The Iona Heights Inn

Cape Breton Celtic Trad Sessions
2025-09-21 16:30 - 19:30, 2025-09-28 16:30 - 19:30, 2025-10-05 16:30 - 19:30 (America/Halifax) | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Come and enjoy a casual gathering of musicians who have come together to play traditional Cape Breton celtic music.
Anyone is welcome to join in, or just sit back and enjoy the tunes.
Sundays at The Frolic 430 – 730pm
Full kitchen and bar service.
Minors allowed till 10pm

Trivia Night at The Frolic
2025-09-25 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-02 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-09 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-16 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-23 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-10-30 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-11-06 20:00 - 22:00, 2025-11-13 20:00 - 22:00 and 3 more dates
Come test your wits & win prizes!
3 Rounds – 12 general knowledge questions each round.
Play solo, or form a team. Funniest team name gets showered with accolades.
Hosted by your man – Ruarí Aonghas Lonce Murphy, every Thursday Night

Céilidh Matinee
2025-09-27 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-04 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-11 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-10-18 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-11-01 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-11-08 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-11-15 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-11-22 17:00 - 20:00 and 2 more dates
Get a taste of local celtic music & culture with our Saturday ceilidhs (kay-lee).
Expect to see world-renowned talent & budding entertainers from all over our native Cape Breton.
General admission seating $5 cover
First come first serve at the pub. No reservations. Minors allowed up until 10PM

John Chiasson Trio
2025-10-03 19:00 - 21:00
Music brings people together. Music inspires us to go beyond what we see and strive for more. It makes us want to stand up for ourselves, save the world, and fall in love. Every now and then you find yourself lost in a piece that reminds you of times gone by, adventures to come, and the people who weave in and out of our lives. When The John Chiasson Trio started making music over 25 years ago, they couldn’t have known the impact they’d have on fans around the world. Individually, John Chiasson, Charlie
Cooley, and Dave Staples have written, produced, engineered, scored, and taught music in a way that has influenced others in all corners of the globe; but when they get together, it is, as the old saying goes, where the magic happens.
As an established musical group that celebrates that beauty and mystery of jazz around the world, The John Chiasson Trio reminds you that inspiration comes in many forms and the members invite you into their world where you’ll not only appreciate the smooth-sounding soul of jazz, but you’ll discover new ways of looking at music. Jazz music is for everyone, but it speaks to everyone in a different way. You just need to listen. And when you listen to the Trio, you’ll find yourself lost in deep and rich melodies that are inspired by music of all shapes and sizes. Providing audiences with show-stopping performances and an energy that leaves you wondering why you didn’t start listening to
these guys sooner, you’ll find yourself a fan of the jazz world and have a new appreciation for what is possible when three musicians care about the music as much as they care about entertaining their audience.
J o h n C h i a s s o n
Described as a musician in a class of his own, John Chiasson has been a celebrated musician throughout Nova Scotia for over 40 years. Whether he’s shining on stage or perfecting his sound in a studio session, John is dedicated to delighting and creating an experience that reminds people why they love music. John enjoys playing instruments as much as he loves singing and values the diversity and challenge of each. Having worked with the likes of Lennie Gallant, Scott Parsons, The Rankin Family Band, Natalie MacMaster, and Myles Goodwin, John lends his smooth vocals to a wide range of musicians and enjoys blending his strong musical talents with a variety of Nova Scotian artists. Drawing on several influences, John blends his love of soulful jazz with rich music such as swing, Latin, blues, and more. In any situation, John brings his talents to stages around the world and has continued to call Nova Scotia home. Hailed as multi-talented musician with a precision voice that lends well to jazz, John puts on show-stopping performances for his audiences near and far. When John isn’t playing music, he expresses his creativity through photography and enjoys connecting with people who share his love of creation and broadening the awareness of jazz music throughout Canada and the world’s stage.
D A V E S T A P L E S
Dave Staples is a veteran East Coast performer and music educator and maintains a busy freelance career as a pianist, trombonist, composer and recording artist. Dave has performed and recorded with such artists and groups a s Mike Murley, Renee R o s e s , Kenny Wheeler, Kurt Elling, Omar Hakim, the Maritime Jazz Orchestra and Bicoastal Collective as well as numerous East Coast musicians and ensembles, including John Chiasson, Ian Janes, Scott and the Rocks, Mike Cowie, Latin Groove, the Blakey Project, the Mingus Project, the Horace Silver Tribute Band, the Halifax Trombone Summit, the Back Alley Big Band and his own Dave Staples Septet. In 1995, he received the East Coast Music Award (ECMA) with Jeff Goodspeed as Jazz Artists of the Year for their album release of “Eastern Passage”(CBC Productions) and is featured on the 2006 ECMA Jazz Album of the Year “Tom Roach: Piano Trios “(CBC Productions).
Dave taught instrumental music with the Halifax Regional School Board for over 30 years and is co-founder and director of the Nova Scotia Honour Jazz program, which
has worked with talented students of jazz in Nova Scotia for the last 25 years. He has also served a s a board member of JazzEast and was on the Canadian Executive Board
of the International Association for Jazz Education a s Newsletter Editor and Director of Communications from 2003 to 2008.
Charlie Cooley
Charlie Cooley is one of Canada’s most in-demand drummers. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as: Leonard Cohen, Randy Brecker, The Guess Who, Long John Baldry, Anne Murray, Sass Jordan, Amanda Marshall, K.D. Lang, Jimmy Rankin, and The Blues Brothers (musical director – Paul Shaffer)
Charlie is also a member of the Juno Award winning world beat jazz ensemble Manteca. Charlie has been the in-house drummer for many of Canada’s award shows such as The Junos Awards, The East Coast Music Awards, The Gemini Awards, The Canadian Country Music Awards, and the Canada Day Celebrations from Parliament Hil (CBC)
“When I’m playing music – in whatever situation – I’m thinking – what can I do best to support the music? My goal is to help the composition speak directly to the listener.’

