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VIDEO UPDATE: Concert provides joyous tribute to Daniel Levesque

Tears were turned into laughter and sorrow into song at the Daniel Levesque memorial concert at Revelstoke Secondary School last Saturday night.
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Nikki Treber joins the Old Souls on stage to sing 'Home' by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.


Tears were turned into laughter and sorrow into song at the Daniel Levesque memorial concert at Revelstoke Secondary School last Saturday night.

Organized by Levesque’s former music teacher Tessa Davis and open mic host Steve Smith, the night featured six bands, all of who were somehow connected to Levesque.

“We wanted this to be a positive night,” said Davis. “We wanted a celebration of music because it was his passion.”

The Blackbirds, who Levesque used to play with, started the show. Kurt Clayton and Taylor Roberts strummed their acoustic guitars during a three-song set.

They were followed by the Maritime Kitchen Party. Steve Smith started the set with a solo rendition of Elton John’s Daniel before he was joined by the rest of the band. The highlight of the set was when Jamie Fitchett joined them on stage for a rocking performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man. The song was the one Levesque recorded only days before his death.

People also heard numerous humourous stories about Levesque. Andy Pfeiffer, the vice-principal of RSS told some tales about Levesque at school. His friend Levesque talked about “Aussie Dan”, who would put on an Australian accent to impress the ladies. His mother Stacey Thur told a story about his generosity and kindness as it related to a hapless street musician Levesque  gave money too when no one else would.

But mostly, the night was about music. “If it wasn’t for Daniel, none of us would be as passionae for music as we are,” said Henry Davis, the lead singer of Bon St. John before their set that closed off the first half.

The second half began with The Sixth Interval, consisting of Davis and some teachers and students. They played three songs Levesque liked playing when he was in the school band.

Following them was the Bob Rogers trio, with Rogers on trombone accompanied by Shannon Sternloff and Trevor Wallach. They played three songs by famous jazz saxophone players because that was the instrument Levesque played in band.

The final band was The Old Souls, with Riley Dickson on guitar and vocals, Devin Channell on bass and Yauck on drums. They were joined on one song by Nikki Treber and played a stirring set.

The night ended with Davis and Smith playing the Irish classic Danny Boy together and sending 350 people home happy.