Submitted by Lorraine Campbell
Although our community is unable to assemble at the Meeting Place to enjoy an evening of Open Mic, it does not mean that we are without live music.
April 8 brought Marty Oblak’s Songwriter Series Volume 3. Marty orchestrated the gig from the comfort of his living room and was joined by Jon Newitt, Ken MacDonald, and Paul Campbell, each from his own home. True to the singer-songwriter format, each musician offered one song at a time, taking turns to chat a little bit about his piece before performing it. Volume 4 of the series followed on April 16, featuring Marty Oblak (host), Doug Stewart, Nic Swales, and Richard Garvey.
This contribution by the Tobermory Songwriters is important for The Meeting Place as the annual spring concert fundraiser has been cancelled due to the pandemic restrictions. The virtual attendance was overwhelming – hundreds of people tuned in on their computers, tablets, and phones, resulting in a deluge of donations in support of the Tobermory Food Bank and The Meeting Place. After the second concert $3,690 had been raised. Well done, community!
Marty said, “We had a blast raising money for The Meeting Place and the Food Bank.”
Volume 5 of the series appeared on April 23 in support of the Lion’s Head Food Bank featuring Paul Campbell (host), and musicians Brooklyn Hewton, Dan Corcoran, and Julie Hill.
Volume 6 will be coming April 30, with Marty Oblak (host), Jon Newitt, Jim Chevalier, and Travis Laur, in support of The Inn of the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Marty’s (previous) hometown of Sarnia.
AND stay tuned May 7th – Volume 8 will be a three hour grand finale with a dozen Ontario songwriters for the benefit of Food Banks Canada!
To access the session, go to Tobermory Songwriter Series on FaceBook, at 8pm.
Thanks go out to all the musicians who are donating their time, and to Marty for organizing these evenings. Music is powerful.
