Saturdays in the Park worth taking a road trip to Lunenburg

The Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society’s weekly free summer concert series includes Halifax-based musical artists Chudi Harris and Campbell & Johnston

CITYnews halifax \ Steve Gow
about 10 hours ago

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A weekly outdoor event that started during the pandemic as a way to prop up a struggling music industry in the fallout of pandemic restrictions is returning to Lunenburg — with an expanded program.

“We had bandstand presentations prior to that but we re-marketed it during COVID and moved the date to Saturdays,” says Louis Robitaille, the president of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society about the group’s free Saturdays in the Park afternoon concert series.

A set of ten concerts that take place in Lunenburg’s iconic downtown bandshell from 2 to 3 p.m., Saturdays in the Park is promising to blossom into an even more popular event this year with the lifting of COVID-19 measures and the renewed eagerness of people to get out to enjoy live entertainment.

“We are hearing now that inflation is such and gas prices are such that people aren’t travelling, but they still want to get out and do something,” notes Robitaille, hopeful that Saturdays in the Park provides a close-to-home alternative for Haligonians looking for a short day trip. “I think those series of concerts are going to be quite popular.”

Due to the restrictive measures taken at the Atlantic Canadian provincial borders during the pandemic, Saturdays in the Park was limited to showcasing talent from Nova Scotia when it launched its inaugural season in 2020.

Last year, the organizers were able to open the event up to some other Maritime performers, but Robitaille is now pleased to present a wide array of talent from outside the region in this year’s programming.

“Currently, the rules are such that it’s wide open and hopefully that won’t change,” says Robitaille. “We have people from Ontario and Quebec and right across the Maritimes, and we include diversity so we have individuals who are people of colour in our line-up.”

From acclaimed Prince Edward Island-based instrumental trio, Inn Echo (who perform on July 2) to four time 2022 Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated artist Rob Lutes (July 9), the Saturdays in the Park line-up offers a wide array of genres and musical styles.

“I’m looking forward to Youngtree and the Blooms from Newfoundland,” adds Robitaille about the July 23 show featuring the alt-country folk quintet from St. John’s. “They’re a great young group with a lot of energy.”

Among the other acts taking part will be Halifax-based blues-rock power duo, Campbell & Johnston (July 30), Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson (August 20) and Halifax’s own Chudi Harris.

“I don’t have any expectations for the show to be honest,” admits the R&B recording artist about his July 16 Lunenburg appearance in an email. “You just kind of want to get in front of folks interested in hearing good live music regardless of the genre. My hope is that there will be lots of families and tourists out (and) an engaging crowd that loves chill guitar-based music.”

The truth is, Chudi Harris is not the typical sort of artist one might expect to see performing on the afternoon bandstand in Lunenburg. A multitalented artist that mixes elements of modern synth-based R&B, soul and contemporary blues, Harris’s invitation shows that the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society’s interest in expanding the program lies beyond the narrow parameters of folk music.

“I think the more space that our music community in this province can create for non-traditional artists, artists of colour and who are marginalized, the better,” notes Harris.

“No artist wants to be put into a box based on who they are or what they look like, (and) you still have to adapt your performance to fit the space which I don’t always love, but that’s the reality of being a performer. You just want to be given the opportunity to play.”

For more information about Saturdays in the Park, visit the website.