OSWEGO – Singer-songwriter Crys Matthews, “a daughter of the South,” returns to the Oswego Music Hall by popular demand on Saturday, February 21. The show is a double bill with Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor, a folk musician of Caribbean and Mohawk descent making his Music Hall debut.
The show is also a celebration of Black History Month. Crys Matthews’s performance at last March’s Women in Music show was so well received that Artistic Director Tom Lambert immediately asked her to return this season. When Lambert proposed a Black History Month concert to Matthews, she suggested the Music Hall book Julian Taylor to share the stage with her.
Matthews and Taylor have known each other for just two years, but they became fast friends after meeting at a John Prine tribute concert in Nashville two years ago.
Tickets for the intimate, 200-seat venue on the shore of Lake Ontario range from $17 to $22 at oswegomusichall.org.
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Crys Matthews has been making records since 2011’s Backroads and Driveways. As the title might imply, her music straddles several American genres, from folk to blues to soul to Americana. Along the way she has collected numerous awards, including 2024 Artist of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards in Montreal. She is the only artist to win Song of the Year twice (“Sleeves Up” for 2025, “Changemakers” for 2021) in that competition. In her current hometown, Nashville Scene magazine named her album Reclamation Best Folk Album of 2025.
Matthews is unabashedly a social-justice musician. She wrote “Sleeves Up” after the 2024 presidential election and released it on Jan. 20, 2025, Inauguration Day, as a stand-alone single. “Wipe your face dry, roll your sleeves up, even when they knock you down you get back up, you don’t give up,” Matthews sings.
“Sleeves Up” just won Song of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards in New Orleans last month. Oswego Music Hall Artistic Director Tom Lambert was there. “It was exciting to see the standing ovation that Crys received after winning the Song of the Year Award at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans,” Lambert said. “Folk music has a long tradition of promoting social justice and it confirmed for me that we are on track in honoring that tradition by bringing Crys to our intimate venue on Lake Ontario.”
Matthews recently talked to Janet Gramza of the Music Hall. “My program is called ‘Why We Can’t Wait’ – the title of Dr. King’s incredibly powerful book on nonviolent revolution,” Matthews said. “It’s new songs written in the face of what’s happening in this country of mine. Songs of hope and love and justice.”
But like her heroes Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Congressman John (“Good Trouble”) Lewis, Matthews brings more hope than despair and more love than anger. In her song “Call Them In,” dedicated to Lewis after his 2020 passing, she wrote, “Make good trouble every chance you?get, eyes on?the?prize, we’re not finished yet. Don’t tolerate injustice, my friend. Call them out, then call them?in.” In other words, don’t be afraid to call people out for supporting injustice, but then call them in to join us in loving our neighbors, Matthews said.
For further information, visit https://www.crysmatthews.com/ or view a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyrH9D79-uY.
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“Julian [Taylor] is a phenomenal singer-songwriter and a beautiful spirit,” Matthews said. “And his music is just as beautiful as his spirit.”
A Toronto native who grew up surrounded by music in his family and church, Taylor learned to sing and play trombone and bassoon by age 12, when a cousin loaned him an acoustic guitar.
Explaining to Janet Gramza, Taylor said “I took it to camp and ended up sitting at campfires and really learning how to play it, and I’ve been playing guitar ever since,” he said.
After fronting a successful alternative rock band, Staggered Crossing, for two decades, Taylor began tapping his West Indies and Indigenous roots to inject Calypso, reggae, blues, and soul elements into his original folk music.
While his songs are not calls to action like many of Matthews’ songs, they share the encouragement and wisdom of a seasoned traveler whose words to the weary are reassuring and kind.
Taylor shares Matthews’ belief that what looks like the end of Democracy is actually “a last-ditch effort of certain people who are beholden to the almighty dollar to hold onto whatever power and privilege they still have.”
He compared U.S. efforts to erase Black History rather than shine a spotlight on slavery to Canada’s 150 years of placing native children in “residential schools” that harmed many families and their Indigenous culture.
“I was taught from a young age that we have more in common than we don’t,” he added, “and that greater comprehension can come from the fact that all colors are allowed to be part of this rainbow.”
Taylor’s diverse approach is also present in his award-winning syndicated radio show, Julian Taylor’s Jukebox, which he says is “all-inclusive,” with significant music from Indigenous artists and all genres.
For further information, visit https://juliantaylormusic.ca/home or view a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta4yuqBG5rc.
If You Go
What: Black History Month co-bill at Oswego Music Hall: Crys Matthews and Julian Taylor in Concert.
When: Saturday, February 21, 2026, doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30.
Where: Oswego Music Hall, McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego.
