Sudbury man set to play 60th consecutive New Year's Eve

A man in Sudbury is celebrating a milestone this year.

This New Year's Eve will be the 60th consecutive year he will be performing live for people.

Ron Kelly first got on stage to play for New Year's when he was just 17 years old. He got asked to play by a band at the time called the Vagabonds.

"I'd never played in a band in my life up to that point."

Since then, he hasn't missed a New Year's. But the bands he's played in have changed over the years. "We played for a couple of years and people broke up and went to college and wherever they went. But by that time I was able to get myself established into the bands of the day," says Kelly.

"We weren't playing the hits. We weren't a high school band. We were playing for older people. Oh to be so young now."

For the past 20 years, he's been playing with his fiance Iona Reed. She is also the 1967 world accordion champion. They had a close call last year when their gig was cancelled just days before says Reed.

"Well two days before Ron said I guess my record will be broken and I said no, no, we're not going to give up yet."

But thanks to a friend they played for people celebrating at a local restaurant called the Apollo.

"She saved the day for us," says Reed.

Kelly says he plans to keep playing as long as he can because he loves it so much. Despite dealing with some health problems and fewer people going to dances on New Year's Eve, he's pretty sure he will still be on stage again next year.

"I'm really pleased about the whole thing. It's just a passion and I want to play. I felt that way when I started doing it at 17 and I feel the same now."

This year, Kelly and Reed will be performing at the Lockerby Legion and they say it is already almost sold out.