The Sweet Sounds of Belleville's Growing Music Scene
Belleville’s music scene is growing, from local musicians making their own music to big names playing a homegrown festival downtown, the city is quickly becoming a music destination for artists and audiences alike. For folks in the Bay of Quinte region who have grown accustomed to making the drive to Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, or Montreal to see our favourite bands play, news about the growing local scene is music to our ears.
Written by Allison Nichol Longtin
Read time: 5 min
Belleville transplants Hannah Georgas and Sean Sroka made dreams come true in Belleville in September 2025 with the first-ever Beautiful View music festival. Celebrated Canadian music artist Hannah had long dreamed of curating a music festival. She and her partner, Sean Sroka (Ten Kills The Pack), also an accomplished singer/songwriter/producer who has worked with artists like Aysanabee and TALK, relocated to the Bay of Quinte region in 2021. They made that dream a reality with several free shows taking place throughout Belleville’s downtown, culminating in a ticketed headliner event featuring Bells Larsen, Hayden, and Julie Doiron.
It was important for Hannah and Sean to curate a listening event that felt welcoming, intentional, and rooted in community. For inspiration, they looked to the CBC Music Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. “People go to [these festivals] because they know it’s going to be awesome…It sells out before the line-up is even announced, because they know it’s curated meticulously and they know they’re going to discover really cool music.”
The result was an inclusive event featuring a range of artists and styles, including indie, folk, and pop. Hannah, an accomplished singer/songwriter, has performed and toured with Canadian music icons, including Feist and Broken Social Scene. With a career in music spanning two decades, she looked to her friends and favourites when creating the bill for Beautiful View.
As touring musicians, Hannah and Sean are intimately familiar with “the 401 run,” which sees bands travelling from Toronto to Montreal or Ottawa, sometimes stopping in Kingston, but rarely in Belleville. Sean says they’re playing the long game. “We know that shows won’t happen here unless the artists, managers, and booking agents know that this is a market to play.”
“We really would love to see it happen again…especially because it was so successful,” says Hannah of a potential Beautiful View 2.0.
The duo found the process of making the inaugural Beautiful View challenging but ultimately rewarding. And now they have a template, a successful model to emulate and build upon that will hopefully make future iterations easier to organize and get folks on board, including sponsors, funders, volunteers, and local businesses. Sean is quick to highlight the incredible community support they received, “We are so grateful that it landed here, and we hope we can continue to have that financial and volunteer support.”
Kingston born-and-based music promoter, Virginia Clark, is bringing her concert series to Belleville after being approached by Signal Brewery to bring in national touring acts. She and her company, Flying V Productions, have been bringing musicians to venues and festivals in Kingston, Wolfe Island, and Prince Edward County for decades.
Virginia has a lot of love for Belleville and many close ties to the city. She’s thrilled to be part of the momentum that’s building in Belleville’s music scene. “When Signal Brewery approached me about bringing music to the venue, I was pretty keen…They brought me out to the brewery, and I was like, wow, this is absolutely gorgeous. I was blown away,” says Virginia.
Collaborating with national agencies in Toronto and Montreal to bring bigger acts to her hometown of Kingston, Virginia has booked acts like Bahamas, Andy Schauf, Dan Mangan, Sarah Harmer, The Sadies, and Kevin Drew. Now, music lovers in the Bay of Quinte don’t have to make the trek to bigger cities to see their favourite artists or discover new ones.
Virginia kicked off her Belleville concert series in December 2025 with Canadian alternative country band, NQ Arbuckle. Folks got up and danced and were even treated to an acapella solo acoustic encore.
Virginia believes in the music scene in Belleville, and she wants to make it the destination it deserves to be. “I’m excited to introduce Belleville to some touring bands. If they play Kingston, it doesn’t mean they can’t play Belleville also. It doesn’t have to be one or the other,” says Virginia. She credits Hannah Georgas and Sean Sroka with helping to create a sense of momentum in the community with Beautiful View. “It really is an embracing community…I don’t live in Belleville, but I feel like it’s my community too,” says Virginia.
With a buzz-worthy line-up, Virginia is treating us to something very special. Texas King, My Son the Hurricane, The Grapes of Wrath, Ariel Posen and Hawksley Workman make up the Spring lineup. “I pride myself on being a curator. It’s going to be multi-genre…It’s going to be all types of music,” explains Virginia. With something for every musical taste, it’s only up from here for Flying V Productions in the Bay of Quinte.
Meyer’s Creek Brewing Company and Belleville’s music scene are inextricably linked. From its infancy, the taproom has been a hub for artists, artisans, and creatives. Owners, Gretta and Bill Barnwell and Rick Stinchcombe, knew they wanted the taproom to be more than just a place to drink great craft beer. “We wanted to share the joy of what we do,” says Gretta, “And what better way to mix beer than with music?”
Four-time Best of the Bay winners, Meyer’s Creek Brewing Company is known for its great beer, friendly staff, and sprawling patio. “Making beer is the driver for the business first and foremost; it’s our passion and purpose. Good music [and musicians] are the sprinkles on top of an already amazing cake,” says Gretta.
A regular on the Meyer’s Creek stage is Belleville-born-and-raised Cat Named Earl frontman, Ryan Zaback. He’s grateful to Gretta and Bill, whom he sees as a supportive aunt and uncle. “They’ve taken us under their wing. They’ve been very kind.”
Another regular on the Meyer’s Creek stage is Tim Hadley, Belleville’s Bad Tractor frontman. Tim has spent much of his life playing music, most notably as bass player for the legendary Stompin’ Tom Connors. A prolific musician, Tim also plays bass guitar in local band Hayley and the Pirate Queens and Charlie Angus’ Grievous Angels.
Tim has been Belleville-based for the past 30 years and has witnessed first-hand the evolution of the local music scene. When he first moved to the area, he struggled to find his place as a musician and songwriter in a scene where cover bands were the norm. He eventually started making music with like-minded bandmate and lead guitarist, Ian McKendry. They formed Bad Tractor almost a decade ago.
Having the opportunity to bring their music to the community is key, “[Gretta and Bill] went above and beyond. You go in there, and the art on the wall is always local art, and they’ve always got local musicians playing. For us to be able to go in there…It’s so important to have places like that,” says Tim. “[Belleville’s music scene] is growing and developing and good things are happening here…There are places you can go and see good music,” says Tim.