Tickets: $17 to $22. Available at www.oswegomusichall.org or at the Rivers End Bookstore. You may be able to get tickets at the door if the show is not sold out. Tickets purchased at the door and refreshments are cash only. The community is encouraged to buy tickets early to ensure a seat.
The Oswego Music Hall is a family-friendly, non-profit, all-volunteer organization. The atmosphere is intimate with candle-lit tables surrounding a small stage. Light refreshments are available at reasonable prices. Volunteers can earn admission to shows through various tasks — from event support to making popcorn. Students can also earn credit for community service. To volunteer, email Volunteer Coordinator Michael Moss at [email protected].
Concerts are made possible in part with funding by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the governor and New York Legislature. Other major supporters are the City of Oswego and the Shineman Foundation.
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In a recent interview with Janet Gramza, Matthews and Taylor shared additional thoughts about the current political climate and their strong feelings for social justice.
“Changemakers,” Matthews’s 2021 Song of the Year, was the title track of “a front-to-back social justice album.” The song is a response to President Trump’s first term and such issues as the erosion of women’s and immigrant rights and the rash of police killings of unarmed Black people.
Matthews said she sees the current political climate and the resulting attacks on immigrants and citizens of color as “the last dying breaths of white supremacy as we know it in this country.”
Matthews said the protests in Minnesota and across the nation and the popularity enjoyed by diverse artists like Bad Bunny illustrate that the nonviolent methods of the Civil Rights movement will prevail over hatred and violence.
She said her fiancée is currently “on the ground in Minneapolis.” Matthews plans to travel there in April to perform and assist efforts to “dismantle oppression” where she can, she said. As a Black and queer musician, she calls herself a “poster child of intersectionality” who has increasingly used her voice to call for social justice.
“There are too many people who have neighbors who don’t look like them, who don’t love like them, who they absolutely love and adore and care for,” Matthews said. “We have to do what the people in Minneapolis are doing, which is taking care of our neighbors, being patriots for our neighbors, being Americans. That is what’s required.”
On “Weighing Down,” a song from his 2020 album The Ridge, Taylor sings, “Weighing down, don’t let it weigh you down. You’ve been so hard on yourself, it’s time to let things soften now.”
“Everything that’s going on has really thrown us because we should be moving in a positive direction,” Taylor said. “But eventually we will get to the point where there’s no way love is not gonna win.”
PSA/Calendar
On Friday, Feb. 20th 7 PM (sign-ups at 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall continues its Open Mic with Host, Ernie Terpening. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, February 21st 7:30 PM at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall will feature a Co-bill with Julian Taylor & Crys Matthews. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Friday, March 6th 7 PM (sign-ups at 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall continues its Open Mic with Host, Kenny Roffo. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, March 7th 7:30 PM (Meet & Greet 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall will feature The Rebel Eves with Amanda Rogers opening. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Friday, March 20th 7 PM (sign-ups at 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall continues its Open Mic with Host, Bill DeMott. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, March 21st 7:30 PM at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall will feature Liz Longley with Cam Caruso opening. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Friday, April 10th 7 PM (sign-ups at 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall continues its Open Mic with Host, Lloyd Polak. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, April 11th 7:30 PM at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall will feature a Co-bill with The Rough & Tumble & The Honey Badger. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Friday, April 24th 7 PM (sign-ups at 6:30) at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall continues its Open Mic with Host, Larry Kyle. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, April 25th 7:30 PM at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall will feature Tom Rush accompanied by Brenden Cleary. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
On Saturday, May 9th 7:30 PM at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St., Oswego, the Oswego Music Hall Season Finale & Emerging Artist Showcase. Info: https://www.oswegomusichall.org/
2026 Music Hall Events Calendar – Winter/Spring Season
National Stage 49th season
Feb. 21 Black History Month. Co-bill with Julian Taylor & Crys Matthews
Mar. 7 3rd Annual Women in Music Show. The Rebel Eves with Amanda Rogers opening
21 Liz Longley with Cam Caruso opening
Apr. 11 2×2 Partner Series. Co-bill with The Rough & Tumble & The Honey Badgers
25 Tom Rush accompanied by Brenden Cleary
May 9 Season Finale & Emerging Artist Showcase. Headliner: TBA
Open Mic Friday Guest Hosts
2/20 Ernie Terpening
3/6 Kenny Roffo
3/20 Bill DeMott
4/10 Lloyd Polak
4/24 Larry Kyle
Guest Curator Series
3/13 & 4/17 Jazz-by-the-Lake (Musicians – TBA) curator Dave Kaspar
TBA Music Mindfulness and Meditation, curator Ann Buchau
TBA Others in development, curator Nick Gentile
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