The pandemic has taken away or greatly changed the livelihoods of many; and musicians may be among the hardest hit.

With no end in sight on restrictions on large gatherings, many musicians are longing for the feeling of playing in front of a live audience sa国际传媒� something that has been basically impossible since March 2020.

Even prior to the pandemic, finding spaces to play shows in Penticton has always been a challenge, according to Stephanie Lines the lead singer of Penticton-based band Yarrows.

The diminishing number of venues in the city has long been a concern for artists in the local music scene, Lines said.

sa国际传媒淧enticton has had an ongoing venue challenge to be honest and itsa国际传媒檚 getting frighteningly worse because the small businesses are finding it so hard and shutting down,sa国际传媒� Lines said.

sa国际传媒淔or us as well, we tend to play music that is a bit more punk-rock or experimental and so having venues that will actually appreciate having us is very challengingsa国际传媒� but it continues to get worse with the housing crisis and now with COVID.

sa国际传媒淔or me, itsa国际传媒檚 pretty scary to look at the future of shows.sa国际传媒�

Despite a trying year, lines and her band managed to release the bandssa国际传媒� debut album Stardust Motor Inn this summer.

The three-piece bandsa国际传媒檚 debut album sa国际传媒� named after a now defunct Penticton motel sa国际传媒� aims to convey Pentictonsa国际传媒檚 unique dichotomy of natural beauty and sa国际传媒渓anguid slownesssa国际传媒� through their blend of psychedelic country and existential dream rock.

In a normal year, the albumsa国际传媒檚 release would have been met with a handful of local shows and likely a tour, but due to COVID-19 that wasnsa国际传媒檛 possible.

The band was able to perform a small, outdoor, socially distanced show for their album release party in August, but that was the extent of the albumsa国际传媒檚 live promotion to date.

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Rob McLaren, one half of Kelowna duo , has been organizing and performing concerts in Penticton for over 15 years.

While hesa国际传媒檚 been frustrated with not being able to play shows, he understand the severity of the pandemic and the importance of the public health orders. sa国际传媒淭he last thing I personally want to do is minimize a crisis because Isa国际传媒檓 inconvenienced,sa国际传媒� McLaren said.

McLaren also said COVID-19 has brought new opportunities for creativity.

sa国际传媒淚 think as musicians we have to kind of live like this (COVID) isnsa国际传媒檛 going waysa国际传媒� I think we have to think creatively. Working in Penticton as a musician, yousa国际传媒檙e already running the gauntlet with how to be creative with like-minded people.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e played on-top of a parkade because thatsa国际传媒檚 what somebody thought up, you have to continually evolve in this town because theresa国际传媒檚 no way yousa国际传媒檙e going to be able to present (your music) and COVID is just a new hurdle to jump over.sa国际传媒�

Many live-streamed virtual performances have taken place during the pandemic, offering at least some way for musicians to play live for their fans. But for obvious reasons the experience just isnsa国际传媒檛 the same for both fans and artists. For some musicians, virtual performances arensa国际传媒檛 even worth the time.

McLaren himself has struggled to adapt to live-streaming performances.

sa国际传媒淭he little imperfections that make a live performance beautiful live are the same things that kill it on a stream,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲hen somebodysa国际传媒檚 consuming music through a phone or a computer yousa国际传媒檙e kind of in a space where sa国际传媒� for better or worse sa国际传媒� yousa国际传媒檙e conditioned for perfection.sa国际传媒�

While live-streamed performances may not be the permanent answer, they do at least offer some form of interaction with bands.

In Penticton, music fans will soon have another way of catching live performances from a distance. The local community radio station, Peach City Community Radio Society 92.9 CFUZ-FM, was recently awarded a grant that will help launch a new series showcasing live, on-air performances by local musicians.

Video and audio content from the performance will then be created from the performances and shared online.

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Lines is hopeful that her band Yarrows will be able to book a slot for a live, on-air performance with CFUZ in the near future.

Having just launched an album, Lines said the pandemic has made promoting her bandsa国际传媒檚 first release very challenging. sa国际传媒淭ouring and playing shows is really when yousa国际传媒檙e able to connect with other musicians and music loverssa国际传媒� without that wesa国际传媒檙e a little lost,sa国际传媒� she said.

Despite this, she said the local community has received the album very well and has been very supportive.

The pandemic has also been very tough financially for bands who rely on touring and merchandise sales for most of their revenue.

On top of being able to promote themselves and gain new followers at shows, many artists also generate the majority of their revenue by playing shows. Streaming services such a Spotify and Apple Music are hardly profitable for smaller artists. Spotify currently pays artists $0.004 per stream, meaning an artist would need to log 1000 streams to earn $4. Apple Music pays $0.00783 per stream.

Lines said sa国际传媒渂uying musicsa国际传媒� is the best way to support local musicians during the pandemic. is the ideal platform to purchase music through, as artists get paid directly through the website, Lines said.

Locally, she said buying records from local shops like the Grooveyard record store is a great way to get started supporting local musicians.

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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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