HALIFAX -- A group of Maritime musicians has joined forces to send love through song during this time of self-isolation and physical-distancing.
A new initiative called “Covers for Comfort” has artists sharing personalized messages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you, or someone you know, are feeling isolated right now and could use a little cheering up, send an email to coversforcomforthfx@gmail.com. Include the name of the person you’re nominating, plus their favourite song.
“We will put the requests out there to the group of musicians and then someone will volunteer for the songs and record them with a little personalized message and then send them back to the recipient,” says musician Carla Bezanson.
The concept is Bezanson’s brainchild. She says she wanted to start something to make people happy.
“It’s just a really difficult and challenging time,” says Bezanson. “There are a lot of unknowns and that can be stressful, so I think just anything to take your mind off what’s going on.”
Singer-songwriter Ben Caplan says he's excited to take part.
“It’s a rich feeling, I’m glad to have the opportunity to be able to participate in something like this,” says Caplan. “I'm really grateful to the organizers for putting it together and reaching out.”
Fellow artist Kristen Wells is helping recruit musicians for the project and says Caplan is just one of many who immediately signed up.
“The more artists we asked, the bigger it got, and now we have a group chat of 30, almost 40, East Coast artists ready to record covers for people who need a little extra love,” says Wells.
The project launched Saturday and by Sunday videos were in the works.
One of the song requests came from a daughter nominating her mother, who was in the hospital. The woman did not have the technology to receive a video, so instead the artists called her and sang her favourite song.
“She was crying, her daughter was crying, she was just so happy to have any contact with the outside world at this point,” says Wells.
Bezanson says they’ll keep the project going as long as the demand is there.
“I think that ‘Covers for Comfort’ and these other initiatives that are starting up are just nice ways of maintaining community and connection as we figure out how to bridge this gap,” says Bezanson.
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