Razzamajazz gears up for new season featuring matinees for first time

The Razzamajazz will begin its 36th season on Canada Day and will have matinee performances for the first time.

A new season of music along the Avon River performed on a pontoon boat will be soon underway, with new and returning musicians, matinée shows, live streams and even silent discos.

The Razzamajazz’s 36th season will run from July 1 to Aug. 29. Musicians will perform on the Razzamajazz pontoon boat from Lower Queens Park to the Boathouse and back during the evenings from Tuesdays to Fridays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"This year, we're looking forward to go up and down the Avon and entertaining all the people that are walking along the walking paths,” said skipper Dan Scarborough.

The Razzamajazz will kick off its 36th season on Canada Day with a matinée performance from crowd favourite Chuckee Zehr from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Boathouse.

"She's been part of the Razzamajazz probably for about five years now and she's wonderful and the crowds just love her,” Scarborough said.

Each of the 13 different musical acts, including Highway 19, Jana Leduc, Conn Smith, River Rock and Trish and Slim, will have three performances throughout the season. All entertainment part of the Razzamajazz resides within 30 minutes from Stratford, with 80 per cent of the performers Stratford-based. 

The Razzamajazz will also have some performances livestreamed by Ballinran Entertainment, to be announced, and will be part of the Silent Discos run by Destination Stratford in conjunction with Light Up the Night Kayaking including the Canada Day paddle on June 27.

For the first time in its history, the Razzamajazz will have five matinée performances at the Boathouse on Saturdays from 2:30-4 p.m. The matinée performances came after a pivot for both the Razzamajazz and the Boathouse when the Lake Victoria drainage event caused lower water levels in the summer of 2025. The Razzamajazz couldn’t perform while cruising the river and the Boathouse couldn’t rent out its boats nor run the boat tours, so Scarborough suggested to have performances at the Boathouse docks.

"We formed such a wonderful friendship over that summer and last summer ended up one negative after another turned into a whole bunch of positives and they did a survey and the crowds liked the music the best out of the stuff,” he said.

It’s hard to estimate how many people are watching the Razzamajazz, but Scarborough said there are lots of fans who either stay still and wait for the boat or follow it. The Razzamajazz will also stop cruising and perform for theatre-goers and other tourists.

"Every time we go up and down the river, we have people that will follow the Razzamajazz down the lake to the far end and they'll follow us all the way back. We've got a bunch of people that are walkers that come out and jog alongside us, so that's kind of cool,” Scarborough said.

The Razzamajazz has a variety of sponsors including, but not limited to Destination Stratford, the Relic Lobby Bar, the City of Stratford and GoTech Computer Sales and Support as well as donors. All donations to the Razzamajazz are part of a fundraiser to pay the performers. The city has a donation-matching grant where the Razzamajazz can receive $4,000 if there is $4,000 raised.

Donations can either be made via e-transfer to razzamajazz1992@gmail.com or by cheques mailed attn: Skipper Dan payable to The Razzamajazz, 136 Ontario St., Unit 204, Stratford, ON, N5A 7Y4. To arrange a cheque pickup, send an email to skipperdan65@gmail.com.

More information can be found online by either visiting https://www.stratfordrazzamajazz.ca or by following @StratfordRazzamajazz on Facebook and Instagram.