Peterborough Blogs
Local Musician Records New Album After 15-Year Drought
/After 15 years since local musician Barry Haggarty’s last album, he has released his third solo record entitled, “Consider Me Undecided.”
Haggarty played guitar for the legendary Ronnie Hawkins — where he also had the pleasure of playing with Bob Dylan and the Band — as well as with The Family Brown before starting his solo career. Photo Courtesy of Barry Haggarty.
He recorded the new album during the COVID-19 lockdowns which gave him extra free time to focus on himself in his otherwise busy studio. Haggarty says this was the only “blessing” to ever come from the pandemic. The local musician has been performing and playing during the 15-year drought.
The album contains 13 tracks with a wide range of genres such as pop, rock, country, jazz and folk music. That “musical diversity” led to the album’s name as Haggarty had no idea what kind of music to classify it.
Photo Courtesy of Barry Haggarty.
Consider Me Undecided’s style is distinct from his previous albums, “If These Walls Could Talk” and “Old Days” as a culmination of how Haggarty has “upped his game.”
“Partly it was for me to showcase what I can do,” he said. “I didn’t want to do a cookie-cutter album that was 10 songs of the same thing.”
Haggarty enlisted different session musicians with a variety of expertise to record the songs live in his studio. He kept all the editing and post-production to a minimum to maintain an “old school” vibe.
“That’s what this project is, real live players in the studio making music,” said Haggarty.
His’s newest single from his album, “Moments” was released late last month that features fellow local musician Kate Suhr. The two are singing in Haggarty’s home studio in Peterborough called “Haggarty Sound Studio.”
Haggarty’s album can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Peterborough Couple Appear in Country Music Star's Music Video
/Sean Kent had no prior dance experience but stripteases for his partner, Tracy Conway in Jade Eagleson’s new music video, “All Night to Figure It Out”.
It was an unforgettable moment of fame for the Peterborough couple as they starred in the country music video that debuted on Wednesday.
The couples went to the filming in Niagara Falls during Valentine’s Day weekend. They were one of five couples that were selected to be part of the filming alongside Eagleson.
Five men performed racy yet hilarious stripteases to their significant others with help of choreographer Kae Kae Lee. The men had props and a stripper pole to aid in their routine.
The women were intentionally left in the dark until their blindfolds were removed in the music video as an unstaged reaction.
“I was laughing but I was enjoying it,” said Conway. “I was like, yeah, keep going.”
Conway has a family connection with Eagleson (pictured) but she always has been a fan of his music. Photo courtesy of Sean Kent.
Kent eagerly accepted the role during a call with the producer. He was skeptical about being selected after hearing the plot with his appearance.
“He explained what I was going to do and I asked, ‘Have you seen my pictures?’ You sure you got my pictures and not some other guy’s?’” said Kent. ”I have a solid dad bod. Emphasis on the ‘solid’”.
Filming was scheduled for late 2020 but was delayed several times due to COVID-19 putting certain cities in lockdown. Photo courtesy of Sean Kent.
Kent was no stranger to physical activity but he did not anticipate how fit you had to be to dance.
“I was down there for a good three and a half hours for the first sessions and then I went back for another two,” said Kent. “In that break, I was so sore. I was dead, I was completely drained.”
Conway (left) and Kent (right) have five sons between the two. One couple in the video had been in a relationship for two months. Photos courtesy of Sean Kent.
All men were given the same dance to perform. Kent believes he practiced the routine roughly 100 times.
“It was honestly a pleasant experience,” said Kent. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Local Musician Gives Parkinson's Disease a Knockout With Music Video
/Peterborough Singer/Songwriter Taylor Abrahamse is ready to give Parkinson’s disease the one-two punch.
The 29-year-old is raising money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease with his music video, “Out Like a Light” on his self-titled debut album.
The song debuted on YouTube on Feb 22 which features Abahamse’s mother and other elder community members diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the “TKO” boxing program at Goodlife Fitness in Portage Mall.
“My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years ago, she was looking for things to help her with that,” said Abrahamse. “We found out about this boxing program that helps that so my father suggested making Out Like a Light at this boxing place.”
Taylor Abrahamse has professionally voice acted with roles such as Fangbone in the self-titled Disney series and Luke Stanley of YTV’s The Stanley Dynamic. Photo Courtesy of Taylor Abrahamse.
The video was made to create awareness of the disease and how Parkinson’s sufferers are socially affected. Since the disease is visible in a variety of different forms, it gets difficult to distinguish if people have it or not says Abrahamse.
