Four great performers featured in BCPA's Couch Fest

The Bragg Creek Performing Arts Society (BCPA) has now been bringing quality live music to the region for 40 years.

Like many, they have been hindered by the pandemic but are still determined to fill that musical void, explains Hayley Docken, BCPA vice-president and director of marketing and communications.

Thus the creation of "Couch Fest," their first virtual performance, being streamed on Fri. Apr. 16 at 7 p.m.

And what a lineup!

Featured are Oscar Lopez, Wort Hannam, The Traveling Mabels, and Colin Linden.

Tickets are $25 per couch and include unlimited on-demand access to the show for seven days. That way, those who are tied up on Apr. 16th can watch it later, and those wanting an encore performance can watch it again and again over the seven-day period.

Each performance was recorded separately, and BCPA hired a videographer to compile it into one show.

Docken says they've been receiving positive feedback.

"The live music will always be the preferred way to do it, but we are really excited to try this online event and see how it goes. Since we've never done it, we're not exactly sure what the reception will be, but so far lots of people have been interested."

BCPA wanted to incorporate the word "couch" into the title. They had originally considered Couch-Ella but discovered the name was already patented.

After a little brainstorming, it became Couch Fest.

"So you can grab your families, favourite snacks and drinks, and all come together for some live music."

Their last event was a sold-out drive-in concert in the Bragg Creek shopping district last summer that featured Murray Rodgers, Emmett Jerome, Oleana, and The Tumbleweeds.

BCPA was formed as a group in 1980. They presented their first performance, a musical play, on a rented stage in a large tent pitched over Bragg Creek's outdoor hockey rink. Since 2001, most performances have been held at the Bragg Creek Community Centre.

For full details on Couch Fest and the amazing past performances brought to the area by BCPA over the decades, click here.

Couch Fest features the Travelling Mabels, top, Wort Hannam, centre left, Colin Linden, centre right, and Oscar Lopez, bottom.