Mariannie Ompoc and the MO Band deliver hits ‘new and old’ at Sessions

Mariannie Ompoc has been performing since she was four years old, brought up around gospel music.

But now as adult in her mid 30s, she continues to grow as a pop singer and writer, creating her own original music and releasing albums as a solo artist.

But she also leads Mariannie Ompoc and the MO Band, a quartet who played at Sessions on the River Friday night, performing mostly top-40 cover songs that are both “new and old,” she told Fort Erie Radio before taking the stage at the recording studio on Niagara Parkway.

“We have a lot of fun doing it,” she said, explaining the band formed about six years ago and started playing the winery circuit in the region.

Ompoc and her band of three instrumentalists have performed at Sessions a handful of times, a unique venue at which she enjoys playing.

It’s a small, intimate setting, but the livestreams of her performances are recorded and can be used in promoting the band on the web.

“It’s audio and visual, which is the main appeal,” she said.

“I think a lot of musicians can attest to that,” she added, referring to having professional-quality footage to share online.

Sessions on the River was established in 2008 and hosts weekly concerts, usually on Saturdays but sometimes on Fridays.

It holds an audience of about 120 people and has a liquor license.

During the week, owner Chris Curry records a variety of artists, many of them being hip-hop artists in recent years, he said.

Artists from Niagara seek his services, but also many from places outside the region like Toronto.

As of late, they’ve been referred to as the “legendary” Sessions on the River, he told Fort Erie Radio, a compliment he’s proud of.

“They’ve heard of us, which is cool,” he said.

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