It's time for summer fun with live performances at ArtsXpeditions!
Summer is unquestionably here with record-breaking hot weather that has found many of us looking to beat the heat with a dip in the closest body of water or a rest in the shade of a park. If you are taking refuge from the sun at your favourite greenspace, you just may find yourself at the latest line-up from the Arts Commons Presents series: ArtsXpeditions! Taking the performing arts outdoors for the second year in a row, the local artists of ArtsXpeditions will be performing everything from flamenco and jazz to Indigenous drumming and DJs mixing dancehall, electronic, and more. ArtsXpeditions is popping up in every quadrant of the city––maybe even at a park near you!
“We are very lucky to have so much talent in this city,” says Josh Dalledonne, Associate Director of Social Impact for Arts Commons. “It’s such a privilege to present these artists to communities all over Calgary and share the energizing effect of the performing arts.”
For this summer, ArtsXpeditions will be doubling (if not tripling!) its locations so that more Calgarians will have a chance to catch a free afternoon concert close to home. This month alone we’ll be making appearances in Olympic Plaza, East Village, Somerset, Hidden Valley, Sunnyside, and Renfrew (just to name a few!) If you want to see where we will be popping up next, visit artscommons.ca/artsx.
Allison Lynch is a local singer who is performing for a second year in ArtsXpeditions. Her first appearance this season was in the courtyard of a senior care facility in southeast Calgary where she performed beloved jazz standards alongside the accomplished pianist Mark Limacher. After a year of performing over Zoom or recording at home in her studio, singing live for an appreciative audience was a huge breath of fresh air.
“It’s great to remind people that there’s hope and there’s light, and especially in places like care facilities, let them know that they’re not forgotten.” says Allison. “It was really lovely.”
Intimate and personal, the Bethany Care Centre performance was a wonderful experience for the individuals who have been largely isolated from their families for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Well-versed in multiple genres of music, Allison and Mark chose a songbook that they knew the residents would be familiar with. Some audience members even sang along with Blue Moon and hummed in harmony with The Girl from Ipanema.
Along with bringing joy to audiences around the city, ArtsXpeditions gives our local artists the opportunity to ease back onto the stage, carefully stretching muscles and testing vocal chords that have been on a forced extended hiatus.
“For artists I feel like it’s a really nice opportunity to be introduced again into the world of live performing,” says Allison. “Finding that live connection with an audience is really important for an artist. It’s really what makes me want to continue to be an artist.”
So, if you’re interested in making a connection this summer, or in just kicking back and letting the music wash over you, check out artscommons.ca/artsx for the week-by-week run down of what’s up next with ArtsXpeditions.
