For fifteen years now, on a Saturday night in October, a room full of Newfoundlanders has gathered at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John's to hear a band that has been part of the province's musical furniture for more than three decades. The Concert of Hope is one of the Eating Disorder Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's largest fundraisers, and this year's edition, the fifteenth, brings The Masterless Men back to the stage alongside Black Gold, with VOCM's Greg Smith hosting. It is a night that has become a fixture on the local calendar.
The Masterless Men take their name from a much older story. In the 1750s, British Navy press gangs carried off strong young men from the southern and western counties of Ireland to work in the far-flung colonies of the New World, including the Colony of Avalon, now Ferryland, on Newfoundland's Southern Shore. According to the band's own account of its history, a group of these so-called Irish youngsters, led by Peter Kerrivan, defied their masters and, under sentence of hanging, retreated into the mountainous Avalon Wilderness known as the Butter Pots. There they eluded the British for what the band describes as more than a century, and became known as the Masterless Men. The story faded from the written record but survived in the folk tradition of the Southern Shore.
In 1991, a new band of Masterless Men was formed, led by John Curran of Ferryland. This time the retreat was to rehearsal halls and recording studios rather than the wilderness. They paid their dues in the bars and community concert halls of the Southern Shore and St. John's, and in 1993 released their first album, "Ode to Age." That record moved them onto the larger festivals and concert halls around Newfoundland. Their second album, "Breakin' New Ground," followed on March 9, 1996, produced by Gabriel Award-winning producer Gary O'Driscoll. Radio and television appearances and sell-out festival crowds came with it. By the time the Concert of Hope began, the band was already a beloved constant in the province's music scene.
The Concert of Hope is not a one-off benefit that a band agreed to play once. It has run annually for fifteen years, and the Masterless Men have been its headliners for much of that stretch. Wilf Curran, a member of the band, is himself a long-standing member of the foundation's board, and in a 2023 interview ahead of that year's concert he spoke about why the cause matters to him. He said that spreading awareness and educating the public on the realities of eating disorders is crucial, and that while the issue continues to grow across the province, the foundation is educating itself as well as the public and remains dedicated to helping families. John Curran added that the band is immensely proud to be associated with the foundation, and that the fundraiser holds a special spot in the band's heart.
That personal connection is part of what has kept the event going. The Eating Disorder Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is a leadership advocacy group dedicated to promoting research and providing public support services and information about matters related to eating disorders, including information on available treatment services for individuals and families. Its work is province-wide. The foundation offers advocacy, support, and direction toward treatment, and its caregiver programming includes the Bridge to Hope education group, Parents of Hope, and a sibling group. It operates out of 13 Pippy Place in St. John's, with a phone line at 709-722-0500 and a toll-free number at 1-855-722-0500. In August 2025, the provincial government took part in the launch of the foundation's bilingual website, a recognition of how far its reach has grown.
This year's concert carries an extra marker: it coincides with the foundation's twentieth anniversary. Two decades of advocacy and support work, capped by a fifteenth annual fundraiser in the same hall, is a milestone worth noting. The event listing notes that proceeds from the evening go toward programs and services supporting families across Newfoundland and Labrador who are affected by eating disorders.
The 2026 Concert of Hope is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre, 95 Allandale Road. The listing gives the show time as 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Admission is listed at $40 to $45, and the event is open to all ages. Tickets are available through the Arts and Culture Centre box office, which can be reached at (709) 729-3900 and is open Monday to Friday from noon to 6:00 p.m., with extended hours on weekend main theatre show days.
For anyone who has followed the Masterless Men across the years, the appeal of the night is straightforward: the same band, the same room, the same cause, once a year. For anyone who has not, it is a chance to hear a group whose name reaches back to a band of fugitives in the Avalon Wilderness, playing in support of an organization that, as Wilf Curran put it, relies on donors to keep helping families across the province. Fifteen years in, the Concert of Hope has become exactly what its name suggests: a local tradition built on music and a stubborn commitment to a cause that does not get much of a spotlight otherwise.