House Calls: How the pandemic was a good thing for musician Natasha Blackwood
CBC
Even though COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in Newfoundland and Labrador, we're still living with a lot of changes brought on by the pandemic.
As part of a new CBC N.L. series called House Calls, we caught up with a few Newfoundland and Labrador musicians by video call to see where — and how — they've been making music and to talk about coming out of the pandemic.
In this episode, St. John's singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and arranger Natasha Blackwood plays two new songs and talks about how the pandemic forced her to slow down and change her music and her personal life.
Blackwood says when COVID kept her from playing with large ensembles, she learned to play guitar to accompany herself. When the pandemic kept people at home and cancelled activities, she seized the opportunity to spend more quality time with her kids and examine life.
"When everything slowed down and stopped and we were all home all the time, we really had to evaluate how we'd been living," said Blackwood.
"What really matters is are you fulfilled as a person? Do you feel connected to the people that are around you? Do you feel supported and loved?… That's what really matters if you're talking about enjoying your life, but now we have this different outlook."
Look out for future episodes of House Calls for more virtual visits to home studios around Newfoundland and Labrador and intimate live performances from the province's musicians.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.