They say don’t meet your heroes, but Billy Talent superfan Avery Bazinet, 9, wasn’t disappointed after doing just that on Saturday night.
Still overwhelmed after meeting the Canadian rock band several minutes later, Avery shied away from answering Sudbury.com’s questions, and deferred to his father, Rod.
“He was a little starstruck,” Rod said where his family was seated at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre, where he joined Avery, son Ryan and grandson Carter in the front row for Saturday night's concert.
Shortly beforehand, guitar player Ian D’Sa toured the family around the stage, showing them the pedals and guitars they use for the show. Band members also signed Avery’s guitar, chatted with the youngster and posed for photos with him.
Joining D’Sa for photos with Avery was bass player Jonathan Gallant and vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz.
The band connected with the Bazinet family after reading a story by Sudbury.com about Avery’s delight in learning their July 29 performance in Sudbury would be an all-ages event. It had previously been advertised as 19+.
In April, Rod posted on social media about his son’s disappointment in learning he would be unable to attend the concert, which prompted Sudbury.com to reach out to him for a story.
Band members with kids said the story resonated with them, Rod relayed.
With Saturday night’s show ending up being an all-ages, a handful of families were seen throughout the performance space, including one family whose youngest members held signs for the band to see, indicating it was their first concert.
Sudbury.com also connected with the young Rivard family from Quebec, for whom the concert was a first for their two children, Etienne and Laurence, aged four and six respectively.
Etienne was keen on hearing Billy Talent perform the song “Rusted From The Rain,” while Laurence was eager to hear opening act Bedouin Soundclash perform “Brutal Hearts.”
This was a big weekend for rock music in Sudbury, with Our Lady Peace headlining at the amphitheatre Friday night. Like the Bedouin Soundclash/Billy Talent show, the Friday night show was part of the Summer Concert Series.
In their concert, Our Lady Peace included a tribute to Sinéad O'Connor, an Irish musician reported dead earlier that week. The band opened Friday night’s performance with a touching cover of the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which O’Connor popularized by covering in the early ’90s.
Next up for the Summer Concert Series will be country musician Johnny Reid and opener Katie Kadan on Sept. 16. Tickets are $91.11 to $102.94.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
