The North Shuswap’s vibrant live music scene

*A huge crowd came out on the August Long Weekend to hear Abel & Willing* *at Friday Night Live, photo by Jim Cooperman*

There is likely more live music happening in the North Shuswap during the summer than anywhere else in the region. With two restaurant/night clubs, a winery and a free weekly outdoor concert, residents and visitors have a variety of options to enjoy great bands and entertainers in a variety of venues. Tourists have it made, as after a day at the lake or on the trails, they can catch some fabulous music during or after dinner.

BeTeased has cleverly utilized three large tents to create a cool, live music atmosphere, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

Be TEAsed is a one-of-a-kind venue in the centre of Scotch Creek, where patrons can enjoy good food and fun entertainment in the summer under giant tents. When the owner, Sharon Toews, parked her food truck on the property, she envisioned adding a night club atmosphere where top-notch bands would play and thanks to support from the community, her vision became reality. This summer she has already hosted a wide variety of music, including local players, hip-hop artists, country bands and top-tier musicians such as My Son the Hurricane and Juno Award winner, Aysanabee.

Megan Abel’s band rocking out in Sept., 2024, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

The Hub has been a fixture in Scotch Creek for many years and is well appreciated by locals and visitors for its hearty pub fare, fun times and great entertainment. This year it moved from the former Park Store across from the Provincial Park just to the west into the Social District Fun Centre, home to the Creekside Restaurant, a crafts market, a coffee shop, a pizza place, a bowling alley, an arcade, a golf simulator, a laser tag course and a miniature golf course.

One day the tents now housing The Hub will be replaced by a year-round structure, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

The Hub is located in two large tents and offers pub fare, plus there is a small stage where some of the best musicians in the region are often playing. On Sundays, local rockstar Megan Abel hosts an open mic that provides a stage and an audience for local musicians to present their music. The owners, Angela and Mark Lagore, have ambitious plans to build a permanent addition to the Social District to provide a permanent home for The Hub that will have a larger stage to accommodate bands year-round.

*The new dance floor at The Celista Estate Winery. Note how they use the same portable stage as Friday Night Live, photo courtesy of* *the Celista Estate Winery*.

Many wineries are adding music venues to their operations to increase the number of visitors and customers during the summer. The Celista Estate Winery has been hosting summer concerts for a few years and these events often sell-out. This year, they added a permanent, outdoor dance floor much to the delight of its patrons. On August 16^th their patrons will get to rock out to an AC/DC tribute band and at the end of month, the popular Headway band will be playing everyone’s favourite rock and country cover tunes. They also host the popular Wine Wednesdays that includes live entertainment featuring local musicians.

*One of the first Scotch Creek Friday concerts* hosted by Sylvain Vallee and Lynn Erin at their Fireweed Gallery in 2010, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

The well appreciated, North Shuswap music concert series, Friday Night Live, began in 2010 when the Fireweed Gallery hosted outdoor concerts in Scotch Creek. In 2013, it moved to the small mall where the library was located and was hosted by local business owner Barrie Warkentin. The following year, Barrie built a stage in the back yard to take advantage of the lawn and soon food trucks and venders were added. Then in 2018 it moved again to the field behind The Hub.

It was a happening scene behind the Library in Scotch Creek at the then Friday Night Live in 2016, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

In 2019, I began booking groups for the concert series, including bands from Vancouver, Calgary and the Okanagan. After a delay due to the COVID epidemic, this series began again in 2022, thanks to the generosity of our many sponsors. With new bands every year that play a wide variety of musical genres, the audience numbers have grown substantially. This year the site was moved closer to the Social District and every week, music lovers also get to enjoy a variety of tasty dishes from the food trucks or shop at the Night Market as they listen to music that varies from Latin, to funk, to blues, to country, to jazz and reggae. Last week, the “dance floor” was nearly filled when Okanagan blues recording artist, Cat Wells and her band played and this week we will get to dance to Kamloops’ famed funk band, Soul Patch (depending on if the rain stops).

The crowd loved it when the world-famous Shuffle Demons danced and played in front of them during this special Saturday Night concert on July 12th, *photo by Jim Cooperman*

As world problems continue to escalate, we all need more cultural events to bring joy into our sphere and more great live music is one of the best ways for everyone to weather the storm. As the word gets out that the regional home of the Roots and Blues Festival is also the place to enjoy live music year-round will help attract more visitors as well as encourage both boomers and families to settle here.

POSTSCRIPT

Both Friday Night Live and the Celista Estate Winery utilize a portable stage built by Jody Evans, who also provides and manages the sound equipment. Jody also is one of the key local musicians who can often be heard playing at all the North Shuswap venues and he is well appreciated by the community for his contributions to the live music scene.