The Bear's Den Saloon in Gronlid is known to hosting live musical performances on its stage during the summer, but will tread lightly following the province's announcement on July 9 (Facebook/Llewelyn Moss).

By Aaron Schulze

Live Performance

Some bands and establishments ‘uneasy’ ahead of live performances resuming

Jul 10, 2020 | 5:09 PM

Effective July 16, live performances will be permitted in restaurants and licensed establishments, as well as at public and farmers’ markets.

The announcement from the Government of Saskatchewan on July 9 should be welcomed news for bars, restaurants, and other venues, as well as bands. Especially during the summer months.

However, just because live performances can resume, doesn’t mean they automatically will.

One Northeast Saskatchewan business that books live music during the summer is the Bear’s Den Saloon in Gronlid. The owner, best known simply as “Bear,” said not having bands booked impacted his business compared to previous years, but he’ll wait and see before he brings them back.

“It attracts a large group of people,” Bear said of live music. “The idea of bringing a band in, and if the group that shows up and one of them gets the coronavirus… I really don’t want that.”

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A band that stays busy with gigs during the summer is Llewelyn Moss, but the coronavirus pandemic wiped their bookings for the season. Brenner Skiftun, the band’s vocalist, is eager to get back on stage and perform, but said he and the rest of Llewelyn Moss will continue to tread lightly.

“At first it was quite scary,” Skiftun said of the pandemic. “All of us in the band just stuck around with our families and put things on pause for a while. We’re sort of getting back into it now; jamming and practicing.”

“We’ve been watching the numbers closely. Saskatchewan has been smart about [COVID-19]. It’s kind of uneasy right now, it’s just unknown. If we keep watching the numbers and people who are sick stay home, and we can keep a good grasp, I think we could be confident to play a show in the near future.”

Less than one day after the province’s announcement was made, Skiftun said Llewelyn Moss received a gig offer for a wedding in 2021, but nothing in the immediate future. He mentioned how nice it was to receive a message about playing again.

Until they’re ready to perform again, Skiftun encouraged the public to support local bands who are scheduled to perform in the upcoming weeks.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow