County Pop drew me to Prince Edward County this year and I am looking forward to Sandbanks Festival in the fall but I will take any opportunity to roadtrip the Loyalist Trail into The County south of Belleville.

It was once known for beaches, wine and art and of course it still is but music has been added. Not just by way of musicians moving there, Justin Rutledge for example, and not just because of the line-up at the Regent Theatre in Picton ( Rheostatics on Canada Day) but also because of the shows being presented and by whom.

The Drake Hotel is creating a secondary presence and now Arts and Crafts is establishing a beachhead on the shores of Lake Ontario. The label is curating a series of shows at the Hayloft Dancehall (owned by the same folks who own the Dakota in TO) near Sandbanks with synth-dance two piece The Darcys June 23, the always enlightening singer/songwriter Dan Mangan on July 14 and Reuben and the Dark on Aug 18.