In times of limited travel, an area musician has created an outlet for musicians and music lovers to Travel by Sound.
That’s the name of a new virtual concert and adventure series launched by Meaford resident and full-time musician Victoria Yeh.
Her series features monthly concerts filmed at venues across Bruce, Grey and Simcoe Counties paired with footage from adventures Yeh enjoys in the area.
The next episode starring Paul Delong’s One Word band was filmed in Collingwood at the Simcoe Street Theatre, and features a kayak trip on the Beaver River led by Free Spirit Tours. There’s also footage of Yeh fly fishing in the Saugeen River included.
“In March, when everything was shut down, it seemed likely this was going to be an extended situation,” said Yeh, a violinist from Toronto now living in Meaford. “It’s been a tough year. At the height of the season, I could be playing five shows a week. I’ve maybe played five live shows in the whole year.”
She had show cancellations starting in January and was slated to travel to Vancouver and Montreal in addition to her usual stops across Bruce, Grey, and Simcoe Counties and the GTA.
“I wanted a way to still be able to connect with my audience and my community, and I tested the waters with a virtual livestream in June, which worked well,” said Yeh.
The Travel By Sound series also offers bands an opportunity for a paid gig, since Yeh secured sponsorships to help cover the costs of the series.
She’s already released an episode in September and one in October, and is working toward the premiere of the Collingwood-filmed show on Nov. 22.
The concert portion of the episode is played by the band One Word. The band’s founder Paul DeLong plays drums and he is joined by Marco Luciani (keys), Michael Murray (guitar), Steve Lucas (bass), and Victoria Yeh (electric violin). DeLong is best known as the drummer for Kim Mitchell, and is a faculty member at Humber College. One Word is 70s jazz fusion and plays tuns from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Jeff Beck, and Return to Forever. They performed and filmed at Simcoe Street Theatre earlier this year.
For each of the six episodes, Yeh is either a guest musician or part of the band, and she is the featured performer for the final episode.
“Every concert has almost like an intermission where I introduce the audience to a different experience and adventure in Bruce Grey Simcoe,” said Yeh. “No matter where we live, we tend to be the last tourist in the area where we are. This was a great opportunity to showcase to residents really cool things we can do near home because we’re all going to be near home.”
She chose a kayak tour on the Beaver River for the Collingwood/The Blue Mountains episode.
The shows are behind a paywall, but anyone who purchases an episode or a series pass can access them on-demand anytime after they premiere. The episodes are from 45 min to one hour long.
The episode pass is $24 and the season pass is on sale for $60 and includes access to all six concerts. You can purchase tickets and find out more about the series online at travelbysound.com.
