There’s something about music that connects people.
And although every type of music– everyone’s individual style – has its own rhythm, life, language and roots, there’s an honesty about it that tends to bring people together and create a sense of community.
At least that’s Shannon Lee Ray’s feeling as she sits with the crowd at the Shirley Community Hall during their monthly open-mike event.
Ray has helped organize one of the many open-mike stages in the Sooke Region and her event has been bringing Shirley residents together on the first Sunday of each month for nearly five years.
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And the music just keeps getting better.
Most recently, Rae expanded the concept to Friday evenings, when the stage is taken over by one artist for a two-hour musical journey.
“We put this together to try to support local musicians and give back to the community,” Rae said.
“There are really so few opportunities for people to get together and just make music. It’s really an untapped treasure.”
That’s a sentiment shared by James Lemire at the 17 Mile House Pub.
The establishment has been offering up the stage to local musicians for more than 14 years and the open-mike events have developed a loyal following.
“I’d guess that 95 per cent of the audience on those nights are musicians themselves,” Lemire said.
The shows are hosted by Parry Trowell and Pete Thompson, the front men for the pub’s house band, the Basin Boys.
They start the open mike events with their own brand of outlaw-country and then turn the stage over to a mixture of musical stylings that always has a few surprises.
“There’s definitely some really good talent out there. The great thing is there are no rules and you can hear everything from covers of well-known artists to original songs by local musicians, hoping for that big break,” Lemire said.
“It’s spontaneous and sometimes, if you’re lucky, a jam can break out that brings the house down.”
The music at 17 Mile House happens every Sunday night between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m
Other open-mike venues have also popped up in the community.
At Jenny’s Old Time Tea Shop, Jenny Crandall has provided a stage for local talent for the last six months and is thrilled with the level of talent.
“A fellow named Thomas P. Radcliffe has helped me make the musical contacts, and the quality of the music is just amazing,” she said.
Radcliffe is a Sooke -based artist whose folk music and virtuoso finger-style guitar have been entertaining audiences throughout the region for years.
It’s a similar story over at the Sooke Brewing Company where Thursday open-mike night events bring a new dimension to that establishment.
“Providing a stage for the incredible collection of talented artists in our communities is a way of giving back to those communities and, at the same time, bringing people together who might never otherwise have anything in common,” said Rae.
“In the end, I suppose that’s what music is all about. These musicians may never make the big time, but they make our world a happier, better, and brighter place.”
mailto:tim.collins@sookenewsmirror.com
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