Mitch Rayner is gearing up for an evening of original music at Black Pug Live on Friday, August 28th. This intimate performance will also feature a set from John Boulay.

This show marks a shift for Pierre Doucet, owner of Black Pug Records and Black Pug Live, who routinely features metal, hard rock and punk acts in his venue.

“Pierre really wanted to focus on the metal and hard rock side when opening the venue,” says Mitch, “which I totally get, but he also wants to break the mold a little.”

Conversations between Pierre and Mitch started even before Black Pug opened its doors. The prospect of changing the intense standing-room atmosphere to a more relaxed seating arrangement was something that had been in talks for quite some time.

The show will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday evening, with an hour set from each of the two artists. This will allow both of them to focus on original music and bring Bathurst a true singer/songwriter set.

This will be a nice change for him, who routinely belts out vocals for Helltown during shows that can last two to three hours.

The event will feature a pay-what-you-can model, where there’s no set admission price.

“It will be a nice pop-in to see what’s going on,” he says. “Especially if you’re not one for louder, more intense shows. This might bring in a different kind of crowd.”

This comes on the heels of another exciting announcement, he’s received the Creation Grant from ArtsNB to record a full-length studio album.

Mitch had applied for the grant a couple of times in the past. While he received rejections on those previous applications, he didn’t let it discourage him. In fact, he wants local artists to understand just how many resources are out there. While you might not get accepted every time, the grants exist, and there are many successful applicants every year.

To complete the application, you need to provide a resume of your musical history and what your plans are for the future, letting them know that you’ve really thought it through.

He considers himself lucky because a portion of the grant money is there to supplement the cost of working, allowing artists to focus on the project full-time. He, though, is working full-time and will record the album during his spare time, which allows him to allocate more of the money toward the project.

“My process for the record is that half the songs are already written and are being refined, while the other half will be songs written specifically for the project.”

Once the album is completed and released, he’d love to do an album release party here in Bathurst and hopefully take the album out on the road.

“It’s a dream of mine to take it around to venues that I’ve played in the past and find new ones, especially in Atlantic Canada.”

But for Mitch, the dream scenario is a box of his albums arriving at his doorstep and being able to pick them up and hold them in his hand.

He aims to release the album in 2027

If you don’t catch him this Friday night, he’ll be back at Black Pug Live on Tuesday, September 22nd, where he’ll be opening for Pro Wrestling the Band.

We want to thank Mitch for talking to us about his upcoming show and his new project. We wish him the best.

Well, that’s it for another edition of the Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.