Steve Major travels the world, performing songs in front of thousands of people.
But he was once a Barrie guy who did what he could to help grow the arts in his city.
Currently in Kyiv, Ukraine, Major is waiting out the current COVID-19 health crisis before he can get back to doing what he loves.
“I’ve been performing on a cruise ship from Norway to Germany and back again,” Major told BarrieToday. “One of the shows is called Silver Screen, where I perform the hit songs from big-screen movies. This is all on hold, of course, as COVID-19 has shut down everything.”
Many of the countries Major performs in have bans of crowds that contain 500 people or more. The shows that Major sings in average at least a thousand.
“It is such a frustrating time for a performer, for anyone, but we have to be safe and follow the rules,” he said. “If we can do that, maybe this will all be over sooner than later.”
Major attended school in Barrie from Grades 3 to 8 and went to the Etobicoke School of the Arts for high school.
“My father worked in Toronto, so I would get a ride with him at 5 a.m., take the subway over from where he dropped me off and do it all over after school,” Major said. “I knew what I wanted and I knew there would be sacrifices.”
Eventually, Major hosted a successful show in Barrie on Rogers TV called Local Live. The show highlighted young artists in the city and gave them a platform to shine.
Major remembers Local Live fondly.
“I was on that for five years and I’m really proud of it. It grew every year from just Barrie, to Barrie and Colingwood, to other towns and so on,” he said. “Before moving on to a sixth season, I got the call to head to London, England. I had to take it, I did, and that was that. It has been a fun ride so far.”
Major’s international career had begun with live shows in London, around the Mediterrean, South Africa, Asia and Australia.
“”I’ve been to every continent except South America. That’s on my bucket list,” he said.
Despite being thousands of kilometres away from his hometown doesn’t mean that the performer hasn’t kept tabs on what’s going on with the culture of the city.
“When I was growing up in Barrie, if you didn’t play sports, you weren’t cool,” said Major. “That has certainly changed and I know that Barrie has become an arts community that is thriving. It is growing so much there and being a small part of the growth is something I cherish.”
Information on Major and what he is up to can be found on his website.
