On Friday, April 29th, The Stephen Leeson Show marked its first anniversary. The show launched in April 2021 as a co-production between singer/songwriter Stephen Leeson and the volunteers at the Scientology Community Centre. It had the purpose to celebrate artists and giving them a platform to reach out, perform and tell their stories in their worst hour – in the midst of the pandemic. It declared a war on the pandemic blues from day one.
“The pandemic was very hard on everyone and has affected the mental health of so many. I found this especially prevalent in the art sector as musicians and performing artists from all walks of life were simply unable to do what they love the most – create. Adding the heavy economic strain they were under on top made the situation unbearable. We had to do something to help,” said Asia Kuzma – a volunteer at the Scientology Community Centre and co-producer of the show.
“I knew Stephen Leeson before the pandemic as a very successful singer/songwriter who was constantly booked out and very busy. When I reached out to him in 2021, Stephen had not performed for a year and had even considered that music might be over for him. But his purpose to create and entertain was rekindled very fast. When he suggested that we co-produce a weekly online show, entirely on a volunteer basis, just to help artists overcome the impact of the pandemic on their mental health, our entire team was immediately on board. Now we have a year of production behind us – something we are really proud of.”
A multi-talented Irish folk singer, songwriter and musician, Stephen Leeson has been on stage for over 20 years. He has been the frontman and lead singer with bands such as Porter Black and Dublin Legacy and has also performed with The Dublin City Ramblers.
Asked about his life before the pandemic, Stephen said he never had less than 10 gigs a week.
“I was in my element and was loving it. When everything suddenly stopped, I found it very hard not to be able to do what I loved the most and this took its toll on me. What we created with this show was lifesaving for me, and for many other artists, I believe. I’m really proud I did something about it and I’m very grateful to the entire team at the Scientology Community Centre for their unwavering support from the very beginning,” said Stephen.
In the past year, The Stephen Leeson Show has welcomed well over 200 artists, including well-known performers like The High Kings, Dublin City Ramblers, The Rock Tenors, Paddy Casey, Johnny Ward and many more. The show has also hosted 3 charity concerts raising close to 15,000 Euros in aid of great causes. It has grown quite popular over the past year and is currently booked out for the coming months.
The special episode celebrating the show’s first year of production was opened by a spectacular performance of Irish dance by studio2stage, followed by a beautiful medley of songs from Francie Conway, Kenneth O’Regan, Barbara Galvin and Shoe The Donkey band. Stephen Leeson was joined by co-host Angel Brennan – a great singer and entertainer in her own right.
Singer/songwriter and producer Kenneth O’Regan, who has been closely involved with the show, said: “In April of 2021, the Scientology Community Centre decided they wanted to do something to help Irish music artists in their hour of need. That something became The Stephen Leeson Show. In the past year, over 200 artists from all over Ireland performed on the show. The Stephen Leeson Show became an outlet for artists to express their art and stories in a time when no other outlet existed. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
The 1st-anniversary episode of the show is available online here:
