On Stage in a Dangerous Time
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A Reformed Monthly 75th Year of Publication | December 14, 2020 | No. 3120 $5.00 Christ-centred. Creative. Canadian. CHRISTMAS ON THE EDGE Malcolm Guite Christmas sets the centre on the edge; The edge of town, the outhouse of the inn, The fringe of empire, far from privilege And power, on the edge and outer spin Of turning worlds, a margin of small stars That edge a galaxy itself light years From some unguessed at cosmic origin. Christmas sets the centre at the edge. And from this day our world is re-aligned A tiny seed unfolding in the womb Becomes the source from which we all unfold And flower into being. We are healed, The end begins, the tomb becomes a womb, For now in him all things are re-aligned. “Christmas at the Old Quick Church” by Caitlin Ambery. Yet some artists won’t let a ON STAGE IN A pandemic put a damper on the electricity of live performance. Christian Courier spoke to two DANGEROUS TIME Canadian singer-songwriters who have persisted with performing live throughout this past year – Edmonton vocalist and soul mu- How two Canadian singer-songwriters are playing sician Ann Vriend and Abbots- ford, B.C. country band Tim & hope into a pandemic. | Meghan Kort the Glory Boys’ lead singer Tim Neufeld. IN CHRISTMASES PAST, OUR DECEMBER CALENDARS were decorated BIG CITY STREET BEATS with the dates of school Christmas concerts and community choir Vriend had planned on spending cantatas. This year, there will be considerably less live music herald- 2020 touring Europe and hitting ing the good news. But many of us felt this void long before Advent. Canadian music festivals with In a normal year, according to Stats Canada, 81 percent of Canadians the release of her new album Hurt would have attended a live music event in the past 12 months. Chanc- People Hurt People. But instead, Ann (centre) and her a capella carolling group prepare to bundle es are there are cancelation notices from TicketMaster or Eventbrite she spent her summer gardening up and bring joy to Edmonton neighbourhoods this Christmas. buried in your own inbox. Continued on page 2 Credit: Crystal Eyo. MAIL TO: Our gift to you . PM# 40009999 R9375 PM# 7 | CC’s year in review 12 | Things we miss 1-24 | A copy to share! News STAGE CONTINUED Touring small towns is a tough sell for most musicians at the best of times, but Neufeld reframes that question for his audience just before the intermission. “If all this is for us to be famous, or to sell you our stuff, or to travel around for a living – it’s fun, but I’m not sure it’s worth it, in these times especially.” Fans know where Neufeld is going with these comments. The band dedicates time in each show to make a heartfelt appeal for audience members to sign up and sponsor orphaned children in East Africa. Ann Vriend belts out her unique brand of Existentialist Gospel Terrace locals Cole Nutma and Chad MacDonald pose with (Photo Credit: Maurice Fritz). Tim and the Glory Boys during their 2014 tour. “It’s good to give; it’s good for your mental health to give,” re- and performing from her front porch to much smaller audiences in her minds Neufeld as he dons a mask inner-city Edmonton neighbourhood. Rain or shine, Vriend offered and begins handing out sanitized live music on 26 consecutive Sunday afternoons with the last concert sponsorship packages. falling on Thanksgiving weekend. After the show, he explains a “It’s like secular church,” comments Antoinette, an especially bit more. “We have pretty good loyal audience member. Her husband was diagnosed with dementia numbers on what percentage of last year, and attending the outdoor shows was a rare opportunity for the crowd would sponsor and the couple to do something they both enjoyed within a COVID-safe it’s through the roof right now; community environment. people are being more generous “Antoinette was there every week dancing next to their car,” recalls during COVID . If I have a Vriend, “while her husband sat in the passenger seat, grinning.” legacy I hope it’s that tens of After spending nearly two decades performing in traditional concert thousands of kids are sponsored, settings, Vriend couldn’t help but revel in the diversity of her street- not that I have gold records or side audience. “By the end, people who drove a BMW were sitting number ones. That stuff’s fun, but A diverse lineup of amateur and professional musicians joined Ann next to a person who drove a shopping cart, listening to a former it’s not really important.” (Photo credit: Maurice Fritz). drug dealer, or a professional touring musician, or a man playing a I’m a fairly happy and fulfilled Town Hoedown Tour, which had borrowed guitar who recently had been living under a bridge – and at MUSIC AS THERAPY person.” 