Once upon a time I worked in the wonderful world of television and not just television but entertainment television.
I say, “Once Upon A time” because it really was a fairytale. It was a job I loved with people I loved and allowed me to travel the country listening to music and attending all sorts of concerts, festivals and events.
I know, pinch me,right?
Well during my time in this job, I was so fortunate to meet so many creative and talented artists. So many young talents that had invested their lives in making music and hoping to share their craft to inspire the world and share their voices.
One of those such people were Johnny Reid, a Canadian Country music star, known for his Scottish accent, easy smile and frosted tips.
He always had all of the ladies crooning, in his tight pants and white shoes and hearing him belt out songs touched every heartstring.
The first time I met this man we were standing on the bluffs of Toronto shooting his first music video, recording interstitials for the weekly video countdown show I was producing.
It was freezing cold and windy. He was singing to a track and because of the wind he couldn’t hear the music and kept sliding down these cliffs… we had some laughs, some curse words, but it was at that moment that this man started his ascent.
As the years went on, my whole family fell in love with him, there was no way you couldn’t, he was charming.
At one Awards show or another I had the good fortune of meeting his wife, his mum and his gran. All lovely ladies who obviously helped shape him into the man he was now.
Johnny mentioned one time in a deep conversation over some beverages at an after party that now that he had started a family and had children of his own, he wanted to start a legacy… something to leave behind for his family. Something bigger than his music that would put him in the spotlight and showcase other artists too. At the time her thought of a variety show, but he took that idea and has gone even bigger.
We all raised a glass to his vision and that moment stuck with me because no matter how big we’ve made it, we always want more… and a legacy is something that comes at a certain age when we know we want to leave something behind.
Years passed. I left that job at the same time that Tracey, his now manager, left hers. She branched off to start her own thing and represent Johnny while I also started my own endeavour.
I feel it’s fair to say that although we all had it good, we were all looking for more; our mark, our footprint, our legacy.
So fast forward to this past weekend. Tracey, whom I kept in touch with due to the powers of social media, invited me to join Johnny in the start of his new chapter for the World Premiere of Maggie the Musical; a story inspired by his gran with all music written by him.
This was huge.
I’ve been a huge fan of Johnny Reid for years, taking my mom to see him every time he was in town, as admittedly we both have a crush, so much so that my Dad gifted us tickets to the musical for Christmas and splurged on the VIP package so we could attend a talk with Johnny, the producer, director and others involved before the show.
But I couldn’t say no to attending the World Premiere, so two nights in a row it would be. Why not?!
As I sat in my seat that first night, filled with anticipation, the past and my encounters with Johnny and his family all came flashing back.
He wanted to leave a legacy and that is exactly what he’d done.
I found it inspiring to hear the story of his gran, his father and his uncles as they battled hardship after hardship in the 1950s in Scotland. He did a brilliant job of showing the strength of his gran, a single mom of three boys, who scrubbed floors and clothes all to provide a better life for her family in a time when ‘better’ seemed pretty far-fetched.
What I found even more provoking was that Johnny told this tale, not from having lived through it, but rather by memory of the stories he had been told.
Oh the powers of storytelling and song writing. What an art form.
Johnny wasn’t alive then. He didn’t experience these hardships himself, and yet obviously his gran had made such an impression on him that he had to honour her legacy, while in the act also creating his own.
It hit me even harder on night two, when I was able to talk to his beautiful wife Jennifer at the pre-party before the World Premiere because the love that surrounds them is contagious. Johnny loved Jen from day one, high school sweethearts so to speak, and she has been by his side all these years.
As a singer it is not easy. Time apart from loved ones is common. Together they raised four children, but while Johnny would be out on the road, Jen was often left at home to run the household. She did it with such grace and raised some pretty incredible humans, but I’m sure it had some hard days too because as parents we are all challenged in different ways.
It’s hard, until it’s easy.
So as the lead vocalist in the “Maggie’ musical belted out songs with a voice like an angel, my eyes welled up because damn Johnny had done a great job of telling this tale, but it rattled me that obviously his gran had done the ‘telling’ even better because it was HER tales, that touched Johnny’s heart and made him take this leap of faith to share HER story, not just by simply writing a song, but by showcasing it all in a musical that would hopefully tour the world.
Our stories are important. Our hardships although challenging make things easier for those who come next. Our voices can inspire, motivate and comfort if we are brave enough to use them and our legacies get left behind when we do all of these things.
Parenting is not easy.
Little eyes are always watching and little ears are always listening.
In the case of Johnny and his dear gran Maggie that was the case, Johnny obviously watched and listened enabling him to tell her tale to the world and there is no doubt in my mind that Jen and Johnny’s children are watching and listening too.
That’s what brings a legacy Johnny, you’ve done it well.
So do yourself a favour and get out to this musical, not only to support a Canadian artist with a dream, actors and singers who appreciate the work and paycheck, but also to acknowledge that parenting is hard, but if we do it right… we can leave a legacy too.
We’ve Got This!
For tickets please visit www.theatreaquarius.org
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