Spirit of Tony Turner Award Concert

The Spirit of Tony Turner Award, affectionately known as the SofTTie, recognizes individuals in the Ottawa region who have made important contributions, on stage and/or behind the scenes, in support of folk musicians and folk musical culture. The award, created in 2016, was named in honour of the hometown singer-songwriter who developed and honed his songwriting and performing skills here in Ottawa. It’s presented annually in recognition of an individual’s selfless giving of their time and talent to benefit the local music community.

Since the early 1990s, Tony Turner has been writing and recording well-crafted, thoughtful and sometimes humorous songs which he delivers with his rich baritone voice supported by acoustic guitar & harmonica. Tony has a highly developed social conscience and a unique ability to channel the issues of our times into musical observations and reflections.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Tony relocated to British Columbia in 2017 but returns every fall to present the award named in his honour. This year, Tony will host and MC the award show and will, as well, perform several songs. The highlight of the evening will be Tony’s presentation of the 2025 SofTTie award to Marilyn Stratton-Zimmer, a highly respected and long time member of the Ottawa music community.

Marilyn began appreciating music at a very tender age, sitting on the piano bench while her mother sang and played the popular tunes of the day. As an adult, local musical activities triggered Marilyn's aspirations and love of singing along. She was inspired to pick up the guitar and began spending a lot of time at Rasputin’s Folk Café and The Stone Angel, enjoying their regular jams and open stages.

At the Stone Angel, Marilyn organized a weekly musical incubator for aspiring women singers and musicians. When The Stone Angel closed, Marilyn was invited to hold this event at Rasputin’s Folk Café where she opened the program up to both men and women. Marilyn also organized Sunday afternoon shows for aspiring singers and songwriters at the Black Sheep Inn.

From the ashes of Rasputin’s Folk Café, the Spirit of Rasputin’s Art Society was born. One of their ongoing events was a weekly music jam which Marilyn eventually took over running. That led to Marilyn joining the Board at Spirit of Rasputin’s . Among her duties, Marilyn is actively involved in the selection of performers for Rasputin’s annual Featured Artists concert series and she has produced a number of these concerts.

We congratulate Marilyn on being awarded this well deserved symbol of our appreciation for her significant, long-term contributions toward building and supporting the Ottawa and area folk music community.

At this year’s SofTTie Award concert, Marilyn will perform a set accompanied on stage by Larry Ruch (guitar), Paul Chiles (bass and mandolin) and Jack Pyl (flute, vocals and chimes). Also performing by special invitation at the concert will be Karina Kraenzle & The Freshwater Pearls as well as Kay Francis.

Karina Kraenzle is a Canadian artist whose work has been featured in the Ottawa Art Gallery. In addition to painting and sculpting, Karina is a skilled and talented musician who, along with Paul Chiles and Larry Ruch, form a musical trio called The Freshwater Pearls.

Kay Francis is an American-born, now Canadian, folk and jazz singer-songwriter from the Ottawa region. Kay performs original songs about hope and inspiration. Information about Kay and her music can be found on her website, kayfrancis.ca.

Questions? [email protected]

Host or Publisher Spirit of Rasputin’s