Country, rockabilly, and East Coast music don’t always share a setlist, but Ambush has been making that combination work since 1993. The Kingston, Ontario trio plays The Port Theatre in Cornwall on Saturday, November 7, with four hours of music on the schedule and a catalog wide enough to follow a room wherever it needs to go.
About the Show
Ambush formed in Ottawa and is now based in Kingston, Ontario. They’ve built one of Eastern Ontario’s most committed live followings, a fanbase they call the “Ambush Army,” numbering around 250,000 fans across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. That loyalty is earned through shows the band describes as “raw energy, sheer entertainment, and just plain fun”: crowd-interactive, responsive to the room, and paced to keep a dance floor moving well into the night. Their catalog spans country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and East Coast music, with hundreds of songs to pull from depending on where the crowd leads.
The trio of Mark McDonell (vocals, guitar), Kris Lafontaine (vocals, bass guitar), and Danny Derue (vocals, drums) won CMT’s 2006 reality series “Plucked” with more than half the fan vote in the finale, which led to their debut music video for “This Could Be The Night,” a Country Music News top 20 track. A follow-up video for “In This Room” followed. The Canadian Country Music Association nominated Ambush for Independent Group or Duo of the Year in both 2006 and 2007, and for Group or Duo of the Year in 2007.
The band has also taken their show into some uncommon rooms, including performances for Canadian military personnel and civilians in Alert, Nunavut in 2016, 2017, and 2019 — what Ambush has described as “one of the most amazing experiences of our careers.” The November show is part of a 2026 touring run that has included Kingston and Belleville stops earlier in the year.
Venue & Logistics
The Port Theatre has been a Cornwall landmark since 1941. At 450 seats, the theater keeps the stage close enough that Ambush’s crowd-interactive style actually lands — inviting guests on stage, reading the room, keeping the energy up through a four-hour set. All of that works differently when you’re not fighting distance. Located at 132 Montreal Road in Cornwall, Ontario, the theater is accessible from across the North Country region, with the show running 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $25.00. Buy tickets