Tiny Church Concerts
At the Little Dutch Church, 2393 Brunswick Street, Halifax
A Message from the Organizer
Dear Friends,
I started The Tiny Church Concert Series in 2025 out of my lifelong love of singing in the small churches and halls of the Maritimes. I am very happy that we are back for a second season. This gem of early colonial architecture carries the weight of history in its timbers – the second oldest building in Halifax, it has witnessed unbelievable change in North End Halifax since 1756. In conjunction with St. George’s 225th Anniversary celebrations, the Little Dutch Church is marking it’s 270th year with an expanded concert series on Friday evenings this summer.
All shows will start at 7 pm, and last no more than 50 minutes to an hour – this gives performers a chance to play a punchy set with an attentive audience, but is mostly due to the total lack of facilities at the Little Dutch Church. Fortunately, we’ve got the Round Church just a few minutes walk away. We have been splitting the door between the artists and the Rector’s Discretionary Fund at St. George’s, which is an emergency fund for people who need to make last-minute rent or power bill payments, who need help with groceries, medicine, or really just about anything. In accordance with the ideals of the original German settlers, entry will be by donation.
Yours,
Thomas McCallum
Photo of Koromanti and the North Star by Thomas Ly.
How it works
All shows are on Fridays unless otherwise noted and begin at 7:00 pm.
Doors open at 6:40 pm.
Admission is by donation. Card and e-transfer (treasurer@roundchurch.ca) accepted.
Capacity will be limited to 50 people.
There is no washroom or running water on-site. Plan accordingly.
Photo by Thomas Ly.
2026 Artists
Karis Tees | September 4
Karis Tees sings folk, choral, classical, and baroque music in churches, pubs, living rooms, concert halls, and around campfires. In 2023 she completed her Master of Music degree in Historical Performance Voice at the University of Toronto. Her first solo EP, 'When It Comes Time', was released in 2024. You can hear her on recordings by Thomas McCallum, The Boo Radley Project, and a forthcoming album by Al Tuck. Karis is Music Director at Trinity Anglican Church, Halifax, and teaches voice.
Matthew Joel | September 11
For Matthew Joel Vanderkwaak, songwriting is an act that tugs at the boundaries between what is seen and unseen. Merging East Coast folk influences with West Coast indie-rock sensibilities, Matthew was born in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, and now calls Halifax home. He has been writing, recording, and performing for 15 years, and has shared the stage with Andy Shauf, Teen Daze, and Jordan Klassen.
Newsletter: matthewjoel.substack.com
Instagram: instagram.com/matthewjoelmusic
The Bombadils | September 19
The Bombadils, awarded Vocal Group of the Year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2024, offer stirring lyrics with intertwining string-band arrangements, and tinges of bluegrass. Making their home in the foggy port city of Halifax, Canada, the band features folk darlings Sarah Frank and Luke Fraser, accompanied by guests from their extended musical community. Other recent accolades include Rising Star Recording of the Year at the 2024 East Coast Music Awards, and Americana/Bluegrass Recording of the Year at the 2023 Music Nova Scotia Awards.
Koromanti and the North Star | September 25
Koromanti and the North Star is a band named after the first recorded banjo song and first recorded instance of Afro-caribbean music. The name speaks to the band's desire to dig up and revive the African roots of North American folk music and reflects the sonic ways the band shows how that music arrived here. Featuring both old time strings and African percussion Koromanti and the North Star lifts up forgotten African roots, blues, gospel and folk songs from across the diaspora and blends them with ancestral sounds.
George Mooring | October 2
George Mooring is a genre-blending artist pushing the boundaries of sound, seamlessly weaving together pop punk, folk, and electronic music into a style that is both raw and innovative. With high-energy anthems, heartfelt storytelling, and immersive production, George crafts music that resonates with fans across different scenes.
Rezound | October 16
Rezound is an ambient music duo. Through improvised arrangement of live sampled drone, chant, harmonization, whispered words, and found objects, Rezound creates immersive soundscapes. Audiences can lie down, let go, breathe, stretch and relax with music ranging from quiet tranquility & joy, to dark & immersive post-rock walls of sound.
