A group of local musicians met at Transfer Beach on Monday (July 12) evening for an acoustic jam session.
Phillip Holmes, who has been playing music for as long as he can remember, decided to set up the jam because of the lack of live music in Ladysmith over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that restrictions have eased up, Holmes says it’s time to get Transfer Beach rocking with local music.
“There’s nothing happening here,” Holmes said. “So I said okay, let’s go play some music. Everybody can sit in the shade with the beautiful background, sit here and have fun.”
The jam session was open to any musician and all players of acoustic instruments. Holmes and his fellow musicians haven’t decided whether they’re going to make the Monday night jam a regular thing.
Ladysmith musician Gordon Defoor attended the inaugural jam and said he’d be happy to play music at Transfer Beach every Monday night.
“I can walk here in 10 minutes. I just live up the hill, I come down here every day anyway. I’d try out [a Monday jam] for sure” he said.
Regardless of whether the Monday night jams at Transfer Beach continue, Holmes and Defoor say that there are dozens of local musicians in the Ladysmith area who are “chomping at the bit” to play some shows in Ladysmith.
As far as any future music events at Transfer Beach, they’ll be determined by COVID-19 public health guidelines. Current Public Health Orders allow for outdoor gatherings and events of up to 5,000 people or 50 percent of the seated operating capacity of a place. There must be an event organizer and entrance to the event must be controlled.
Anyone wanting to host an event at Transfer Beach must submit a Special Events Application to the Town of Ladysmith. Special events are coordinated through the Parks, Recreation & Culture Department. Depending on the nature of the event, applicants must also submit a Sign Station/Temporary Street Closure Application to the Corporate Services Department. The Town can be reached at 250-245-6400 or by email at: info@ladysmith.ca.