By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
My Son The Hurricane
DUNNVILLE—Something big is coming to the Dunnville Hunters and Anglers Club this Friday, July 29, 2022. LVW Creative Barracks is presenting The Storm of the Season: Hurricane on the Range, a concert featuring nationally known funk band My Son The Hurricane, along with local guest performer State 90.
Proceeds from the concert will help create a series of free weekly workshops for the 2022/2023 season. LVW says that if they generate enough money, they will also offer a subsidy program, allowing people to register for any class at any time for half-price.
Why should you be excited for this show?
“Hurricane is a multi-drummer, multi-horn, multi-singer brass funk crew,” teased drummer Danno O’Shea, who had one word to describe what concert-goers can expect: “Energy, massive amounts of energy. What you see onstage is 10-12 musicians having an amazing time. You can’t fake the love and joy we have performing with each other. Lots of dancing, lots of smiling!”
Hurricane’s members consist of a series of backing musicians for other, established acts: “We wanted to have a project that played the music that we love.”
O’Shea said that the band is supporting the cause “because each of us was once a curious kid wanting to learn an instrument. We certainly never imagined where we would end up. We each were shaped by amazing teachers, and in small towns it’s even more important to support and hopefully inspire some kids and future musicians!”
LVW owner and concert organizer Lacie Williamson says she started the Barracks because she craved the type of programming being offered through her youth, but couldn’t find many options in town: “I opened our studio in 2017, with the goal of making creative programming accessible and affordable for all ages and abilities.”
The concert comes as LVW celebrates its fifth anniversary.
“After the last two years of isolation and stress, there’s a huge demand for creative experiences for all ages and abilities. Just in the last year our enrollment has more than tripled from 50-60 regular students to more than 200,” said Williamson. “However, the rising cost of living, inflation, and economic concerns have led a number of my families to have to scale back their kids’ extracurricular education because they’re having to choose between utilities, groceries, or paying for fun. A year ago, it wasn’t uncommon to have a student in studio two to three times a week for different programs. Now, many can only afford to visit once a month.”
Williamson calls money “a symptom of running a business,” but not the motivation to do so. She called the concert a combination of her “youthful passion of bringing fun entertainment to town, with my adult passion for helping people of all ages and abilities participate in creative experiences.”
This isn’t the first time Williamson has used community fundraising to spread free arts programming. Last spring, LVW held a fundraiser to fund and subsidize programming for seniors, which resulted in more than 50 local seniors receiving free activity kits to do at home and it subsidized costs for another dozen seniors to attend in-studio programs, such as stained glass courses, painting classes, and seasonal programs.
She called the Hunters and Anglers Club the perfect venue for the show: “Throughout the pandemic, the club renovated their range so that it could be used as an outdoor concert venue – they just haven’t had an opportunity to use it that way until now.”
The show will be family friendly and all ages. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the show ending around 11 p.m. A licensed beverage area will be available for patrons 19+, and food will be for sale.
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door, with lots of room to accommodate a large crowd. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged, or if you don’t want to have a seat, a pair of dancing shoes are a must.
What’s next for LVW?
“Our fall schedule won’t be announced for another two weeks, but it includes weekly paint classes for four age groups, traditional illustration classes, cosplay and life drawing club, teen takeover open studio, youth improv classes, stained glass workshops and courses, plus new social clubs for kids including: Pokemon Club, Chess Club, Play Doh Club, and Squishmallow Club.”
Spots are still available for their remaining five weeks of summer camps.
For more information, find Creative Barracks on Instagram @barracksbythegrand or at barracksbythegrand.ca.
