by Brandon Wright
Photo credit: ZAFTIG's Facebook
Like so many other big summer plans, live music and concerts have joined the list of COVID-19 cancellations.
In Oshawa, Ont., venues such as The Music Hall have had to cancel or postpone all scheduled shows.
For Breah Dent, 22, seeing the live music scene negatively impacted has been tough.
“A lot of people are really passionate about live music in the local music scene here,” Dent says. “It’s how they make a living, it’s how they relax, it's how they, you know, stimulate their own creativity and get on their own journeys like I did.”
While this is true for Dent, it is also true for many Canadians.
Abacus Data surveyed Canadians about their music listening patterns earlier this month for Music Canada. The survey showed close to 80 per cent of Canadians use music to relieve stress.
It also showed more than 30 per cent are listening to more music because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dent says she has always loved live music but only really started getting involved when she began managing a local rock band.
ZAFTIG, the Oshawa group she helped manage, exposed Dent to what the music scene had to offer.
“I just got so steeped in the music scene. I just loved it so much,” Dent says. “I started doing sound at the Atria Bar and Grill. And it’s just, it’s been a huge passion of mine ever since I was a teenager. And this was a really great way for me to get involved.”
Earlier this year, the band won Emerging Band of the Year at the Oshawa Music Awards.
The final concert Dent was able to attend was their last show on March 9 at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
She says not being able to go out has been tough.
“I’ve made so many friends that, right now, I can’t see, which makes it super tough,” Dent says. “A lot of the people that I know and then I’ve connected with and really just grown with, have been in the music scene, and it’s just something that is such a nice release for people after a long day, or even a long week of work and stuff like that.”
Carolyn Marshall is a music therapist at Sick Kids Hospital in downtown Toronto, and she says she experiences the same release every day at work.
She agrees someone like Dent would have a tough time adjusting to the lack of live music if it’s something she’s using to feel good.
Marshall says live music is different than listening to a C.D. or a song on the radio.
“So, the live part of that is that now, suddenly, who I am and everything that I am able to be, is now a part of this musical creation,” Marshall says. “No matter how big or how small that engagement is, now I'm a part of the music, which makes it that much more alive, which makes it that much more engaging, that much more personal, that much more intimate, that much more a part of who I am. And I get to share and express a part of who I am with this other person and we share that together.”
The Abacus survey says most of Canada’s music lovers will need at least six months before they will feel confident going to large venues for concerts again.
Dent says she knows next year is going to be very tough for her and the music industry, but she knows it’s a hardworking business.
“I think the music community is especially resilient, because a lot of it you're building out of your own pocket,” she says. “So, I think they'll be able to bounce back.”
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