Alberta Flood Aid rocks Calgary
Posted Aug 16, 2013 6:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
From Jann Arden to Nickelback, it was a show to remember at McMahon Stadium Thursday night.
More than 30,000 people cheered on some of the biggest names in Canadian music during Alberta Flood Aid, with brilliant weather in stark contrast to what this city faced nearly two months ago.
It’s been eight weeks since the largest flood in provincial history, and it was a chance for people to once again come together.
Throughout the evening, tributes were made to the first responders, volunteers and communities that have helped, and are helping get Calgarians and Albertans back on their feet.
Corb Lund also included a musical tribute to the late Stompin’ Tom Connors.
“Rest in peace sir,” said Lund during a performance of The Hockey Song.
Loverboy kicked off the show, followed by performances from Tom Cochrane, Randy Bachman, The Sheepdogs, and Matt Good.
No matter what artist concertgoers were there to see, they all agreed it was really about supporting a good cause.
“It’s raising money for the people that are in need, the flood victims,” one person told 660News.
“I was actually shocked it didn’t sell out faster,” another woman remarked.
A rock star in his own right, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi took in the show with his family.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was also among the crowd, with Premier Alison Redford briefly taking the stage.
“Eight weeks ago, we went through something incredible, and we’re still working together to re-build Alberta,” she said. “Thank-you all for being here! It’s a great celebration of who we truly are.”
People travelled from near and far to take in the show, including Kim, a music lover who drove in from Red Deer to help support the flood victims in Calgary and High River area.
While the reception was generally positive, there were some upset people watching at home.
If you were tuning in on TV or online to Flood Aid, you didn’t get to see Nickelback’s headlining performance.
The hosts ended the show and rolled the credits before the boys from Hanna took the stage, leading to some angry comments on Twitter.
Telus, on their official Twitter account, replied they were sorry they couldn’t bring the live stream to fans but the exclusive performance, only for those at McMahon, was a request from the band.
Many reacted negatively on the social media website, saying it was the wrong move because the money was for charity.
Others are defending them though, noting they re-directed their equipment from a tour starting in South America in a few weeks, something concert organizers said probably cost them $50- 100,000.
The Flood Aid concert helped raise at least $1.5-million for the Calgary Foundation’s Flood Rebuilding Fund.