12 concert dates still remaining. the concerts everyone was the same; everyone was simply enjoying “I hope tonight is a therapy for For Neufeld this season of That means more postponement music together. it broke a lot of barriers and stereotypes without a you,” remarks Neufeld between change includes a first-time re- or cancellation notices landing single word needing to be said about it.” songs. It’s not a typical stage call cord deal with Sony Music Cana- in inboxes. But, this time, we’ve Vriend’s music is never far from her politics and she speaks about out, but eight months into the da. After decades of writing wor- been here before. We’ll grieve, the injustice of colonialism, capitalism and addiction with the same pandemic, it received muffled ship music, he’s experimenting get creative and find new ways fire that powers her soaring vocals. cheers and masked smiles. with writing the occasional love to keep on singing this Christmas “People always get so pitied here, like they have nothing to offer,” Back in Edmonton, Vriend song that falls more squarely in season. explains Vriend. But the shows were a true communal effort, with shares similar sentiments about the country genre. neighbours pitching in to set up chairs, cut the grass and clean up the role live music plays during Neufeld contemplates these Meghan Kort garbage. Some even offered safely-served food and refreshments. these anxious times. “I do believe song writing experiments within a Meghan is Assistant Edi- Vriend, who is the daughter of CC columnist Bob Bruinsma, says music is one of the most incred- greater context of change and un- tor of Christian Courier. she’s constantly learning from her neighbours and that they have a lot ible, mysterious and wonderful certainty. Just four days after the She lives in Terrace, B.C. to teach the rest of us about resilience in hard times. gifts we as humans have been Terrace show, B.C. announced a with her husband, al- most two-year-old son given,” she says. 14-day suspension on all in-per- and another little one SMALL TOWN HOEDOWNS For both Vriend and Neufeld, son gatherings, effectively bring- due to arrive sometime While Vriend was wrapping up her summer porch concerts, another this has been a year for creative ing a halt to Neufeld’s Small before Christmas. Canadian singer-songwriter and his band were making their way problem solving and adapting to through small northern Alberta towns. Tim and the Glory Boys, change. As Edmonton tempera- fronted by Tim Neufeld, former lead singer of Christian rock band tures have dipped below zero, Starfield, had decided to weather the pandemic with a tour fit for small Vriend is avoiding the frostbite communities and even smaller crowds. risks of outdoor piano playing “Are you excited to be risking your life for live music tonight?” in favour of a capella Christmas jokes Neufeld from behind a plexiglass disk attached to a mic stand. carolling and serenading virtual No more than 45 scattered country music fans make up his Sunday office parties. evening audience on November 15 at the Terrace Christian Reformed “Winter is gonna be hard – we Church in northern B.C. might as well face it,” confesses “We’ve come to really enjoy the smaller crowds,” says Neufeld Vriend. Yet she holds on to hope after the show. He describes these micro concerts as a way to give and joy. “I’ve got four singers back to fans who have become friends over the years. It’s actually who wanna sing together out- the band’s third trip to Terrace, and some of the young adults in the side and a bunch of people who audience including Cole Nutma and Chad MacDonald have been fans want to hear us and sing along. A typical Sunday night audience in front of Ann’s house since their teen years. As long as those things are true, (Photo credit: Maurice Fritz). 2 DECEMBER 14, 2020 | CHRISTIAN COURIER News SONGS OF LONGING THE CHRISTMAS COURIER Fasting with ‘small praise’ during the pandemic. | Emily Brink Musing on CC’s Christmas poem and painting. Cathy Smith the psalms and hymns that nour- waves a welcome. Pastor? ished my faith and that I grew Custodian? Christ himself? to love as testimonies from the The northern lights arc in a communion of the saints. Psalms dynamic sweep, an atmospheric and hymns have come to us from halo framing the church, people in exile, in prison, from accenting its centrality. To me sick beds, in times of wars and those colourful lines in the plagues, perhaps more often than sky speak to the “galaxy” and from the good times.