The power of song can change hearts and inspire minds, and the power of community is a force to be reckoned with. Combine them and you’ll have a formidable tool to uplift, unify and empower — a feat 12 esteemed Canadian artists have accomplished with their new single and video, “This is My Song – For You”.
After two years of COVID-19 and moving just beyond the loneliness of lockdown, Canada’s population has become very fatigued, frustrated, and anxious on the whole. A recent study by the Angus Reid Institute reports one in three Canadians polled say they are struggling with their mental health.
“This is My Song – For You” promotes the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health, a non-profit agency that strives to enhance the mental wellness and quality of life of people in Belleville’s diverse community, as a way to enhance community awareness. It’s a caring message from an artistic community dedicated to supporting and healing from our past two years of strife and isolation.
Perhaps at no other time in our modern history have we needed the healing power of music more than right now so, when musicians Mike Goettler and Eric Baragar, two members of longtime Belleville, Ontario area quintet Bentwood Rockers, came up with the idea for The Singers of Hope project in early 2021, they had little idea of how timely the resulting song and video would be. The two of them gathered other members from their band of local heroes, as well as other area artists with decades of performing and recording experience to contribute their time and talents.
“This quickly morphed into a community music project featuring some of the best talents in the Quinte/Peterborough area,” Goettler and Baragar share.
The Singers For Hope and their solo, group, and studio affiliations are:
Andy Forgie (Photograph, All You Need is Love)
Dan Thompson (Bentwood Rocker, Noah)
Tara Leavey (aka Phyllis Leavey recording artist)
Robyn Scott (country recording artist)
Dave Conley (worldwide solo piano/vocal, Sands of Time)
Mike Goettler (Bentwood Rocker, Sands of Time)
Tim Campbell (Tim Campbell Trio, Bentwood Rocker, Sands of Time)
Steve Smith (Bentwood Rocker, Sands of Time, All You Need is Love)
Ken Harnden (solo and group recording artist, Pinnacle Music Studios)
Mark Rashotte (Photograph, All You Need is Love)
Barry Haggarty (Bentwood Rocker, solo artist, Haggarty Sound Studios)
Eric Baragar (Bentwood Rocker, Sands of Time, BigBMusic Studio)
“This is My Song – For You” was created over a 10-month period in 2021 and recorded remotely due to pandemic safety restrictions. The tracking and arrangement took place in Eric Baragar’s BigBMusic Studio. Later, vocals and guitar parts were recorded in several remote locations including Tim Campbell’s Keynote Studios, Barry Haggarty’s Haggarty Sound Studios, and Mark Rashotte’s Empire Theatre Stage in Belleville, Ontario.
The video for “This is My Song – For You”, featuring performances from the 10 vocalists and 2 guitarists who are the core members of Singers For Hope, is now on YouTube.
