Pavlo wraps up tour with stop at The Bank Theatre

A pre-Christmas performance by Juno Award nominated guitarist Pavlo had a packed Bank Theatre audience on their feet and clapping their hands on Monday, December 23 — that is, when they weren’t mesmerized by Pavlo and his bandmates’ incredible instrumental work.

The Toronto-born superstar who married a local girl, brought his bassist, percussionist and an additional guitar player with him for his final stop on his 2024 tour.

“There’s no better place to wrap up the tour than in Leamington,” he told the audience as he took the stage. “Lots of friends and family in this audience.”

That audience fully appreciated his local connection and his extraordinary musical talent and the entire band enjoyed themselves in the intimate 200-seat Bank Theatre setting.

Over the span of his 20-year career, Pavlo has released 15 albums and has had four PBS TV concert specials. He has toured with superstars like José Feliciano, Jon Secada, Olivia Newton-John and The Tenors, among others.

A special surprise appearance from Leamington’s own Billy Raffoul was highlighted by a Pavlo-backed version of the Bill Withers 1971 hit, Ain’t No Sunshine, sung by Billy in that signature voice. 

Drummer Gino Mirizio also took the stage by himself early in the night to highlight his incredible skill on the cajon — a box-shaped percussion instrument — much to the delight of the crowd.

To top it off, Pavlo and the entire band made their way up the centre stairs of The Bank Theatre to give patrons an up-close-and-personal view of their talent.

The performance wrapped up the 2024 concert season at The Bank Theatre, which now gets ready to prepare its stage for Halfway There, a play by Norm Foster, later this month, followed closely by Cheesy Valentine, a radio play based on the book A Cheesy Christmas by local author Barry Bergen, and adapted by Leanne Hayes, which will be held on Valentine weekend.