Lennie Gallant hopes to take P.E.I. show on the road

Lennie Gallant is back singing stories on Prince Edward Island this summer. And if all goes as hoped, he'll be taking the show on the road before long.

Searching for Abegweit: The Island Songs & Stories of Lennie Gallant begins its third season on July 4 at the P.E.I. Brewing Company.

Speaking to CBC's Weekend Mornings, Gallant said he hopes the next step is to perform in other Canadian cities.

"There is talk about taking it on the road and I wouldn't mind doing that," he said. "The National Arts Centre in Ottawa has spoken to us about possibly doing something up there. So I'm hoping that we will be able to take it across the country. That would be fun."

The show features songs and stories by Gallant and his five-piece band, along with tales and legends presented in a multimedia format that includes film and art from his sister Karen Gallant, a well-known Island painter.

Gallant calls it "a real patchwork quilt look at Prince Edward Island," and includes his popular songs Peter's Dream, Tales of the Phantom Ship and Island Clay.

"It's a hybrid between a concert and a theatrical production," he said. "It's not musical theatre where people are singing lines of dialogue so it's a little different than The Hunchback of Notre Dame or something like that."

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