#localmusic — Public Fediverse posts

I brokered a deal with the Dealbreakers

https://scoot2hoot.com/2025/12/08/i-brokered-a-deal-with-the-dealbreakers/

TURNING IT UP UNDER THE BRIDGE WITH JESS NUNES

The most recent Under the Bridge (UtB) event took place on Aug. 5, from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The community-driven event series is free, with suggested donations of $10 per person, and is open to attendees of all ages. Local DJ’s play energetic sets in a variety of genres, from house to trance to afrobeats.  

UtB is organised by Jess Nunes, a DJ and musician. Nunes began putting on the events in May 2023, inviting her Instagram followers to the free event.   

“There were only nine attendees that showed up,” Nunes said. “And then it just grew and grew. Even the following dance, we had twenty or so.”   

By August of that year, they had almost two hundred attendees.  

Nunes is an avid cyclist, first discovering the bridge while cycling a popular trail. The natural beauty of the surroundings—and a striking piece of graffiti, reading “Live Unlike Another”, inspired Nunes.  

“I just sort of felt that, you know, we are living unlike another. We’re going to do something outside of the mould of this Southern Ontario grind that we all feel stuck in,” she said.  

Nunes credits the space with giving UtB its unique energy and spirit.   

“If it’s raining, we’re still protected by the bridge. The bridge itself is symbolic, it’s protection of the community,” she said.  

The renegade, inclusive component of putting on donation-based dance events under a public bridge undoubtedly informs UtB’s communal atmosphere.   

Nunes draws comparison with the original notion of raves in the 80s and 90s, grassroots events held in abandoned factories and open fields that encouraged free expression. This exciting, alternative use of public space has been central for UtB’s appeal.  

Initially Nunes did not apply for a permit for UtB, believing that Kitchener council would not allow the events to go forward.   

“They don’t want us to express ourselves in these ways. This is me sticking it to the man and saying: look what I can do,” she said.  

Nunes has a deep appreciation of the transformative effect of music—she originally moved to Kitchener in 2014 to study Music Therapy at Wilfrid Laurier University. Coming from Thunder Bay, Nunes was initially surprised by the cultural conformity of the music scene in KW.  

Gradually however—especially since the pandemic—she has seen community-driven events, with alternative forms of music, become more active and popular.  

Nunes has been overwhelmed by the impact of the UtB and believes the positive energy the event series has brought to the community has been brought back.  

“I just want to inspire people, even though you feel down and out—our culture here is just so fast paced, and we’re not really taking time to break out of moods, think for ourselves. I use Under the Bridge as propulsion towards this, getting through the adversity—we’re reaching for the stars,” Nunes said.  

“Some amazing things have happened since I created Under the Bridge…I found my father after 35 years of not knowing who he was…He came to his first Under the Bridge last August,” she continued.   

The Aug. 5 event landed on Nune’s son birthday—attendees are invited to dress up in animal costumes for the event.   

“It’s just an opportunity to get silly,” Nunes said. “I usually like circus acts and stuff like that for the kids. And like, I would like to celebrate my son’s birthday, and he likes to be an astronaut every year…I love to see people get dressed up.”  

Beginning with a Magic Show, the DJ lineup includes Nunes, Jonny Rocha, Robin Green, Jacobilly, Uncle Doobie and Arsh. A sound installation from local artist Important Hair, titled Used Classical Records, will be played in full, while vendors showcase and sell their artwork.   

For more information, visit @Underthebridge_dance on Instagram.  

#arshA #astronaut #inspiration #jacobilly #jessNunes #jonnyRocha #JoshMiltonBell #liveUnlikeAnother #LocalArt #localDjs #localMusic #magicShow #robinGreen #SouthernOntario #uncleDoobie #underTheBridge #usedClassicalRecords #UtB

A WALK IN THE PARK WITH WILLA COWARD

The ground at Huron Natural Area was slippery with a coating of late-March snow when I met musician and concert photographer Willa Coward for a walk. Despite wearing footwear better suited for dry conditions, we ventured onto the trails to experience the beauty of the area and talk about the local arts scene.