Pallmer | May 22
Pallmer is an experimental chamber-pop trio based in Fredericton, NB. Drawing from their backgrounds in classical music and sound art, Pallmer stands out for their ability to transcend genre and standard instrumentation, with Emily Kennedy on cello & vocals, Mark Kleyn on viola, and Charles Harding on synthesizers.
The Rabbit Town String Band | June 5
Rabbit Town String Band was born with a desire to fill the air with fiddle and fill dance floors with people. Consisting of members from Townie, foghorn, and The McMillan’s Camp Boys, this east coast super group has been making waves since forming in the summer of 2025. Whether it’s in the corner of a packed pub or on stage at a dance hall, their formula is the same: two fiddles, one acoustic guitar, and an upright bass playing driving fiddle tunes, tender waltzes, and old-time-string-band favourites.
Ali McCormick & Vicki Brittle | June 11
This show takes place on a Thursday.
Ali McCormick, (left) The Lioness of Lanark, is a wilderness wordsmith whose folk-rooted songs capture the grit, grace, and poetry of rural life - a true northern folk troubadour. Her songs move with the rhythm of rivers and back roads, blending rugged honesty with poetic insight. For more than a decade, Ali has toured nationwide, honing her craft on stages across Canada and building a devoted following through the strength of her live performances.
Vicki Brittle is a Folk/Rock Singer-songwriter from The Ottawa Valley known for her distinct, unforgettable raspy vocals and acoustic melodies that weave through reflective lyricism and unique phrasing. Often referred to as an “old soul”, Brittle brings a memorable energy and presence to the stage.
Al Tuck | June 19
Bring up Al Tuck’s name to any Canadian music insider, and you’d better find yourself a comfortable chair. Feist suspects that he might just be a living legend. Tom Power places him in the top five living Canadian songwriters. He is an awesome encyclopedia of popular music, a roving troubadour and after almost 20 years in the business and 13 albums, is one of Canada’s true hidden musical treasures.
George Woodhouse | June 26
On his 28th birthday, George Woodhouse challenged himself to write a song a week for one year. He managed 47 weeks, said "good enough" and struck up The Public Service — an East Coast indie act that has since played the National Arts Centre, TD Music Hall, and the Stan Rogers Folk Festival. Now based in Dartmouth, TPS is set to release a new album this fall.
John Bogardus | July 3
Steeped in Cape Breton fiddle, John also directs the Nova Scotia Mass Choir and the Halifax Community Orchestra.
The Little Dutch Church
Dissatisfied with the quality of the British settlers in Nova Scotia, the newly-minted governor, Edward Cornwallis, requested that the British Board of Trade and Plantations specifically recruit German-speaking settlers willing to immigrate to British North America. The early waves of these “foreign Protestants” arrived in Halifax in 1749 and 1750.
Many died in appalling conditions during the arduous sea voyages. Once ashore, tragedy continued to plague the community as it struggled to survive without the necessary infrastructure or support. Shortly after landing, many died due to a typhus outbreak.
The Germans were granted three lots of land in the town’s northern suburbs to use as a burial ground. Without the time or energy to do any more, the survivors dug a shallow trench in the south-west corner of the lot and buried the 30-odd victims there. Ay loss.
In 1756, directly over this mass grave, the small congregation built their first community building: the Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church. They bartered for a small house nearby, moved it to the burial ground, and transformed it into a church of the minimalist saalkirche design popular at the time in European Protestant circles.
Over the following decade, they expanded the building and added the steeple. Although it was always nominally Anglican and was consecrated by the Church of England to St George in 1761 (the patron saint of England and namesake of the newly-anointed German king of England, George III), the small St George’s remained primarily a German Lutheran meeting house.
Today, the building stands as a reminder of the struggles of life in early Canada – famine, disease, exhaustion, and bitter cold – and of these early settlers’ determination to survive.
