RENOVATED VOORTMAN STUDIO OPENING WEEK

Bend it like Beck LIVE in the Voortman Studio

October 2, 2026
$30+HST

Bend it like Beck started as a fundraiser set built around Jeff Beck's music, but the chemistry in the room & audience reaction couldn’t possibly stay contained to one night. Frank Koren and Chris Wheeler, exceptional local guitarists with a "Beck-ish" style, brought in bassist Andrew Marshall and drummer Matt Burns, and the group headed into Boxcar Studio in Hamilton to record their original debut, All Roads Lead To E, live off the floor. What followed was a full-fledged live act, now expanded to seven pieces with the addition of vocalists Matty Simpson and Sandra Bouza. Last summer the band recorded a second original album, Take My Heart And Burn, and both records are streaming now for anyone who wants a preview before the show.

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Expect standout cuts from the band's own catalogue, including Take My Heart And Burn, Blues For A Sad Day, Don't Want To Hurt You, Nothing Matters, and Sahara Honey, along with some unforgettable covers from Jeff Beck's catalogue & more.

Frank Koren has spent more than 30 years moving through rock, blues, country, and Americana. He released his own record, Red Chair, in 2015, and has logged studio time backing Tom Wilson, Harrison Kennedy, and Colin Amey, among many others. Onstage, he's a regular with Classic Albums Live and the Epic Eagles Tribute.

Chris Wheeler is a local guitar virtuoso with “music in his blood.” Wheeler has been music director & guitarist on many shows like “Oldies Jukebox,” “Best of Billboard,” and “The Music of Motown” for our resident theatre company, Theatre Ancaster. You can find him across the street as a fixture of the Coach and Lantern's Saturday blues matinee, where the Coachmen keep the tradition alive one weekend at a time. He also played in the house band for CHCH's Tiny Talent Time reboot.

Matt Burns is a Hamilton-based drummer with a resume built on the region's best. Burns performs regularly with Maple Blues Award winner and Juno-nominated artist Spencer Mackenzie, and with 80s cover outfit Funkhaus. He's also shared a stage with Grammy nominee and Juno-winner Steve Strongman and also anchors the house band across the street at the Coach and Lantern's weekly blues matinee.

Matty Simpson is a singer-songwriter whose soulful delivery and plainspoken lyrics draw comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan. Simpson writes songs about the struggles and hardships of everyday life. He's spent much of his career on the road, performing alongside artists cut from the same cloth.

Sandra Bouza: With Canadian and Spanish roots, Bouza has played Massey Hall, earned a Maple Blues Award nomination, and saw her album A Sound in the Dark nominated for Contemporary Folk Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. You may recognize her from a standout performance in Peller Hall as part of our Sisters in Song series earlier this year.

Andrew Marshall: One of the area's most in-demand bass players, Marshall performs with the Mississippi Bends and Juno-nominated guitarist Spencer Mackenzie and remains a first call for countless regional recording sessions.

This is a public debut of our new fully renovated Voortman Studio Theatre, recently outfitted with a new state of the art sound system and order-to-table bar service.

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