Get ready for a night of road-tested twang, sly wit, and Telecaster mastery—Bill Kirchen is coming back to Hotel Wolfe Island for a surprise benefit show, with Rocky Roberts & Friends opening!

Buy an advance ticket for only $20 ($30 at the door) — and top it up with a tax deductible donation to this revolutionary restorative justice program. Catch the 6:00 or 7:00 PM ferry from Kingston so you can have dinner before the show!

BILL KIRCHEN

Kirchen has spent more than five decades at the forefront of American roots music, helping to shape what we now call Americana. As a founding member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, he helped drive the band’s classic Hot Rod Lincoln into the Top 10 and onto Rolling Stone’s list of essential albums—a legacy that still roars today.

From those early days, Kirchen’s career has been a cross-country musical journey—touring and collaborating with icons like Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, and earning a reputation for a sound he calls “dieselbilly”: a high-octane blend of rockabilly, country, western swing, blues, and boogie that somehow feels both loose and razor-sharp at once.

What sets Kirchen apart isn’t just virtuosity—it’s feel. His playing is equal parts finesse and fire, his songs balancing humour and heartbreak, all delivered with the easy charm of a musician who’s seen it all and still loves every minute of it.

Now, in 2026, he’s back on the road with his brand-new album Cat Out of the Bag—a fresh chapter in a career that refuses to slow down.

Don’t miss this rare chance to catch a living legend up close in an intimate setting, and support a worthy local charity!

A benefit for Pros and Cons Prison Arts

Pros and Cons brings professional musicians and other artists into prisons to provide inmates with access to music and other training. It produces creative work by inmates in support of victim services, restorative justice efforts and charities of inmates’ choosing.

Along with your ticket, you can add a donation amount, or you can send us an Interac e-transfer to info@prosandconsprogram.com — All donations are tax-deductible in Canada, and we will send you a tax receipt.

$1000 pays for multiple educational workshops and recording sessions behind bars

$5000 helps pay for concerts and cultural events engaging inmates

$20,000 builds a full recording facility in an institution.

ROCKY ROBERTS & FRIENDS

Opening the show is our own local hero — Craig “Rocky” Roberts, touring guitar technician for the likes of Neil Young, Wilco, Patti Smith, CSNY, Paul Simon, Lucinda Williams, Nils Lofgren, and My Morning Jacket, brings his own rootsy sound to the stage with the help of his Wolfe Island musical family.

Rocky’s most recent EP, Pieces of Time, was released to enthusiastic critical acclaim. The first single, Buck Moon, features Norah Jones & Carl Broemel (of My Morning Jacket):

“What a sweet and tender bluesy Americana sound for the oncoming summer months. Perfect for swinging in a hammock after a few tequilas. Rocky Robert & Friends EP Pieces of Time is a tranquil beauty… It’s the best of American music, the honorable, gentle, open-hearted kind.”
— Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros, NoHoArtsDistrict.com