B.C. town gets creative providing live music during the COVID-19 pandemic

A global pandemic didn't keep the town of Revelstoke, B.C., down for long.

Although the city's Summer Street Fest was cancelled due to COVID-19, the local arts council has announced a new concert series with secret locations. 

The series is called Guerrilla Gigs, and it will feature local artists and musicians from "further away" performing in iconic outdoor locations throughout the city on Wednesdays during July and August.

"I'm excited to see bands outside in the evening in some quirky places," said Miriam Manley, executive director of the Revelstoke Arts Council. 

"I love doing new programming and I love challenging myself and our organization to do new things."

Although one of the secret locations was revealed at a performance staged Wednesday, Manley wouldn't reveal where some of the others might be. She did mention the importance of having a sound technician there, in case a show was near, perhaps, a loud waterfall. 

Shows will be announced a week in advance, and tickets will be released at noon on the Sunday before the show. 

To account for physical distancing, only 25 tickets will be sold for each show. Tickets are $10 each. 

"It's a really small gig for a micro audience and they're gonna get this really, really intimate, special experience," Manley said. 

The idea is to have everyone spaced out, in lawn chairs or on blankets, within their own social groups. There will be signs about distancing and hand sanitizer will be made available. 

Each performance will also be recorded and posted to YouTube, in the hopes of showing the city off to potential visitors.

"Tourists [will] have this really cool sense of Revelstoke, because it's not only a great place to come and experience the outdoors, but also a place that's got some great culture happening and great music," Manley said.