5 musicians bring back live music with Beatles tribute concert

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the music and entertainment industries, five musicians who are live streaming a Beatles tribute show at theBlue Bridge Repertory Theatre in Victoria, B.C., areusing the power of technology toshowcase their talents and connect with a global audience.

Brooke Maxell, Chris Frye, Richard Moody, Peter Dowse and Damian Graham are the musicians performing at the concert style show. Maxwell said the idea was first raised in 2020 when people could still attend concerts and enjoy live music by Brian Richmond,the artistic director at Blue Bridge.

"[Brian] is a big Beatles fan and he's seen us play a couple of times and he was thinking this would be a super cool thing," Maxwell said on CBC's On the Island. "So we got it down to what we think is a really wonderful range of what the [Beatles] did."

He said most of the musiciansgrew up playing Beatles songs, since they were as young as 14 years old, but working on the Spring Beatles concert gavethema new appreciation for the songs and the band.

"You can always learn something from the Beatles, whether it's harmonies or crazy arranging," Maxwell said. "It's such a refreshing treat [and] every song is different than the last one."

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the music industry and numerous events, including music festivals and concert tours have been cancelled or postponed. Spring Beatles was paused for a year as well, Maxwell said.

For Chris Frye, the changing industry is both exciting and interesting. As someone who has lived through a time when vinyl was popular, Frye said the music industry, technologically speaking, was in a really good position before the pandemic hit.

"Having been through years of different phases in music, the industry changes all the time," Frye said, "In a way, we have been able to perform ... and technology has allowed us to keep broadcasting."

He said the Spring Beatles concert reminds him of his younger days of watching live music television specials with Donny and Marie and Dolly Parton.

"I think the broadcast concept has been around a long time and I think the live stream thing will continue to do that," he said.

Spring Beatles will perform on the Blue Bridge stage in the afternoon and evening until May 2 and tickets can be purchased on the theatre's website.

LISTEN | Brooke Maxwell and Chris Fryetalks about livestreaming Spring Beatleson the CBC's On the Island: