Jane Harbury Discoveries Series
Discoveries Vol. 10 with Host Jane Harbury
Hugh’s Room – 296 Broadview Avenue Toronto
Doors: 7pm Show: 8pm
For tickets: https://www.showpass.com/discoveries-vol-10-with-host-jane-harbury/
Jane Horbury, a fixture on the Toronto music scene since the early days of the iconic Riverboat in Yorkville, has seen more talent grace stages than most and continues to work as both a publicist and curator of musical events and talent at the iconic Hugh’s Room in Toronto.
New talent needed a place to showcase their talent, so Jane started a series to showcase new artists back in 2005 and had a 12-year run. And now she has been asked by Hugh’s Room to bring back The Discoveries series. We spoke to Jane about the upcoming event: “The Discoveries series ended in early 2017, we had a good run so I let it go, knowing we had accomplished our goal. Last year the Hugh's Room folks asked me what I thought about restarting it. I agreed and the inaugural event is scheduled for April 23rd. I’ll curate the first one and then different folks will carry on the series after that.”
This reboot will feature 4 artists including a “rediscovery “in the great Nancy Simmonds. Nancy was born in London, Ontario, where she began pursuing her singer/songwriter career before moving to Toronto in 1970. She worked briefly with Leonard Cohen in Nashville and then began performing at festivals and clubs throughout Ontario, opening concerts at Massey Hall for Chris de Burgh and J.J. Cale. She made appearances on many of the current days' TV shows. Nancy appeared in the movie "Silent Partner" with Christopher Plummer.
In early 1980, Nancy was signed to a publishing deal with Chappell Music Canada and was the first female writer added to the company. Nancy was an original member of Prairie Oyster in the mid 70s while continuing to maintain her performing act, "The Nancy Simmonds Band". This band performed during the 80’s, mostly in Toronto at the El Mocambo, and in 1986 was declared the best band in Toronto by esteemed Toronto Star journalist Peter Goddard. She left Canada in 1986 to live in Carpinteria, California for the next 18 years where she was involved in animal rescue as well as maintaining her writing and producing career.
Her songs have been covered by Melissa Manchester, Ricky Van Shelton, Rosemary Butler, Alannah Myles, Christopher Ward, Joan Kennedy, Quartette, Adrian Zmed, Colleen Peterson and Veronique Beliveau. She has received writing awards for the multi-million selling CD "Alannah Myles" which featured her song “Hurry Make Love”.
Along with Alannah Myles and Robert Priest, she was awarded for the number one song “Song Instead of a Kiss”. In 2002 while performing at historic "Fiesta Days", she won the Santa Barbara Songwriting Contest. She is the winner of The USA Songwriting Contest 2010 along with Alannah Myles. In 1986 Nancy created “Musical Tails”, a company that offers individual purebred dog songs which now has over 130 breeds in the catalog. The company made its debut in Beverly Hills, Ca. in 2003 and Nancy continued to promote her work at major dog shows in California for many years. These songs were written, produced, engineered and manufactured by Nancy with all instruments and vocals performed by her.
Nancy also has produced over 100 videos for her YouTube channel that features mostly songs from Musical Tails. This catalog has generated well over 1 million streams worldwide. In 2006 while briefly living in Nova Scotia the first personal CD, Debut, was released, co-produced by long time friend, David Bradstreet. Since then, there have been 6 additional CDs of Nancy’s work including Tortilla Flats, Cosmic Suicide (The Nancy Simmonds Band), Blue Over Blue, Keeping An Eye on the Mountain, Dark Stars and in 2025, At The El Mocambo. In 2010, Nancy moved to Nipomo, California for another 7 years before returning to Ontario where she continues to write and record in her home studio.
Nancy is excited and honoured to be performing at one of Toronto’s most beloved live music venues – Hugh’s Room. “I’m really looking forward to performing at this beautiful venue. Everything I’ve heard about Hugh’s Room is a glowing testament to the sound, sightlines and warmth of the venue. I’ve performed at many historic stages but it never gets old. This will be a rediscovery of sorts as it’s been while since I’ve played out. Someone asked me what advice I would give the young artists today. Quite simply I would just say “never give up and never stop learning.”
Rounding out the lineup of performers are Ewan Farncombe, Noah Kosta and JP LeBlanc.
Ewan Farncombe. This Toronto-based multiple Juno-nominated pianist / composer has earned the reputation as one of Canada’s best jazz pianists. He demonstrates a virtuosic ease of playing that coaxes the piano into beautiful song. While jazz is his passion he is a versatile player excelling in multiple genres of music.
Noah Kosta is a 22-year-old jazz/pop artist captivating audiences across Canada with his distinctive voice and modern take on classic crooner music. Fresh off an appearance on Canada’s Got Talent, Noah continues to establish himself as one of the country’s most promising emerging performers. Inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Noah began performing at a young age and has appeared at major venues including Koerner Hall, Casino Rama, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Mel Lastman Square, and the International Beaches Jazz Festival.
JP LeBlanc was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick growing up immersed in both English and French. He discovered the blues at 11 years old and recorded his first album by 17. The album earned an East Coast Music Award nomination. In 2024, he represented Atlantic Canada at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, cementing his place on the international stage. His most recent album in 2025 is “All In My Blood”. The album written in Canada with lyricist Larry LeBlanc was recorded in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Colin Linden. JP says: “Working with Colin and these incredible musicians felt like the culmination of everything I’ve worked for."
For an entertaining night of great music and discoveries get yourself out to Hugh’s Room on April 23rd at 296 Broadview Avenue in Toronto. https://www.showpass.com/discoveries-vol-10-with-host-jane-harbury/
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