FridayFolk presents Blood and Fire: The Donnelly Project on Friday, January 30. The concert takes place at Aladdin Banquet Hall, 1035 Mississaga St. W., Orillia, with dinner available before the show. Doors open at 7:00 (or visit Aladdin Restaurant next door if you'd like an earlier meal), showtime is 7:30. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for youth ages 16 and under, available at the door.

The Donnelly Project started as Paul Court's response to the Steve Earle song "Justice In Ontario" -- he began to reflect on different perspectives on the story and events that took place in the 1800s in Ontario. Paul was considering a way to present the songs in performance when Susan Charters, a former band-mate of Paul's, and a storyteller, offered to collaborate on linking the songs with stories to present The Donnelly Project in a concert setting. Their efforts resulted in a variety of performances and the recordings in 2007 for the live CD - "Blood and Fire: The Donnelly Project". Both the show and CD are intended to draw you into the story, let you hear the voices that are willing to speak, revealing or hiding what they wish, and letting you form you own opinion, as so many have, about the brutal events of February 1880 in that small Ontario Township.

Paul and Susan will be joined by the musicians from the "original cast" of the recording: Don Bray (mandolin, guitar, lap slide, vocals), Alyssa Wright (cello, vocals), Jennifer Ives (vocals) and Carol Teal (vocals).