Thanksgiving Dinner
2025-10-12 13:00 - 21:00
Join us for a cozy Thanksgiving Dinner at The Frolic & Folk Pub!
Savor a hearty feast where the chicken will stuff you! Warm vibes, and good company await.
Sunday, October 12th, starting at 1 PM.

Thanksgiving Special –
Starter:
Cup of Pumpkin Soup or Salad Greens with an Orange Vinaigrette
Main:
Savoury Stuffed Chicken Breast with Gravy served with Whipped Mashed Potatoe’s, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, with Seasonal Vegetables
Dessert:
Homemade Ginger Cake with a Butterscotch Sauce, topped with Whipped Cream or Pumpkin Pie
$26+ tax
Regular menu available as well

Ria Mae
2025-10-24 20:00 - 22:00
Ria recently had her collaboration “Too Close’ with Canadian singer Dan Talevski certified Platinum, having garnered over 15 million streams on Spotify and counting.
Since the June 2016 release of her full length, self-title album, the three-time JUNO nominee, and multi-platinum selling artist has toured Europe with Tegan and Sara, North America with Dido, and Canada with Scott Helman. She has performed with Elle King, Xavier Rudd, Shawn Hook, Family of the Year, Francesco Yates, Coleman Hell and more.
Ria has enjoyed radio chart success in Canada with platinum certified singles, ‘Clothes Off, Ooh Love, and ‘Bend’, and her songs have been streamed over 70 million times worldwide.

“Amazing show! A great combo of new and old songs. Lots of audience interaction – she even came off stage into the crowd to dance with us! Great lyrics and dance beats. Always a fun show to see Ria!” – loriesen
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Ria Mae Redux
2025-10-25 20:00 - 22:00

Crowdis Bridge
2025-11-14 20:00 - 22:00
Join us for an evening with some of Cape Breton’s finest multi-instrumentalists, vocalists & songwriters.
Crowdis Bridge are lovers and purveyors of roots & traditional music, steeped in bluegrass, old-time, folk, Celtic and country-blues.
Together they promise to create a musical landscape as amazing and diverse as the Island they call home.
Kitchen open till 9PM, Bar licensed till 2AM

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Dave Sampson Redux
2025-12-05 20:00 - 22:00
Dave Sampson writes heart-on-your-sleeve folk/pop songs, delivered with a captivating and
authentic voice that could blow down a brick house. His knack for crafting simple ear-worms
and his high-energy shows have been winning him fans across Canada. He has collaborated
and shared the stage with some of Canada’s top exports such as Classified, Alan Doyle,
Donovan Woods, and more. His 2019 EP All Types of Ways, produced and recorded by
Grammy award-winning songwriter Gordie Sampson in Nashville, TN, earned him two 2020
ECMAs for Country Recording and Rising Star Recording of the Year, as well as a
nomination for Songwriter of the Year. The album features several singles which received
hundreds of thousands of streams on DSPs, were added to many editorially-curated
playlists, and were placed in several national television series and advertising campaigns.
In 2014, Dave released his anticipated debut album “No Pressure, No Diamonds” with
producers/collaborators Carleton Stone, Gordie Sampson and Dylan Guthro (Port Cities).
With the release of this album, “ No Pressure No Diamonds” was nominated for Music Nova
Scotia’s Pop Album of the Year, reached #1 on the East Coast Countdown charts twice and
received national airplay throughout Canada. Dave was also invited to Germany in 2014 with
songwriters Carleton Stone and Breagh Mackinnon to participate in a songwriting retreat
followed by a tour.
Fast forward to 2015, his song “No Pressure, No Diamonds” was interpolated by Canadian
Hip Hop icon Classified and released as his first single (“No Pressure”) on the billboard
charts via Atlantic Records. “No Pressure’ features hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, and was
awarded Gold Record status by Music Canada. Dave also received a songwriting nod on
Classifieds “Oh No” track on his album “Grateful”, and Neon Dreams’ singles “Find a Way” &
“Love Experts” which made it to the billboard EDM top 40.
Dave has also been hand-picked as one of Nova Scotia’s most promising young songwriters
to take part in the prestigious, invitation-only Gordie Sampson Song camp for the past 10
years. Through this opportunity, he has been fortunate enough to collaborate with some of
Canada’s most sought after writers: Gordie Sampson, Caitlyn Smith (Nashville), Sam Ellis
(Nashville), Thomas AWG Salter (TAWGS), and many more.

“Heartfelt, energized and emotional, Dave Sampson has obvious natural talent as a Maritime singer-songwriter.
Recommended for fans of Joel Plaskett, David Myles and Hawksley Workman. ” – Grant Lawrence (CBC Music)

“Not only is Dave Sampson a fantastic singer/songwriter, but his live performance during both shows (as a band
and as a solo artist) was second to none. The level of comfort that he and his band have on stage oozes with
every movement made.” – HalifaxBloggers.ca @ EAST COAST MUSIC WEEK 2016

“Dave Sampson writes a great, heartfelt pop song and has a warm, inviting, laid-back style that will no doubt
appeal to a wide cross-section of people. It’s not hard to imagine his music lighting up the radio and drawing
crowds” – The Scope, St. John’s, NL

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