June 8, 2020
In partnership with the Town of Golden and CSRD Area ‘A’, Kicking Horse Culture will be taking music to the streets with the Summer Kicks concert series. This summer, residents will be able to enjoy live music concerts throughout the community from the comfort and safety of lawns, balconies and local park spaces.
“With the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on professional touring musicians, the entire Summer Kicks lineup for 2020 had to be cancelled,” said Bill Usher, Executive and Artistic Director of Kicking Horse Culture. “That’s when I knew we had to get creative, so I reached out to the Town of Golden to see what we could come up with.”
Every year the Town of Golden and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District provide funding to Kicking Horse Culture to host the Summer Kicks live music series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, holding the concert series in Spirit Square is no longer an option due to physical distancing requirements and hosting events of over 50 people. Over the last two months Kicking Horse Culture and the Town of Golden have been working together to brainstorm alternative options to present live music in Golden.
“I want to give lots of credit to Jordan Petrovics at the Town for his creative input and can-do attitude in making all these changes possible,” said Usher.
This year, instead of musicians travelling from far and wide to play in Spirit Square, Summer Kicks will keep it local with a rolling curbside concert series.
When Al Miller of Golden’s Home Hardware heard about the idea, he jumped on the opportunity to help out by providing the bands with a stage in the form of a truck and flatbed trailer.
“Keeping our audience and performers safe is our number one priority,” said Usher. “Taking Summer Kicks to the streets is designed with the recommendations of our Public Health Official in mind, so we can be physically distanced, but socially together.”
Summer Kicks will showcase some of Golden’s favourite musicians and bands such as Buddy Wackett and the Floorwalkers, Retrofied, The Usual Suspects, Carl Trinkwon, Dust on Crust, the Parson Jazz Collective and more!
Accompanied by the Golden Fire Department, the Summer Kicks rolling review will visit neighbourhoods throughout town over 10 Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting June 17 (weather may impact the number and exact dates of the concert series). Locations will be selected
strategically so that the largest number of people from Golden and Area ‘A’ can enjoy the show safely as it passes.
“As much as we’d love to come down every street, in every neighbourhood, we simply can’t do that because of the logistics of the truck and trailer setup,” explained Usher. “But we’re doing our best to make sure as many people as possible can still enjoy live music this summer.”
To find out where the Summer Kicks will be coming to a neighbourhood near you, stay tuned on social media by following Kicking Horse Culture at facebook.com/khculture or on Instagram @kickingculture.
“We are really excited to hit the streets this summer,” said Usher. “We’ve got lots of great music planned and some surprises and announcements to come, so stay tuned!”
Residents are encouraged to share their photos and videos of their experience enjoying Summer Kicks by tagging Kicking Horse Culture and the Town of Golden on Facebook and Instagram.
