Gatineau Hills songwriters Kate Weekes and Alasdair Gillis pair up for an evening of original music at Motel Chelsea on November 14th. Both Weekes and Gillis have released new albums in the past year and will showcase these new works alongside multi-instrumentalist James Stephens and Brian Sanderson. Stephens produced Weekes' 2025 album 'Rideau Roots' and Gillis' 2025 album 'Four Miles Deep' and Sanderson is a featured performer on both projects.
Purchase advance tickets on Humanitix by clicking HERE ($30 plus tax and fees) OR at the door while quantities last ($35 plus tax)
Dinner is available with our kitchen open until 9pm. Reservations are strongly suggested—make yours HERE. We are an intimate 85-seat venue, so every seat is a great seat! While we do our best to accommodate all seating requests, they cannot be guaranteed. For the best experience, we recommend making reservations in even numbers (for example, a party of three may be seated with an additional guest). Doors open half an hour before showtime for those who will not be dining with us.
KATE WEEKES
Kate Weekes is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec. Her songs and story telling are influenced by her adventures working as a canoe, hiking and dog mushing guide in northern Canada and Scandinavia. Ranging from Appalachian-influenced ballads, to anthemic folk-pop to whimsical instrumental waltzes, Kate's music is buoyed by her distinctive approach to clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar. Her most recent album, Rideau Roots, reflects on the settler narrative of the Rideau Canal, Kate's hometown river. The project is inspired by a floating musical residency Kate led by canoe with 9 additional songwriters.
Few albums arrive with a backstory rivalling that of Rideau Roots, the gorgeous, sonically sprawling, and very of-the-moment fifth album from singer-songwriter and wilderness guide Kate Weekes. In May 2022, Weekes fulfilled a long-held dream: she and a group of fellow artists paddled the famed Rideau Canal along unceded traditional lands from Kingston to Ottawa, reflecting on their settler status and the majesty of their surroundings as filmmaker Stephen Fuller captured footage for later release as music videos. Song ideas sparked by that “canoe-based musical residency” were recorded with longtime Weekes collaborator, producer and multi-instrumentalist James Stephens at Stove Studios in Chelsea, Quebec, resulting in the dynamic “contemporary original folk” that is as much Weekes’ trademark as her sparkling banjo and crystalline voice.
ALASDAIR GILLIS
After years of playing in folk ensembles and accompanying fellow singer-songwriters, recent times have seen Alasdair stepping front and centre to share his own music. His lyrically rich songs - sometimes plaintive, and often wry - sift precious gems from the dusty quarries of history to the slippery slopes of modern existence. The music itself wanders the borderlands of the Folk, Indie and Americana genres. Alasdair's songs have been featured on CKCU, as well as covered by Kaia Kater on 2022's Wakefield Does Wakefield album. His debut album, FOUR MILES DEEP, was co-produced with James Stephens and released in 2025.
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