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Jam Street Founder Lucy James hands over the keys to Adreanna Boucher. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)
Expanding the dream

Big changes coming to Jam Street, but the music will not stop

Jul 7, 2020 | 11:39 AM

After eight years of running Jam Street Music, Prince Albert’s Lucy James is making some big changes in her own personal life, but not before making sure the project she started will live on and grow.

On Wednesday, James and her family will move back to Switzerland, where they lived prior to moving to Prince Albert 10 years ago. James told paNOW it was a tough decision leaving the city.

“We hadn’t planned on leaving ever, but things kinda change,” she said. She added there was a great work opportunity for her husband, and the move will give their kids a chance to see their other grandparents, and learn about about another part of their culture.

Despite its founder moving away, Jam Street Music will continue under the guidance of several of James’s students, and James herself will help manage from afar. She said it was very important for her that Jam Street continue without her physically being there.

“You know Jam Street is more than just music lessons, it’s like a community,” she said. “It’s a real place to belong.”

In addition to music lesson lessons, the location on First Avenue W. also offers the youth a place to have open mic nights and even just a safe place to hang out with their friends. The venue also helped launch several local bands including The Wolfe, Method to Madness, and Jetfire.

“I will definitely miss it but I’m super happy that Jam Street can keep going. There are so many kids who enjoy it,” James said.

When looking for the right person to turn her keys over to, James was approached by Adreanna Boucher, with Off the Cuff Improv and Interactive. Boucher, who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from her theatre background, proved to be the perfect fit, and signed a lease agreement. In addition to her own group running shows, Boucher plans to offer stage space to local comics and musicians.

“I just think we have so many talented artists in this city that we need to have more places for them to show what they do,” she said.

While acknowledging the strange times we are in with the pandemic, Boucher expressed her excitement about moving forward. She said the venue may be small but it has a lot of potential.

“You might only get 30 or 40 people to it but if you get in a small enough room it feels really intimate and has a great energy which is awesome not only for the audience bit also the performers,” she explained.

Boucher expects renovations to take a couple months, and then hopes to start running shows in the fall. In addition to live entertainment, Boucher said the venue can be a great community gathering space, and hopes to work with local restaurants, as well as breweries who can offer taste testing.

“I just really want to give Prince Albert a taste every weekend of some sort of live entertainment that they can go and enjoy at a really good price,” she said.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

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