THE S'AINTS KEEP ROCKIN'
Sleighing Hunger concert to go online Dec. 18
There may not be a in-person audience this year, but the Sleighing Hunger rock concert by The S'aints is marching online.
Local musical talents Jody Raffoul, Jeff Burrows, Wes Buckley, David Cyrenne, Kelly Hoppe, Kelly Authier, Marty Bak, Liz Robinson, and Stephanie Baker present their popular annual Christmas-themed performance via live stream on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
Viewers can log onto the streaming platform Sessions Live (sessionslive.com/thesaints/tickets) for $25.
Higher-priced ticket bundles are available for viewing on multiple devices or to download digital albums, including the latest, Nothing But Christmas.
As usual, proceeds will go toward regional food bank programs: This year, it's the Unemployed Help Centre in Windsor and Outreach for Hunger in Chatham.
COVID-19 prevention measures have made concerts mostly impossible in 2020, but drummer Burrows said the entire S'aints band was “100 per cent” behind the idea of going virtual this year.
“The concern was whether we could get together and film it,” Burrows said.
Eventually, a physically-distanced shooting location was chosen on the St. Clair College campus, where the first performance of The S'aints took place 10 years ago.
St. Clair College president Patti France said she's confident Windsor-essex and Chatham-kent will continue to support the event in its online format, due to its important purpose.
“If any year has ever warranted the old show business expression `The show must go on,' it is this one,” France said.
June Muir, president of the Windsor-essex Food Bank Association, said local food banks have had 85,000 visits since the start of the pandemic.
“The support we receive annually from the Christmas performance allows us to continue serving the most vulnerable in Windsor-essex as we work to address local hunger and food insecurity issues,” Muir said.
To date, The S'aints have raised more than $270,000 for food banks across the region through concert proceeds and Christmas album sales.
Along with St. Clair College, the event is sponsored by LIUNA Local 625.
Rob Petroni of LIUNA said hearing The S'aints play for a Christmas cause has become a LIUNA tradition. “We're happy to be involved with such a large-scale community effort for food banks in both Windsor-essex County and Chatham-kent.”
As for what viewers can expect from the hour-long concert on Dec. 18, Burrows said there will be the usual S'aints twists on holiday classics — as well as some great new original songs by Jody Raffoul.
Find out more at sessionslive. com/thesaints/tickets.