall April 4

Canadian Celtic-rock band Mudmen will perform at St. Marys town hall on April 4.

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada’s Celtic-rock warriors, Mudmen, are making their return to St. Marys town hall for another high-energy performance, bringing their signature mix of Celtic, country and rock to the stage.

Presented by Red Plaid Productions, the band will perform in St. Marys as part of their 2025 tour of small towns across southern Ontario. Mudmen are no strangers to the region, having previously sold out the St. Marys town hall numerous times. They have also performed at the St. Marys Legion, Western Fair, The Brier and Budweiser Gardens, where they shared the stage with Johnny Reid.

“We got the old town hall all renovated up now and we’re ready to go,” co-founding member Robby Campbell told the independent. “We went to the Legion and did a couple shows there, and the one was really well-attended. The next wasn’t as busy, but we said it’s nice to return to the building we’ve had great success in. … We’ve played the hell out of this area, but we still, after all of our accomplishments and all the great stuff we’ve done – or we think we’ve done – we still have people saying, ‘I’ve never heard you guys,’ so you can’t overplay the market.”

The Canadian Business Association Awards Society recently voted Mudmen Celtic Band of the Year, further cementing their reputation as one of the country’s top musical acts. Their impressive career has seen them open for or perform with major artists including The Guess Who, ZZ Top, George Canyon, Gord Bamford, Glass Tiger, April Wine and Brooks & Dunn, among others.

Career highlights include:

• Performing for the Queen of England on Canada Day at Parliament Hill

• Playing at 12 Canada’s Walk of Fame ceremonies

• Performing at eight Grey Cups, three Briers and three Memorial Cups

• Featured appearances at the Edmonton Oilers’ 1984 Stanley Cup reunion gala and the Flames/Oilers NHL home opener ceremony

• The Bob & Doug McKenzie “Two-Four” Anniversary on CBC

Their music has been featured in numerous productions, including Hockey Night in Canada, Don Cherry’s Rock’em Sock’em videos, HBO’s Shameless, NBC’s The Black Donnellys, WWE Wrestling and EA Sports games. They even hit number 19 on Much Music/MTV’s Top 20 Countdown.

Yet despite all that success, Mudmen are still devoted to the small towns and fans who got them where they are today and kept them going after all these years. Now in their 27th year, Mudmen have earned a reputation as the “last of the stubborn survivors,” continuing to tour and create music despite industry challenges.

“We’re from a small town, too, and in the big towns, you get lost in the shuffle,” Campbell said. “ … When the tv and the radio and the record label went away, so did the big-city support, so we said the little towns like St. Marys and St. Thomas and Owen Sound and Sudbury, those are the ones that really embraced us and kept us going. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be in business.”

Fans can expect to hear songs from their 11 albums, plus a few new tracks that are likely to appear on their next album, “Later Than Early.”

Ticket information

• Date: Friday, April 4, 2025

• Venue: St. Marys town hall

• Tickets: $25 in advance; $28 at the door (subject to availability). Available at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (519-284-2160), online at www.ticketscene.ca, or at the door.

This all-ages LLBO event will be supported by local business and 2024 award winner “The Travelling Tapster,” which will operate the bar.

For those who can’t make it to this show, Mudmen will be returning to the area less than a month later for their show at the Army Navy Airforce Club in Stratford on May 2. For more information about the band and a schedule of upcoming shows, visit www.mudmen.ca.