Brandt among acts to perform in virtual bash
A diverse lineup of homegrown musical talent has been enlisted to help the city celebrate Canada Day at home with a series of performances pre-recorded at the National Music Centre.
The City of Calgary, which is encouraging Calgarians to dress in red and white and paint their faces while staying at home on Canada Day, released the lineup Monday afternoon.
Due to the COVID -19 pandemic, no outdoor events or activities are planned in the city for Canada Day.
But Calgarians will be able to see a concert highlighting the diversity of Calgary’s music scene. Country artist Paul Brandt, soul singer Lynn Olagundoye, singer-songwriter T. Buckley, experimental indie rocker Chad Vangaalen and blues-rock Métis/cree artist Bebe Buckskin will be featured.
The concerts were all pre-recorded last weekend at the Studio Bell theatre and on the King Eddy stage. The performance will range from a full-band setup for Buckskin to more stripped-down performances by Brandt and Olagundoye, who were both accompanied by pianists. They will air on the City of Calgary’s Youtube and Facebook pages starting at 5 p.m. on July 1.
“What we’ve always tried to do at the National Music Centre is try to tell Canada’s national music story,” said Andrew Mosker, president and CEO at the National Music Centre. “Obviously, you can’t do that every single time you put on a program, you have to have a series of programs in order to represent the diversity. But we did the best we could do working with the City of Calgary, knowing that we only had a limited number of performing slots and we had to work with artists who live here in this region to limit travel.
“They were all available and all in this area, and it nicely represents a really great cross-section of the diversity of our city and our community and our country and the music that’s associated with each of them. So we’re really proud of the lineup.”
Brandt, a Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer and philanthropist, will also be featured in a Calgary segment on CBC’S Canada Day Across the Country. The National Music Centre has been involved in Canada Day celebrations since opening July 1, 2016.