When:Saturday September 27, 2025- 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm)
Where: Pinestone Resort - 4252 Haliburton County Road 21, Haliburton, ON, K0M 1S0
Tickets: $35, $30 for HCFS members and students, $40 at the door. Children and Youth 18 & under are free. Children 12 & under must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets must be obtained online to reserve a ticket for Children and youth.
Meet SANDRA BOUZA
(Pronounced Bōh-zah)
Most of the music we listen to never really gets under our skin. As pleasant and catchy as it may be, it skims along the surface, like a stone skipping across water. Every now and then, if we are really lucky, we encounter an artist like Sandra Bouza who gets right down into our blood and bones. An artist whose voice stops us in our tracks.
It’s not something that happens overnight. Sandra, who was born in Toronto, and spent her childhood flitting back and forth between Canada and Spain, has been preparing for her whole life to arrive where she is right now. Never at home in any one place, she’s always had an outsider’s sense of not quite fitting into her surroundings. Sandra recalls, “When I was growing up, I was always on the fringes of wherever I was. When I was in Canada, I didn’t feel like I was Canadian. When I was in Spain, I didn’t feel like I was Spanish.”
Always a keen observer, Sandra absorbed many of the sights and sounds of her father’s Galician homeland in Northern Spain where she spent nearly half of every other year. Her mother homeschooled her in much more than the academic subjects she was missing while away from her Canadian home. Encouraged to listen closely to songs on the radio as well as records from her mother’s large collection, she received a natural education in music, and has been singing and playing guitar from a very young age.
It was a natural step for Bouza to choose a life in music, and to begin performing professionally in Canada. Right from the start, she worked tirelessly on her craft and walked through every door that opened, but a new element was needed if she was going to take her music where it needed to go. So, after a decade of writing and singing her own songs at home, Sandra’s life took another turn when a planned six-week sojourn to Morocco turned into a three-year long odyssey. Away from her familiar surroundings, Bouza continued to perform and develop her skills until she knew it was time to come home.
Sandra hit the ground running when she returned to Toronto. Within her first year at home, she won the Toronto Blues Talent search and came second in the city’s prestigious Soul Slam. The early promise of ‘Three Years,’ her 2018 Ep, and ‘Falling Away From Me,’ her first full length album that followed in 2020, put everyone on notice that Sandra Bouza was an artist to watch.
Everything came together for Sandra during an artist’s residence on Halls Island where she wrote most of the material for her upcoming album, ’A Sound in the Dark. ’Everyone who’s heard her sing knows that Sandra’s always been a powerful vocalist and a compelling songwriter, but with the new recording, she has truly found her own voice, and the promise of her earlier work has come to full fruition.
“This record is truly me - more me than I have ever been able to give up to this point. With the new songs, I share more of myself than I have ever been able to do before.”
You can hear echoes of Etta James and Carla Thomas in Bouza’s powerful and highly nuanced phrasing. Like Amy Winehouse and Adele, Sandra’s absorbed a lot from listening to the greats from the golden age of R and B, but like them, she has emerged with a style that is all her own. Gifted with a masterful sense of poise and control, few singers can inhabit a vocal like Bouza does.
Sandra has never shied away from the kind of tough subjects that you have to have lived through to sing convincingly about. Sober for several years now, her music continues to touch on personal struggles, but as a person, she has moved onto higher ground.
sandrabouza.com
Opening Act - Lizzy Clarke
Lizzy Clarke has worn many musical hats over the years—singer, songwriter, bandleader, producer, and teacher—but at the heart of it all, she just loves making music and helping others do the same.
Her sound blends jazz harmonies with the earthiness of folk and the groove of soul, creating music that feels both familiar and fresh.
After starting out with classical training, Lizzy fell in love with jazz, soul, and pop and went on to earn a degree in Contemporary Music from Humber College. She released three albums with The Spandettes, a funk-disco vocal trio that found an unexpected fan base in Japan. She also fronted Toronto’s Motown-inspired band The Intentions, leading the group with powerhouse vocals and dynamic stage presence. Lizzy has always had a passion for songwriting and arranging, spearheading solo projects such as Lizzy and the Pretty Boys, releasing music under the pseudonym ELSY, and producing an EP under her own name in 2019.
Alongside her work as a performer and songwriter, Lizzy is a dedicated vocal coach and music educator. Her teaching style is holistic, functional, and rooted in musicianship, helping singers understand how their voices work while strengthening their ear, rhythm, and confidence. Whether working with aspiring professionals, hobbyists, or seasoned performers, she encourages singers to dream big and embrace their unique sound.
Like many musicians, Lizzy stepped back from performing during the pandemic to focus on her coaching business. However, the break sparked a renewed vision, and she is back with fresh material and a fresh perspective.
Now based in Haliburton, ON, Lizzy continues to write, record, and teach—locally in her home studio and globally via Zoom. She also lends her voice to other artists for backup vocals, harmony arrangements, and studio projects worldwide.
With a voice that carries both technical finesse and raw emotion, Lizzy is stepping into this next chapter eager to share her songs, stories, and sound with the world.
