{"id":38635,"date":"2026-07-30T14:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=38635"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:48:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:48:32","slug":"live-music-returns-to-historic-downtown-with-annual-alley-jam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/live-music-returns-to-historic-downtown-with-annual-alley-jam\/","title":{"rendered":"Live music returns to historic Downtown with annual Alley Jam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Live music is set to return to Aurora\u2019s historic downtown core this August with Alley Jam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning on Saturday, August 1, and running on each Saturday through to the end of the month, musicians will activate Machell\u2019s Alley, located on the east side of Yonge Street, just south of Wellington, from 12 noon to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlley Jam is all about creating memorable moments in one of Aurora\u2019s most unique spaces,\u201d said Mayor Tom Mrakas in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to slow down, enjoy incredible social musicians, and experience the charm and vibrancy of our downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s season of Alley Jam is once again hosted by acclaimed Aurora jazz artist James Brown, who has curated a roster of performers offering everything from jazz, to Canadian rock, to soulful original works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always like to incorporate some people who are Aurora or York Region performers, but I do like to get some other people from the city,\u201d Brown tells The Auroran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lineup kicks off August 1 with the James Brown Trio, featuring Brown, alongside Clark Johnston and Ethan Ardelli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second installment on August 8 will feature Michael Allen on guitar and banjo with Saskia DeLang Lenters on vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The August 15 show will feature The Tap Room Gang, which Brown describes as a \u201ccollaborative group that brings fresh, interactive takes on classics and hidden gems from the 1920s and 1930s hot jazz repertoire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original works will be offered by singer-songwriter Larra Skye, with Gord Girvan on keyboard, on August 22, followed by the final concert on August 29, featuring North of the Border, an Aurora-based cover band celebrating the rich legacy of Canadian rock music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gathering strength,\u201d says Brown of the Alley Jam music series. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting space because it\u2019s an alleyway on Yonge Street, but when we get the music playing in between the two buildings, the sound reverberates quite nicely in between. It typically can be noisy, but it\u2019s actually not much of a problem having Yonge Street right there. It adds to the excitement of the event. I\u2019m looking forward to having a little bit more street action, if possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerts, he adds, are timed to coincide with the end of each August Saturday of the Aurora Farmers\u2019 Market, located at nearby Town Park, which is a great opportunity to stroll from your weekend shopping over to the historic downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo to the Market, enjoy that in the morning, and then hit Machell\u2019s Alley at around 12 noon and you\u2019ll get two full hours of music,\u201d says Brown. \u201cThere are picnic tables with umbrellas, so go to one of the local restaurants, go grab something to drink or eat, and come and sit down and enjoy the music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information, including a complete lineup of the series, visit www.aurora.ca\/recreation-arts-and-culture\/downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Live music is set to return to Aurora\u2019s historic downtown core this August with Alley Jam. Beginning on Saturday, August 1, and running on each Saturday through to the end of the month, musicians will activate Machell\u2019s Alley, located on the east side of Yonge Street, just south of Wellington, from 12 noon to 2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-a39","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-06 17:47:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38636,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38635\/revisions\/38636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}