Buller keeps the faith through pandemic pitfalls
Ex-Winnipeg musician back in town launching pair of new releases
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2022 (1507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For Jon Buller, it’s a reunion more than two years in the making.
“I’m excited to gather with people in Winnipeg again,” Buller said from his home in Vernon, B.C. “It’s been a long time since we could do that.”
Buller, 51, is well known among Christian audiences in the city for his popular Hear the Music concerts that used to fill the Burton Cummings Theatre on weekends in the early 2000s. He was nominated for a Juno in 2000 for Best Gospel Album.
Supplied
Jon Buller
He will be back in town Sunday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. for a concert at the Park Theatre.
“I have new music I want to share,” said Buller, who left Winnipeg 15 years ago to take a worship leader position at a church in B.C.
Through the new music, Buller hopes to lift spirits for people who have felt isolated and burdened for the past two years.
“The pandemic has been hard on everyone,” he said. “Through gathering, we can share our sorrows and also our hope.”
The pandemic was also challenging for Buller as a musician, who left his church position in 2019 to focus on his music.
“The timing wasn’t the best,” he said. “There were no concerts, events or conferences for two years.”
Financially, the pandemic was hard. But it was also “a blessing in disguise,” he said.
The time off gave him time to “adapt what I was doing,” he said. “I felt the mission and vision was still good, but my methods needed to change.”
That included the need to learn new skills such as making and editing videos along with internet marketing.
“The learning curve was fairly steep,” he said. “But now I have those skills now.”
He’s using those skills for his new ministry, Worship Arts Canada. “It’s an outlet for me to equip, affirm and care for musicians, artists, technicians and creatives,” he said, noting the pandemic showed the need for people in the arts to be helped develop new business models.
The pandemic also provided time for creative pursuits. “It pushed me back into writing,” he said.
For inspiration, he listened to old demo cassettes he made years ago. “Most of it wasn’t very good,” he laughed. “But there were a few diamonds in the rough. It primed the pump for me.”
The results are two new albums — Come Awake and Different Now — both of which will be showcased at the Winnipeg homecoming concert.
One of the new songs is titled Thankful, something Buller acknowledges can be hard after two years of isolation due to COVID-19.
But he hopes people can find hope in his music, despite the hardships.
“When we share our sorrows, they are divided. When we share our joys, they are multiplied,” he said, referencing the song. “By gathering, we can do that together.”
Tickets for the concert are available at jonbuller.com.
faith@freepress.mb.ca
The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.
Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Concert preview
Jon Buller double album release
● Sunday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m.
● Park Theatre, 698 Osborne St.
● Tickets from $15 plus fees at jonbuller.com
The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.
Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Advertisement Advertise With Us
Advertisement Advertise With Us
The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.
