Concert for the Cows
Bridge Brass Quintet

In 2020, COVID was in full force.  Bridge Brass Quintet (BBQ) was missing performing and connecting with audiences. In order to make some kind of performance opportunity, the group contacted rancher Mac Mclean. A plan was developed to give BBQ a chance to perform.

Rancher Mac and the Brass chose a date, a time and a location. The audience, however, was not the regular two legged kind who would put their hands together to applaud each piece. Rather, it was a herd of Mac's prize cattle. The location was the middle of a pasture. The stage was an empty bale wagon.

It was a memorable event which even the local media caught wind of.

The weather was terrific, BBQ and the audience (or herd) came together to enjoy an evening of music.

The concert was captured on video by Terry Vogt of CTV news. (In addition to the CTV news video, it was recorded using drones by Paul Bohnert - which led to another aspect of this story)

The story was viewed on Lethbridge CTV news, then Calgary CTV news and on the CTV national news with Lisa Laflamme. It was nominated as Best Human Interest story of 2020.  VIEW CTV

That is all pretty amazing,  but wait - there's more.

Paul Bohnert and  BBQ horn player Karly Lewis took video footage and developed a charming video entitled "Concert for the cows" which tells the story (of course their creative instincts took over making it both informative and entertaining.. This video was shared widely and to much acclaim.

A few months later, a group known as the Harambee Grandmas were doing a national Zoom broadcast of various performers from across Canada to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

An idea to create a performance opportunity grew and then grew some more to not only bring a smile to a lot of faces, but also to help a most worthwhile charitable cause.

For the Bridge Brass Quintet, music is the gateway to a whole lot of amazing experiences.

Subsequent to all these events,  artist Ian Randall created an oil painting depicting the "Concert for the Cows" which was auctioned as part of another fundraising event.