Live at the Bedrock

Music Festival Fundraiser Succeeds in Bringing People Together

The Live at the Bedrock Music Festival was born from a simple idea. “Caleb [McGoey] seemed to instinctively know that COVID had been isolating people over the winter and that music was a great way to bring them back together,” says Elly Tose, co-founder of Live at the Bedrock Festival.

McGoey, the other co-founder of the festival, is just 10 years old.

“It was amazing how many people wanted to come to our tiny backyard event,” he says. “And I couldn't have done it without Elly.”

In August, for the second year in a row, organizers held concerts in a backyard in Port Arthur. And for the first time this year, a larger concert was held the following day at Roots to Harvest’s urban farm on Fort William Road. Performers included Aysanabee, Danielle Pollari, Greenbank, Greg Smith, Jean-Paul De Roover, Mad for

Trad, Raine Hamilton, and Rodney Brown. Organizers also presented a virtual “best-of” version of the festival last October.

“We had a wonderful response in 2020, including neighbours who tuned in from their porches or front steps, respecting the audience limit we had set for the yard,” Tose says. “This summer’s yard event was equally fun, and the larger concert held in the gardens at Roots to Harvest sold out at the 150 limit we set to ensure we were within COVID regulations.”

As the administrative coordinator for the Sleeping Giant Folk Music Society, Tose shared the story of the festival with their liaison at Canadian Heritage, who let her know a new stream of funding was being established to filter money to arts workers, musicians, technicians, and front of house crew. “Live at the Bedrock seemed like the perfect avenue for conveying some of those funds to people in our community who had been struggling to find work during the first year of the pandemic,” she says. “So we decided to do the backyard event again but to also have a larger second day open to the public that would provide greater exposure for the performers as well.”

Professionals were hired to film and record both festivals. Plus, for the larger public concert, an event coordinator was employed to assist them with social media, ticket sales, and front of house. “Everyone who was hired was chosen for their ability to be part of the community,” she says.

Organizers say that the festival was only intended as a fill-in for the Live at the Rock Folk Festival in Red Rock. The festival is usually held in August, but was cancelled the last two years due to COVID-19.

“I am very excited if next year we can go back to the Red Rock

Folk Festival," McGoey says.

Tose agrees. “We all really hope to be back at Pull-A-Log Park next summer enjoying the music and the community created there,” she says. “If Live at the Bedrock has briefly filled the human need for musical celebration and community, we are happy to have done our part.”