Lakeland College students offering free virtual concert series – Band in the ‘House’

A successor to their original Band in the Sand event, Lakeland College’s new virtual concert series began last Thursday, and will continue hosting free live performances for the next three weeks.

Organizer Jessa Dumkee is a third-year agribusiness student who already has her diploma in Animal Science Technology. She said it is a completely student-led event that has been around for approximately eight years.

“It’s just been really nice that we were able to get innovative and persevere despite the circumstances. The pandemic provided extra challenges and opportunities for students to get creative,” said Dumkee.

She said it was important to keep the event going because they are currently unable to go out and meet people, so at least event can help unify and give them the opportunity to feel like they are part of the Lakeland community.

Instead of hosting a concert for one night, the virtual aspect has allowed them to host for four weeks featuring 3-4 artist per week. Dumkee was also happy they were able to line up a few bigger artists.

This evening’s event will feature Karissa Hoffart, Devin Cooper, Tom Hall and the Blake Reid Band.

She was thankful to all of the artists for being willing to donate their time.

“Music is something that always gives people something to do and connect over. Listening to music gives them common things to talk about,” said Dumkee.

“Generally Band in the Sand is a revenue-generating event, but this year New Holland was kind enough to sponsor the event, and additional sponsors include MNP and Vegreville Co-operators.

Last week, they experienced a few technical streaming difficulties so they will be trying YouTube Live for the next three weeks. She said a lot of parents and families tuned in last week, with over 100 viewers With everyone’s social lives being limited, she said the group was proud to keep the event’s momentum going.

“Seeing those numbers made us really happy because we didn’t really know what to expect. We’ve gotten a great response from anyone who has heard about it – we even had a few viewers from the United States,” said Dumkee.

“Anyone can watch at home – and it will be completely free. We hope everyone including alumni and area residents enjoy it,” said Dumkee.

Upcoming performances will be held March 11, 18, and 25 at 7 pm.

To watch the live events, you can visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGrJ3L1fapDjrv1tF5komdA. By subscribing to their channel, you will get a notification to join the event when they go live.