Local artist Ryon Holmedal is gearing up to take audiences on a rich ‘immersive audio/visual’ experience called ‘Tethers’ July 26th at The Krossing.

Doors open at 7 p.m.

He showcases his amazing creativity on a number of levels – tapping into an array of songs, music and spoken narrative supported by video imagery and animation as well.

“My wife and I were really just looking at our culture and ways to engage in our culture, and we really felt like this show that we built is really a way to communicate – to engage in dialogue. It’s musical dialogue presenting both thought and life observation,” he explained. “We also hope it stirs a dialogue that goes outside of the show.”

‘Tethers’ centers around the uniqueness of our human experience in this unimaginably large universe, he said, adding that an immersive, sensory experience creates the opportunity for something that goes beyond the senses.

“It speaks to the soul. So we are endeavouring to tell the story in a way that speaks to the soul.”

The coming show marks his 16th performance of Tethers, with several having taken place here in Red Deer at the Nickle Studio and in other communities.

“I’ve also created visual animation and motion backgrounds that support the musical story,” he said. “The backbone of it is the music and the lyrical content.

“The story starts with the grandeur of the universe, and the uniqueness of our human experience in light of the probability that we are the only place – that we know of – that this happens; where you and I share time and space and experience an ‘exchange’ of life,” he said. “It’s the uniqueness of that, and again, as far as we know, this is the only place in the universe where that happens.

“So it really lends itself to the ideas of significance. And within the context of the story, the lens tightens right down to a really terrestrial, human experience.

“The songs are around the ideas of the ‘commonality’ of humanness – the things that are common to us in our human experience like love, loss, imagination and longing. And the propensity we have to look up and out, and to see beyond ourselves,” he explained.

Indeed. The term ‘tethers’ references those very things that do connect us, and what we are connected to.

“We are all grounded to this planet and to one another – in many ways, we are connected.”

Holmedal said his hope is that the show, in effect, stirs conversations in light of those ideas and concepts.

“It’s an invitation to come out to an immersive experience – to be provoked in terms of thought and reflection about your own story as you hear a musical story,” he said. “Certainly there is a spiritual aspect to the ideas of significance. Part of the dialogue would be around those ideas, beliefs and philosophies in a way that allows for conversation.”

He also pointed out that Tethers is an evolving production.

“We’ve built songs into it, and we have added different animations and narratives all along. So anytime someone would have come and seen the show more than once, they would have seen a slightly different show,” he said. “But the theme remains the same.”

From the start, feedback has been extremely encouraging.

“People find it enriching, thought-provoking, stirring – those are common responses.”

Looking ahead, Holmedal is also prepping for the release of a single called Manic from a new project titled Silver Thread which he co-produced as well.

“It’s got 10 tracks on it, and we are releasing the first of the tracks on July 24th,” he said. “Manic is the debut single from Silver Thread, and it’s part of a broader story drawn from observations of the human condition.”

Tickets for the July 26th performance are available online at the Black Knight Inn ticket centre at www.blackknightinn.ca, The Krossing or by contacting Holmedal at info@ryonholmedal.com.