By Lisa Gervais
The Haliburton County Folk Society (HCFS) said it’s developing a livestreamed concert series featuring local musicians.
Two of the expected four concerts are scheduled for April 11 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. and will be live-streamed from the Dominion Hotel on the society’s Facebook page.
The April 11 concert features Albert Saxby, while April 25 showcases Cassidy Taylor.
In light of the current pandemic, the society has had to postpone or cancel most of its current activities. Upcoming concerts have been postponed and open stages are on hold. Home Routes concerts have also been cancelled.
“This leaves the community without their usual entertainment options and leaves musicians without the ability to perform and earn money in the usual manner,” the society said in an April 3 press release.
They added that many artists are finding innovative ways to earn income by providing online music lessons and presenting live-streaming concerts.
“The live-streamed concert series is HCFS’ way of supporting local musicians while the current physical distancing and self-isolation protocols are in effect,” the release went on to say.
They had a successful dry run with the support of the CanoeFM Radio Hall. The performers were Nick & Benton (Nick Russell and Benton Brown). The concert helped the HCFS work out many of the issues associated with presenting a quality live-streaming concert.
“It was a big success with more than 200 devices tuned-in to watch. With multiple people at each site, that is a very large audience for our local events. This illustrates that there is in fact a demand and has inspired the HCFS to move ahead with the booking of more local artists,” the release said.
All concerts are free but the HCFS will have a donation process that will allow viewers to show their appreciation to the artist in the form of a tip, if they are able. All tips go directly to the artist.
