This year has been a big adjustment for musicians, who no longer have the excitement of playing live shows due to COVID-19 — a change that’s not easy to cope with both financially and emotionally.
“It’s certainly been a challenge, not only for myself, but a lot of musicians — locally and also on the international level,” said Steve Keenan, a blues rock artist based in Lethbridge.
He says it’s been very hard to keep the momentum going with all of the uncertainty this year has brought.
“When you’re booked six months to a year in advance, and you’re looking forward to these gigs, and all of a sudden they aren’t there — it can become quite difficult to stay positive and stay on top of your game,” Keenan said.
Keenan says he was in the midst of recording his latest album with band members, but they’ve had to put that on hold with the current restrictions.
He says he still continues to play at home and find others way to express his creativity, but of course it’s not the same as playing in front of a live audience.
Keenan regularly played at Honkers Pub and Eatery prior to COVID regulations becoming stricter. In fact, the stage at the pub is even named after him.
“I’m used to playing a few times a month, so that extra income has certainly come in handy,” Keenan said. “I’m one of the of the fortunate ones, because I still do have a day job.”
Keenan said he has quite a few friends who work as full time musicians who have fell on harder times because of the pandemic.
Breanne Urban is another local musician who hit the stage at Honkers on a regular basis and says it’s not just the performers being impacted by the restrictions.
“It’s not just the musicians who are affected — it’s the production teams, and the lighting teams, and everybody involved behind the scenes,” she said. “The bar owners who have us… then you have your serving staff, your waiters and cooks and everybody,” Urban said.
“So, it’s all kind of intertwined.”
Urban is in two bands, a country band called and the Southern Flyer and a Volbeat tribute band called RebelAngels.
She says she has already had to cancel 30 gigs this year, along with seven trips, some of which included visits to the U.S.
The artists also say not having an outlet to express themselves through live performances has been one of the toughest things to deal with.
“The biggest thing is just having the energy and interaction with people, socializing, and it fills you back up again,” said Shaela Miller, a local country artist.
“When you put it all out, and then you soak it all back in from the audience,” Miller said. “Having that human interaction with your music is important; I love performing.”
Despite all the negatives, Miller is trying to stay upbeat.
“Sometimes I just have to ignore it, ignore what’s going on and live in the moment,” she said. “I have two kids, and just focusing on other things that are not as music related. Just do things,” she said.
“Live in the now and find the silver lining,” Miller added.
With all the free time, the country artist is almost done her new album, which is expected to be released sometime in February.