Copyright 2000 by Edward Willett

Lovers of live music generally agree that Regina just doesn't have enough venues.

That's undoubtedly true, but at least for the summer, it's got one more than usual: the Scarth Street Mall.

For the second year in a row, Regina's Market Square is presenting live music every Thursday evening, on a stage between the twin towers, just north of Joe Fafard's laser-cut buffalo.

Laura Turner, promotions director for Regina's Market Square, says she thinks the idea for Live on the Mall! came from one of the directors of the organization, who had seen something like it in a city in the United States.

"Our purpose is to show people that downtown is alive after the work day," Laura says. As well, the downtown merchants' organization wanted to do something that would set the area apart from the city's other shopping areas. "Downtown is distinct, downtown is unique, and we're trying to show that," she says. "We're trying to make shopping fun."

She says she organized last year's series without having any previous experience in booking entertainment. "I pulled in every resource I could possibly think of," Laura says. This year the process was easier because bands were calling her. "I think most groups really enjoy playing outside," she says, especially as opposed to playing in dark, smoky bars. As well, "some of the groups are ready to play for anyone anytime anywhere!"

Now that she has had some experience in booking groups, Laura has come to one inescapable conclusion: " What an incredible amount of talent even in this city, never mind the province!"

The first group that appeared Live on the Mall, on Thursday, June 8, was the only non-musical act in the series, the improvisational comedy act General Fools. On June 15, the Michaels Trio, made up of Lorena Kelly, Danny Fortier and Kathy Michaels, will offer up their hybrid roots-pop vocal-acoustic instruments mix.

June 21 to 24 will see a special four-day series of concerts, a kind of miniature jazz festival. Kicking it off is the National Band of the Naval Reserves, comprising 45 naval reservists from across Canada. Unlike the usual Live on the Mall! performances, which run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the National Band of the Naval Reserves' concert will run over lunch on Wednesday and Friday, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Thursday evening concert that week will feature Tony Martin and the Session Cafe, who offer jazz and blues. Friday afternoon will see the Regina Philharmonic Society of Lower South Railway Street Dixieland Band, led by Dr. Ed Lewis (who has played with the likes of Chuck Mangione, Clark Terry and David Sanborn) performing from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., followed by the Regina Riot, a perennial Regina favorite.

Saturday, June 24, Louisiana Jane, Saskatchewan's only Cajun/Zydeco band, will perform from 11:45 to 1:45 p.m., and the Regina Lions' Lords of Dixie, a group of talented students from the Regina Lions' band program, will perform from 1:45 to 3:45.

On June 29, "straight-ahead rock 'n roll" band Nickeltree performs; on July 6, it's From the Ashes, offering "alternative-infused riffs and sweet melodies" as a preview of what listeners can expect at the Flatland Festival that runs July 7 to 9 in Victoria Park.

July 13 Louisiana Jane returns to the stage, and on July 20 you'll hear blues, Motown, funk, rock and jazz from the Heavenly Blues Band, led by Gary Martin.

Jazz, funk, pop and rock collide in Five Minute Miracle's show on July 27, and then country takes centre stage on August 3 as the Tex Pistols fire up.

With a line-up like that, Thursday night sound like a lot of fun downtown--and it is, Laura says. Lots of people come down just to hear the music, bringing their lawn chairs; others catch a song or two as they move from shop to shop; others make a point of eating out on the Alfredo's patio so they can enjoy good food and good music at the same time (something my wife and I did last year during a Thursday night performance, and enjoyed very much).

It's the setting that makes it special, Laura agrees. "Downtown has this incredible ambiance after 6:30," she says. "The traffic dies down, the suns starts setting and reflecting off those tall towers. It's a calm, beautiful place in the evening."

Best of all, says Laura, Live on the Mall! "is free, it's for everyone, it's for all ages."

Head downtown this Thursday and check it out for yourself.

Posted March 9, 2004