Live album on the way from Begonia

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This article was published 21/01/2021 (1190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fear not, Begonia fans. The Winnipeg singer-songwriter’s five sold-out shows in her hometown last February will soon be more than just great memories.

Alexa Dirks, who performs as Begonia, is releasing a 16-track live record, Fear Tour Live Album, to streaming services on Jan. 29, along with a concert video that can be rented or purchased at vimeo.com/ondemand/begonia.

Begonia took the stage at the West End Cultural Centre on Feb. 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29 to wind up her Fear Live Tour in support of her debut album, Fear, which came out in the fall of 2019. Tickets sold out within minutes of each successive show being announced.

The album and video are culled from those shows.

Fear earned Begonia many accolades in 2020, earning her BreakOut Artist of the Year honours at the Western Canadian Music Awards last October and a spot on the Polaris Music Prize long list.

Begonia had planned on a second leg of the tour in 2020, but, like virtually all concerts and festivals last year, the shows were cancelled, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Begonia also released Bus, a track recorded during the original Fear sessions that didn’t make the album because it didn’t fit with the other songs, Begonia says.

“It’s a song about going out with your friends to try and feel something, which I wish I could do right now more than a lot of things,” Begonia says in a release.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@AlanDSmall