The Wildest Town in Canada
Now available for bookings:
jculbert@gtn.on.ca or 519-645-1130
This new show about the Donnelly murders of 1880 presents the story in a unique way: It’s a concert featuring some of the best songs that have been written about the Donnellys over the years.
The Wildest Town in Canada - Details
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 50 minutes, including intermission
COST: Depends on the number of musicians and shows.
jculbert@gtn.on.ca or 519-645-1130
This new show about the Donnelly murders of 1880 presents the story in a unique way: It’s a concert featuring some of the best songs that have been written about the Donnellys over the years.
- includes Donnelly songs by Stompin’ Tom Connors, Earl Heywood, Maria Dunn, James Boyle and Jeff Culbert
- features a four-piece band with fiddle, banjo, guitar and accordion.
The Wildest Town in Canada - Details
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 50 minutes, including intermission
COST: Depends on the number of musicians and shows.
To hear songs from The Wildest Town in Canada, click here
Excerpts from the show The Wildest Town in Canada
It begins with a mass migration of settlers in the 1840s from Tipperary County, Ireland, to Biddulph Township, which includes Lucan Ontario, just north of London. In the pioneer, wild-west atmosphere of Biddulph, the Donnelly family was ostracized and isolated, until finally, in February of 1880, in the middle of a winter night, a mob of vigilantes descended on two of the Donnellys’ homes and five members of the family were brutally beaten and murdered. In spite of the number of witnesses and accomplices to the murders, nobody was ever convicted of the crime.
It’s a great, sprawling story that has inspired countless books and plays and songs over the years. Playwright James Reaney once said that there are 100 stories to be told within the greater Donnelly saga, and tonight we’ll explore a few of them by playing some of the songs that have been written about the Donnellys over the years..... .... ....It should be noted that Kelley invented the term “The Black Donnellys”; nobody had ever called them that before. The title and the novel itself have helped to propagate the idea that the Donnellys were a demonic family that terrorized an otherwise peaceful settlement. Of course, Kelley was not trying to write a fully accurate history; he wanted to write a sensational novel that would sell a lot of copies. He succeeded in that goal, but it left a lingering stamp on the Donnelly family that unfairly skewed the story for years to come. That’s one extreme view of the Donnelly story, then – “The Black Donnellys”, who terrorized a township until they were brought down by a mob seeking vigilante justice. Along with this view, there was often the implication that they probably got what they deserved..... .... What amazed him over the years was how all of these families had managed to remain tight-lipped about the Donnelly feud – nobody from his generation had any idea about what had happened. How did the older generation manage to keep it secret? His conclusion was that we have to understand the nature of the oath, and how seriously they took it. The vigilantes formed a sworn society, and that was a promise to God, so it put everyone’s immortal soul on the line. You break your oath and it’s eternal hellfire for you. It also gives a little insight into how the vigilantes literally got away with murder.... List of Songs performedEarl Heywood - THE FIGHTIN’ FEUDIN’ DONNELLYS
Group One – THE BLACK DONNELLYS Stompin’ Tom Connors – THE BLACK DONNELLY MASSACRE Stompin’ Tom Connors – JENNY DONNELLY Earl Heywood – THREE CANDLES IN THE WINDOW Maria Dunn – MAGGIE THOMPSON Jeff Culbert – BONEY CROSSING THE ALPS Jeff Culbert – FATHER CONNELLY Jeff Culbert – BOB DONNELLY – AFTER THE TRIAL Jeff Culbert – THE LAST WITNESS Earl Heywood – LEGEND OF THE OLD ROMAN LINE Jeff Culbert – LUCAN |
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 50 minutes, including intermission