(Be the Saviour – photos by Sara Murphy Photography)
Cornwall ON – Cornwall has a lively and vibrant music scene. There’s some really good talent amidst our city and they love to come out and play for a good cause like the fund raiser for Chris Campbell that took place at Murphy’s Inn on Saturday night.
Winston Marley – Photo by Sara Murphy Photography
Over $1000 was raised to help defer his medical expenses and there was a huge bill of talent including Graham Greer, Joel Sauve, Be the Saviour, Winston Marley, and even more acts.
City Council Hopefuls Todd Bennett & David Murphy with Graham Greer (photo courtesy of Sara Murphy Photography)
Here in Cornwall as a media person you hear a lot of buzz and chatter. Young people complain about not having a “Scene” and not having stuff to do as a reason why some move away. Some performers complain about not being supported locally; about how they can pull in waaaay more people for more $$ in out of town venues, and of course promoters just complain 🙂
I’ve been covering music here in Cornwall for over a year and I have to tell you that things have to change if the Scene is ever going to blossom. More people have to come out and support gigs like this one Saturday night or the upcoming Rock for Charity at Cafe Connectionz on Friday.
I mean come on; 5-7 acts for under $10? This isn’t about satellite and the internet. This isn’t about cable. This is LIVE music and something to break up the mundane. To bond with other humans.
Maybe it’s me? Maybe I’m too old and remember being in packed clubs? But when I see more people outside of a venue smoking that inside bopping to some major talent it makes me shake my head.
So you young people and you young at heart people if you really want bigger and better bands start supporting your scene. Get your asses down to events and scream! Show your support and convince those promoters to bring you in bigger and better talent and help the cream of the crop stick around Cornwall and be really buzzed to play here.
It’s a challenge, but like our municipal elections that are coming up you get the government you deserve and you get the musical scene you deserve.
There’s a new Cornwall a coming and we can make some magical things happen if we want to.
Rock for Charity 8 is Friday October 15th at Cafe Connectionz
Friday October 15th 2010 – Rock for Charity VIII with Winston Marley (Joel Plamondon, Marc Brault, and Ron Piquette), Anna Marie Newton, Candice Bedard, Chris Lavoie, Chantalle Rose and Ryan McGillis, Whiskey Sour (Scott Reasbeck and Andre Piette), and host Jason Setnyk at Cafe Connectionz in Cornwall – All Ages/6:30pm/$5 minimum donation. A benefit for the United Way of Stormont-Dundas & Glengarry.
What do you think it will take to make the music scene thrive? You can post your comments below. We’ll be at Rock for Charity 8 LIVE Friday night! See you there!
I agree with the article in the sense that Cornwall has a lot of great musicians that come out to these charity events and casual gatherings. I also agree that there needs to be more support from the community and these events and others like it.
Here is one of the problems I have encountered being in this scene. As a newcomer to the area, you find that all these bands and performers have been supporting each other for a number of years now and have grown comfortable doing gigs with each other. They put on a great show and deserve all the credit brought to them for taking the time to perform.
However, they, (the bands and solo artists) offer little or no support for new artists or talents in the area. You will see them at each other`s gigs but never at a gig to someone they haven`t heard of or a style of music that they do not care for. Of course not every single individual has this problem but for the most part, they show support for themselves and no one else.
If you want the community to respect these performances I suggest the people who are in the spotlight now to move over and make some room for new talent. There are many local bands, DJ`s and M.C.s who have been shunned by the promoters because they are unknown and not part of this -click-.
If these artists would realise that support is a two-way street, perhaps then they could fill the seats.
If you know someone who might want to play an upcoming Rock for Charity (admittedly these are acoustic concerts, so we are looking for something on the lines of that), you are welcome to get a hold of me at any time. I welcome new artists, musicians, and bands. Cheers!