With an ear for music since her earliest memories, Tracey Delfino has always wanted to sing. Moving to Burk’s Falls in 2020 finally gave her the chance to pursue her dreams and connect with a community of musicians and singers who embraced and celebrated her natural talents as a powerful vocalist in several genres, from country to soul and blues.
Largely under the influence of some key players in Burk’s Falls, particularly guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer Sean Cotton, a thriving live music scene gradually arose around his shows at local venues such as Riverbowl and The Pub—the latter having recently closed. Jamie Oppenheimer has also generated a large following with his 3rd Friday Café held monthly at the Burk’s Falls Legion.
Invited to perform in all three venues, Tracey has surfaced as a respected and revered singer, especially in singing with Sean Cotton, which took her to Huntsville’s Smokin’ Hot BBQ on May 31, 2026. Her duo with local guitarist Eddy Hess has also garnered her increased attention.
At a recent fundraiser for Hess, who has been hospitalized with a serious illness, held at the Burk’s Falls Legion on May 23, 2026, Tracey was greeted with an enthusiastic response from the capacity audience.
Tracey’s collaboration with Hess began about a year ago; he’s “my guitar spirit animal,” and he got her music right away. Tracey chuckles at the memory. Hess has become a guiding force and her best friend in her development, helping her to learn guitar and start writing her own material, which Tracey attributes to really opening her musical heart—finding that means of expression.
Raised in Georgetown, Ontario, Tracey spent the majority of her working life in Milton, Ontario. She attended the same public school class as Sean Cotton and had some minor musical experiences with him in her earlier years. Her parents were long-haul truck drivers, so she gained her independence early in life. Her father was a multi-instrumentalist and band leader, where Tracey surprised his bandmates with her gift for singing. Although she pursued opportunities to perform throughout her life with local bands, she believes it really took settling into the rural atmosphere and ease of Burk’s Falls to open up her confidence to sing in a manner that she always felt was within her.
In 2020, she and her husband purchased the Burk’s Falls Café and Grill, an established eatery in the heart of the Village. With its popular menu for breakfast and lunch, Tracey built a steady clientele, most of whom Tracey greets by name and personally connects with. Open Thursday to Monday, the grill has become a local favourite.
With the support of her family, Tracey began singing first at local jam sessions and then appearing as a frequently featured guest singer for the Riverbowl Ramble, which takes place Sunday afternoons during the winter and Saturday afternoons during the summer. The backing band, led by Sean Cotton, is a virtuosic, encyclopedic trio, capable of playing any style and genre, perfect for guest singers of all stripes.
Tracey points out that venturing into these band settings with Cotton exposed her to vocal ranges she had previously overlooked, like Led Zeppelin and other hard rock styles. A challenge, though daunting, that she finds exhilarating.
Riverbowl – with Sean Cotton- cover “Me & Bobby McGee.” You can watch it on Facebook, HERE.
Although she is still reluctant to play guitar in performance, she finds the instrument vital to her burgeoning songwriting, often waking in the night to write down notes or catch melodies or phrases running through her thoughts.
“I finally have a voice for it. It’s like a whole new language. So, I can actually express myself.” Tracey wanted to learn guitar so as to be “more in control of my writing. I’ve always wanted to write, and it’s hard to tell somebody else what you’re trying to play. It’s just always something I’ve wanted to do my whole life.”
With titles like ‘Bought and Sold,’ a song about the current state of world events, as she sees it; ‘Saturday Night,’ a countryish song about her husband and ‘Don’t Make It Harder,’ a song about letting go of the mistakes of the past and getting free in the present, Tracey believes she has cracked open a possibility for herself as a songwriter. Most of these tunes she has played live, and she is making plans to record them- perhaps on her own, or with a qualified engineer or producer.
Somewhat jaded by her earliest professional experiences in the music industry, she’s not sure how vigorously she will chase the opportunities she’s presented with on a local level, but she will definitely keep at her writing and, above all, her singing, which she describes as cathartic and liberating. Singing brings out the best in her, and she gets the joy of sharing that with others. How could it get any better: to do what you love and love what you do?
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