PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY -- Usually around this time of summer, Emily Fennel, known as "Miss Emily" on stage, would be touring across Canada, jumping from festival to festival from Halifax to Vancouver.
She describes the feeling on stage as one of her favourite places.
"I describe it as Neverland," says Fennel. "It’s the place where you really forget all your worries and cares and you just connect with your audience."
A summer staple is getting out and enjoying an outdoor concert, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the postponement of many events.
The 20-year music veteran says being a musician is just like owning a small business, and while she is making it through, the pandemic has been tough on many of her fellow artists.
"A lot of us pay mortgages as full time musicians," Fennel says. "A lot of us have families that we support, car payments, insurance everything like that. So it’s been difficult for the entire community."
So Fennel organized a drive-in concert, in her hometown of Prince Edward County.
Taking place at Mustangs Drive-In Movie theatre, the space transformed into a music venue, filled with cars.
The drive-in concert allows the public to sit in their cars and trucks, while listening to the music from a safe distance away.
Jonas Lewis-Anthony of Into the Wilderness, a band from Kingston, says the pandemic hit just as things were starting to get rolling for them. He says they had just finished an album, and had tour dates that included stops in Europe.
"It kind of came to a grinding halt, just as the wheels of momentum started reaching a good speed," he explains.
Now this is the first weekend he is performed during the pandemic, he says it is not perfect, but he’s happy to be singing again.
"It’s a strange sight on stage and looking out to a sea of cars, but I don’t care if I’m playing to cars or not," explains Lewis-Anthony. "What I care about is that I’m playing with my best friends."
Fennel says it is a reminder of a time when people could get together and be close.
"Our big goal here is to create an environment where the community felt like they were together, and enjoying some sense of new normalcy," she explains. "It's just a window into that world."
For those attending there are strict guidelines in place, including no getting out of your car and walking around without a mask on.
Concert-goers say they don’t mind the extra rules.
Kevin Reilly says he thought a drive-in concert was an interesting idea, and wanted to see for himself.
"This type of event takes the sting out of the new normal, so that’s why we came here to experience it," Reilly explains. "Maybe make a good thing out of this new normal."
The even was sponsored by Huff Estates Winery, and also served as a fundraiser for Three Oaks Women’s Shelter.
As for Fennel, she plans to do this again.
"We will continue to show the love, and continue to make the music, as long as people want to hear it."