Coward has been playing drums for most of her life, and is a member of the bands Body Nest, One More Lane and A Horse Named Friday. She has training and experience on the saxophone as well, but despite engaging in vocal exercises, Coward does not consider herself a singer.

“I know how to scream pretty well,” she said. “I can go really loud.”

Her talent for large vocal production led Coward to join a screamo band, a punk style which she describes as cathartic, emotional and hardcore. Not content to stick with one style, Coward also plays chamber folk, power violence, psych rock and shoegaze post rock. 

“[I]t really is…all types of music that I’m drawn to,” Coward said. “There’s nothing that really deters me.” 

With such a diverse range of styles in her repertoire, Coward lets the music dictate what she brings to her performance, focusing on the needs of the piece to guide her contribution. 

“I basically come at it with whatever feels right, whatever is adding to the song,” she said.

Originally from Caledon, Coward came to Waterloo to pursue music studies at Laurier and was in her second year when the pandemic hit. Burn-out and the challenges of lockdown meant that she chose to leave the program halfway through. 

“It had been the longest time since I played for the sake of playing, or just for the love of it,” Coward said. “[S]chool and I just didn’t really work well together.”

Coward turned her attention to practice and performance but also invested in building the local music community. As we walked along the boardwalk surrounding the pond before heading up another slippery trail, Coward talked about the importance of bringing people together to experience shows, and the emotions that can accompany music.

“I just wanted there to be more music, more things for people to go to, because…they’re pretty necessary,” Coward said. “COVID hit, and everything just became so scattered and dispersed. There wasn’t really that core…to tie people together.”

The community in the region felt welcoming to Coward, which is why she wanted to invest in building local shows. She described people showing up for the love of the scene, and relationships growing from those connections. 

“I feel like…we have a very good community based here, especially in terms of music,” she said.

Community and music connect through photography, another artistic outlet that Coward pursues. She brought her camera when she went to music venues, and began shooting the shows that she was attending, learning through trial and error.

“I didn’t know what I was doing at all. I was winging it!” Coward said. “It was just something I hold really close to heart. It’s nice to have that documentation…to say that it happened, and it was important to a lot of people.”

Coward shoots music shows on a film camera, preferring that medium to digital. Film facilitates other connections; people will approach her at shows to talk about her technique and process. Coward told me about finding a local store to develop film.

“[It’s] run by the sweetest older couple who I would trust with my life,” she said.

We left the trail area and returned to the covered shelter by the natural playground with a view of the art murals to finish our conversation. For Coward, coming to Huron Natural Area meant a return to a site of fond memories. Two years ago, she spent part of her birthday on a hike here at a time of year when the landscape was green and lush.

“I remember being so taken aback by it…I could have walked for hours,” she said.

For Coward, green spaces are where she can focus on herself and be solitary while appreciating nature. Being outside allows her to connect to the sensory experience and helps her when dealing with difficult situations.

“It’s very calming,” she said. “It puts you back into your body.”

We finish our interview by discussing movies. Coward enjoys films that show a quiet reflection of daily life, as well as off-beat cult comedy classics, a further example of the variety of art that she surrounds herself with.  

With a handful of new movie recommendations each, we ended our discussion and parted ways, and Willa Coward returned to her life and work in the community of local artists 

#AWalkInThePark #AmyNeufeld #artisticOutlet #boardwalk #Caledon #Column #COVID #CraigBecker #HuronNaturalArea #localMusic #Love #musicStudies #performance #photography #relationships #scene #waterloo #willaCoward

#soon #Pittsburgh #millvale #mmf2024 #mmf #millvalemusicfest #localmusic #livemusic

which makes me especially grateful to the #CatsCradle for using #Etix instead of TicketMaster.

#Carrboro #ChapelHill #localMusic