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FYI

Wanted: 1K Musicians To Perform Six Songs In Unison On July 21

Two Niagara Falls entrepreneurs hope to make a big noise in Canada's honeymoon capital with a spectacle that serves as a tourism initiative and a local charity fundraiser.

Wanted: 1K Musicians To Perform Six Songs In Unison On July 21

By FYI Staff

Wanted: 250 guitarists, 250 bassists, 250 drummers, and 250 singers.


Where: Firemen’s Park, Niagara Falls.

When: July 21st.

Why? It’s a ‘big’ idea, a charitable fundraiser and ‘why not!’

Saturday, July 21, has been set as The Day of a 1,000 Musicians. The goal is to create a spectacle by gathering 250 vocalists, 250 guitarists, 250 bass players and 250 drummers in one place to perform six songs and raise money for local charities that include music for therapy programs in the region.

Co-organizer Paul Lemire, president of local ad agency VideoSign Inc., came up with the idea after watching a 2015 video of 1,000 musicians gathering in an open field in Cesana, Italy to play the Foo Fighters' “Learn to Fly” in an attempt to get the band to play their town.

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It worked – four months later the Foo Fighters played a 27-song concert for many of the same musicians in the video.

Lemire and co-organizer John Fillion of Rev Publishing are hoping for a similar-sized event July 21 in Niagara Falls.

Admission and participation are free (although cash donations and non-perishable food items gratefully accepted in support of ProjectSHARE).  To register as a performer, volunteer or sponsor, visit.

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Billy Steinberg
billysteinberg.com

Billy Steinberg

FYI

Obituaries: Hit Songwriter Billy Steinberg, Streetheart Guitarist John Hannah, Festival Booker Randi Fratkin

This week we also acknowledge the passing of salsa pioneer Willie Colón.

John Hannah, a Scottish-Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as a member of Streetheart, died at his residence in Ayr, Scotland, on Feb. 20, at age 73. He had been in hospital with complications of COPD.

On their website, Streetheart reported the news and noted that "John joined Streetheart in the fall of 1978 and was with the band until the early spring of 1981. John’s contribution to the Streetheart legacy during that time was most profound. Along with being an accomplished guitarist and singer, he was also a creative force, contributing to many of the classic Streetheart songs that remain as fan favourites today. 'Hollywood,' Trouble, and 'Drugstore Dancer' all feature John’s songwriting and playing skills and it is John who played the iconic guitar solo on Streetheart’s classic remake of The Rolling Stones’ 'Under My Thumb' in 1979."

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