Leisa Way

starring in
Rhinestone Cowgirl: Celebrating Dolly Parton
with The Wayward Wind

Leisa was born in Kitchener and raised in Sudbury, where she got her start at 12 years old singing for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. At age 20, she was cast as “Anne” in Anne of Green Gables, a role she played for six seasons at the Charlottetown Festival, including tours of Canada, the USA & Japan, taping for CBC Radio, filming for television, & 3 performances for the British Royal Family. Since then her career has taken her to more than 50 countries, and she has performed at major theatres across Canada and the US in roles such as Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday; Guenevere in Camelot; Peter in Peter Pan, Magnolia in Showboat; Maria in The Sound of Music; and Justine in The Love List. An avid fisherwoman, Leisa travels with her fishing rod, and is also a certified 350 hr-Yoga teacher. 14 years ago Leisa began producing and creating concerts, beginning with Sweet Dreams (Patsy Cline), a hugely successful show that has now played at over 100 theatres in Canada. Next came Rhinestone Cowgirl (Dolly Parton), Country Jukebox (duets); You Give Me Fever (Peggy Lee), Wichita Lineman, Have Yourself A Swinging Little Country Christmas, Across The Pond, Mistletoe Magic, Opry Gold, and Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee! which toured across this great country, from coast to coast, on a 44-city tour with over 80 performances during the Canada 150 year. In February, of 2020 Leisa debuted her 12th concert, Early Morning Rain, the Music of Gordon Lightfoot, at Theatre Orangeville. Recently, Leisa was named, “Toronto Musician of the Year”, and in January of 2023, Leisa and The Wayward Wind Band made the cover of International Musician Magazine, as musicians who inspire others. Leisa feels blessed to do what she loves, and is very proud to work with these fine musicians. Their cd’s are available here, or at www.waytogoproductions.ca

Fred is a versatile musician and singer, grateful for the many opportunities in his satisfying career. Performing for over 35 years, he’s backed names including Bobby Curtola, Jack Scott, Del Shannon, Frankie Ford, Leslie Gore, The Drifters, Ben E. King, The Supremes, Lou Christie, Sam Moore, The Coasters, Spencer Davis, The Platters, Bowzer (Sha Na Na), The Fifth Dimension, Peter Noone, The Platters, Gary U.S. Bonds, The Chi-Lites and The Mamas and the Papas …to name a few! Kitchener Ontario’s “Fred Smith Studio” opened in the ’80’s where Fred produces his own music, corporate voice-overs, commercial music, radio commercials, bands and singer-songwriters. He enjoys working with award winning actors in post-production for TV and film. Renowned actors such as Colm Feore, Christopher Plummer, Brian Dennehy, Cynthia Dale and Stephen McHattie have sure made things interesting in his studio. Lately, the studio has been providing dialogue replacement for Orphan Black and House of Cards.
Closer to home, Fred recently performed for Drayton Entertainment in, Footloose, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline, Twist and Shout: The British Invasion, and Sorry…I’m Canadian. Fred is thrilled to be performing with Leisa and her team of great people…a beautiful family.

A native of North Bay, Ontario, Nathan began playing violin at the age of six, and over the course of many musical years since, he has become a unique and versatile performer. From his early years through his degree in Music Performance to the present day, he has been constantly evolving as a student of both classical violin technique and the rich traditions of the fiddle. While studying and playing viola in the University’s string quartet and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Nathan was also drawn to American bluegrass music. After finishing his degree, he received a less formal but equally formative education in playing and singing bluegrass, touring internationally with Ontario band, Hard Ryde, and eventually he settled in Toronto to study Jazz and Contemporary Music at Humber College. Soon after, Nathan began singing, playing, and writing original music with his own innovative bluegrass band, The Barrel Boys, who have performed on folk music stages across Canada, been nominated for the Vocal Group of the Year award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2021, and have recorded 4 studio albums. Nathan is a proud member of Vinta, a quartette that tours and plays European folk music, and is also in frequent demand as a sideman, playing with a number of Toronto folk and country acts such as The O’Pears, Sarah Jane Scouten, and The Double Cuts.

Born in Hamilton, Bruce is a man of many talents having enjoyed a long and steady career. A regular on television for many years, he played piano for both The Tommy Hunter Show, and The Ronnie Prophet Show. He has also worked with many Nashville artists including Don Everly, Chet Atkins and Brenda Lee, who was mentored by Patsy Cline. Bruce composed music for Sesame Street, the Polka Dot Door, has written scores for many television dramas and was nominated for a Gemini for best dramatic score. He scored “The Painted Door”, a film that was nominated for an Academy Award. Over his eclectic career, he made his mark in the blues field as lead guitarist and singer in the award-winning Trouble and Strife Blues Band and in the jazz world, his Bruce Ley Trio is much sought after. Bruce moved to Mulmur 15 years ago to open up his recording studio on his 80-acre farm. Leisa and Bruce met working for Theatre Orangeville, where Bruce played Home & Away, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline and Ned Durango, and musical directed MESA, and Eighteen Wheels. Bruce has arranged seven of Leisa’s concerts, including this one. Bruce’s blues influenced recording “The Peacock, the Deer and the Moon” is available for your listening pleasure. For more information, go to bruceley.ca

Aaron Solomon is a world class musician and performer. He has been wowing audiences as an energetic singer, actor, and multi-instrumentalist mastering an astonishing variety of styles having performed with diverse artists such as Shania Twain, Big Sugar, Jeff Healey, Jason McCoy, George Hamilton IV, Mac Wiseman and many others. He has also performed on over 500 recording sessions besides working as a record producer. In 2016, he released an album entitled Transformation with progressive rock band FM. He has recently been seen as “Johnny” in Johnny & June at Drayton Entertainment (and many other theatres) and in Memories of Rock n’ Roll. Aaron also stars in two of Way-To-Go Productions’ other concerts, Wichita Lineman: The Music of Glen Campbell, and Country Jukebox. www.fiddleheadproductions.com