“One of the hard things that affect the quality of life is the stigma around it,” he said. ”There can be a lot of frustration and shame about that.”
Abrahamse has collaborated with three different charities for funding Parkinson’s research: Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parkinson Canada and David Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s.
Taylor Abrahamse was a top 30 finalist at Canadian Idol when he was 16 years old. Photo Courtesy of Taylor Abrahamse.
The song's name came from a change up to Abrahamse’s style. “Out Like a Light” has a greater rock-and-roll feel and Abrahamse describes it as taking a break and “shutting out the light”.
His album can be bought on his official website. It took him roughly three years to complete his debut album.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Lakefield High School Covers Hit Broadway Song on Its Anniversary
/Broadway may have some new rising stars in the future after this performance.
Students of the Lakefield College School (LCS) Musical Theater have recorded their own version of the hit song, “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway musical, “Rent” by Johnathan Larsen.
The performance pays tribute to the song that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year since it debuted in 1996.
“The Lakefield College School Musical Theatre students chose to perform this song since, during this past year, we have all had to savour the little moments and make the most of them,” said Geoff Bemrose, LCS teacher. “As a Peterborough community, we have come together stronger than ever and this is a great reminder to make every second count.”
Every student was recorded individually under the school’s theatre lights to comply with the COVID-19 pandemic. Screenshot.
The video was shot and edited by local filmmaker Tyler Boyco and the music was produced by local artist Beau Dixon. Bemrose directed the video saying it took several hours to produce.
LCS uploaded the video on Wednesday and it has almost 600 views on YouTube.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Selwyn Family Parodies Canadian Artist With Pandemic Song
/“Life in a Pandemic (Don’t It Stink?)” is a parody of Alanis Morissette’s hit song, “Ironic”.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the pandemic where the whole country went into lockdown and quarantine, one Selwyn family paid tribute to the milestone parodying Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic”.
“Life in a Pandemic (Don’t it Stink?)” was created by the Kelly family featuring singer and acting student, Ashton Kelly. The video was a challenge, taking three days to film and a week and a half to produce it according to Ashton’s mother Deborah Kelly.
“Our goal was to spend some time together as a family having some creative fun during these dark times, and maybe lifting some spirits along the way,” said Deborah. “My daughter is a singer and an acting student so this is right up her alley.”
“Life in a Pandemic (Don’t it Stink?)” has already gained over 3,000 views in its first two days since being uploaded to Youtube. Screenshot.
The video copies Morisette’s, shot-for-shot with pop culture references and recognizable local spots. The Go Express Marts gas station across from the Lakefield Animal Welfare Society and the Peterborough Lift Lock canal are some localized shots taken for the parody.
“This isn’t meant to diminish the struggle many (are) facing over the state of our world,” said Ashton in a Facebook post. “This is only to spread some laughs and lightheartedness to enjoy with your family!”
The mother-daughter duo wrote the lyrics with Mark Russell, Deborah’s partner, filmed and (mostly) edited the video.
They chose “Ironic” since it was recognizable, iconic and Morrisette was Canadian.
“We really wanted to keep it lighthearted and fun to spread some cheer during these challenging times,” said Deborah.
This was the second parody video the family had created. The first copied Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” titled, “Something to Do-ah (The Isolation Song)” was released in early April last year.
The family posted a blooper reel for the filming of their first video, “Something to Do-ah (The Isolation Song)”. It was posted 10 days after the prior video was uploaded. Screenshot.
The song was shot as an original since Cohen’s version did not have an official music video and has almost 28,000 views on YouTube. The parody makes its own pop culture references such as the toilet paper shortage and the hit Netflix show, “Tiger King”.
The first video’s success inspired the family to create the second parody as they were proud and surprised at the song’s success according to Deborah.
“We had such a positive response and such a blast creating it that we decided to do another one this year,” she said.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Watch Express and Company's New Music Video "Carry Me Along"
/The awesome local band Express and Company—comprised of Dylan Ireland, Melissa Payne, Liam Wilson, Joe Hay and Benj Rowland—is going to break out any day now in a big way on the national stage. Here's their debut music video, "Carry Me Along", directed by the ultra-talented Jeremy Blair Kelly, who resides in Peterborough.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada or Like us on Facebook.
Ben Rough & Friends Walk To The Beer Store & Make Music Video On The Way
/The song is called "St. David's Walk" and the video was recorded on an iPhone. Well done.
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada (hashtag #bethechangeptbo) or Like us on Facebook.
