Even though musical theatre aficionados can’t sing live in person,  they can at least sing together online.

 Lethbridge Musical Theatre was just hitting their stride with regular Broadway open mic nights at the Owl Acoustic Lounge when Covid hit and live entertainment got shut down.

 However, Jillian Bracken is excited to  to bring back Broadway open mics, in spirit anyway, with a special virtual Broadway open mic, Feb. 27 beginning at 8 p.m

“ We did one in the fall of 2018 then three in 2019 and then Covid hit,” Bracken recalled.

“We started them at Casa, then moved to the Owl, which had a different vibe. It became more about the community getting together and having fun performing,” she continued.

“That’s what makes it special,” she said adding the Zoom event will have a different vibe again.

“We kept hoping we’d be able to perform live again, but it kept getting delayed and delayed again,” she said adding artists have been forced to adapt by doing these sorts of events online.

“It will work and  we’ll be ready for whenever we are allowed to perform again,” she said, six people have already signed up through the Facebook event, with many more signing up to be part of the audience.

Allan Roy Wilson’s music has hit the right note with people all over the world, but he wasn’t going to take a rest during Covid last year. He just released his first full length, 10 song CD “ I Just Want You To Come Home” at the end of 2020.

“I started releasing the songs two and a half years ago between 2018 and 2019. I thought if I can write seven songs, then I can write three more,” said Wilson, noting all of the songs on the CD are the only ones he had for the project.
The well known member of the McKillop United Church band and local cover bands got inspired by the events of 2020 and Covid to write three new songs to complete the long awaited new CD.

 Three tracks, “You Should Not Walk Alone,” “Roadhouse” and “Love And Grace (Everywhere),” have already received crescendos of praise from fans all over the world on social media platforms.

He engaged an all star local orchestra to help fill out the sounds he created.
“I went into the studio with 99 per cent of the songs written. So I had a good idea of what I wanted the songs to sound like before I went into the studio,” he said.
“It’s like directing a film. I had the script written and gave everyone their parts,” he described, noting he had to work around his musical guests’ schedules as well as Covid protocols.

“When I decided not to put together a band for this project, it meant I could bring in who I needed. I would tell them what I wanted to hear and let them go with it,” Wilson explained, noting lead guitarist Steve Keenan added a hot solo for “Music Makes Me Fly.”

“It only took two takes. They were great. I asked him if he wanted to do another take and he said nope, we’ve got it,” Wilson said.
Moberly studio owner James Odenburg, who produced the Cd, also added lead guitar on most tracks and bass on “Music Makes Me Fly”and “You Should Not Walk Alone,” one of the earliest and most popular tracks. Wilson sings lead vocals and plays mandolin and rhythm guitar on his CD.

Oldenburg’s bandmate Paul Holden, who also plays with several local bands including Hippodrome, plays bass on most tracks. Hippodrome saxophonist Ryan Heseltine adds sax to a couple of tracks. Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra cellist Mark Rodgers and bassoonist Robert George play on several of the tracks.

There’s no moss on local musician Taylor Ackerman.

 He is first out of the gate to release new music in the new year as “ Stand Tall,” the first single from Taylor Ackerman’s Global Acid Reset’s upcoming new Ep “Encephalon,” will be released Jan. 8
 The rest of the five song EP will be released online on Feb. 5.

 Like last year’s CD, “Perfect Vision,” “Encephalon” will only be available online.

Thew five song EP includes three originals and covers of the Sadies’ “Talking Down” and Lee Hazelwood’s “Cold Hard Times.”
“‘Stand Tall’ is a song I wrote about 10 years ago and played with Toques and Beards, ” said Ackerman, who chipped away at the project in his downtown studio space throughout Covid last year and played live in between lockdowns.  It is about longstanding musical venue the Slice.

“This is a more rock and roll version. The original version was more of an acoustic singer / songwriter version because I was really into (Winnipeg musician) Scott Nolan, who is a really excellent storyteller,” Ackerman continued, adding he borrowed his talented friends when they were available to record on the new songs.

“I also changed the key because my voice is lower than it was then,” Ackerman added.

The new EP features Dustin Gegel playing drums on most tracks. Tyler Bird plays bass on most of the tracks including  “Stand Tall” on which he also plays drums.

 Don Cassell sings on “Stand Tall,”  sings harmonies on others and plays harp throughout the CD,  which reflects Ackerman’s long affinity with the blues.

It is said that William Shakespeare wrote some of his greatest works including King Lear in the middle of a plague. As Covid 19 shut down most live entertainment for the year, local theatre troupes have explored the depths of their imaginations to cope with a crazy year in 2020.

 Theatres were among the venues forced to close due to Covid. So they found other ways to get their art to their audience, mostly going the online route.

New West Theatre’s popular December holiday show is a huge part of a lot of Lethbians’ holiday celebration. Not being able to have live shows, the  talented cast recorded videos of themselves performing Christmas classics, which they released during the holiday season. They utilized their own radio station 90.7 f.m. to broadcast a quick three song soundtrack to accompany a beautiful new light show at the Yates Theatre.

 Perhaps taking a cue from country star Gord Bamford, they turned their annual August production into an outdoor  “Live at the Drive in” show. Audiences could watch their variety show of ’50s and ’60s jukebox hits from their comfort of their vehicles while listening to the music on the radio. In July, they performed classic radio plays including Alfred Hitchcock’s “39 Steps, ”  Sherlock Holmes’ “Murder at the Casbah,”  “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and two episodes of Flash Gordon.

Their March production of Dear Johnny Deere, inspired by the music of Fred Eaglesmith was really well done, but they had to cancel their last few shows due to Covid restrictions imposed in March.