Leanne Pearson welcomes precious new protégé

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This article was published 10/02/2022 (1398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Leanne Pearson has her little man in her arms.

The Winnipeg country singer gave birth to eight-pound, seven ounce, Levi Pearson Riley on Jan. 22, a couple of weeks after becoming ill with COVID-19 symptoms. She had been double-vaccinated long before the positive test results came in.

If the days leading up to little Levi’s birth weren’t uncertain enough, his delivery took the drama to a higher level. Complications, including a bad reaction to an epidural, led to Pearson undergoing an emergency caesarean section to deliver Levi.

“We’re happy, we’re healthy. Our baby Levi is healthy and he’s had a two-week appointment and gained back his birth weight,” the 32-year-old said after mother, father and son visited a doctor Tuesday morning.

“Nobody really tells you the gruesomeness of a labour and delivery because as soon as you meet your baby you forget about all of it.

“Every time we look at his little face it makes it all so worth it.”

During her pregnancy, the three-time Manitoba Country Music Award winner had released a single, Little Man, which looks forward to meeting their baby son for the first time. It includes the line, “I can’t wait to hear your first cry.”

However, she was under anesthesia and husband Jordan Riley was kept outside the operating room for Levi’s birth.

A nurse borrowed Riley’s cellphone for a photo, and the couple later received an audio surprise.

“She didn’t know at the time but the phone was set to live photo, so it was actually a video of his first cry,” Pearson says. “We ended up hearing his first cry, which was so beautiful.”

Pearson’s COVID-19 symptoms have eased in the month since she was first diagnosed, so instead of staying up nights coughing and sneezing, it’s her baby son who’s been robbing her of her sleep.

“Sometimes I’m just speechless to talk about it, and I love to talk,” she says with a chuckle.

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The Manitoba pandemic regulations that affect large indoor concerts eased Tuesday, the same day two shows were announced for Winnipeg’s two largest indoor venues.

Rufus Wainwright was first, letting fans know his cross-Canada tour would stop at the Centennial Concert Hall April 15. Tickets, which range in price between $32 and $242 plus fees, go on sale Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. at centennialconcerthall.com or by phoning 204-949-3999.

The Lumineers were next, setting an Aug. 10 date at Canada Life Place to promote its new album, Brightside, which came out in January.

The Denver folk-rock band had been scheduled to play the downtown arena Sept. 12, 2020, back when its album III was its focus, but the show was one of dozens in Winnipeg postponed, owing to COVID-19.

Tickets from the 2020 show will be honoured for the Aug. 10 concert, and tickets for the new date are on sale at Ticketmaster, ranging in price from $60-$460, including fees.

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @AlanDSmall