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PIGS surprise Royal Theatre audience with band members’ wedding during hometown show

A great gig for PIGS at the Royal Theatre

It’s not every day that you see a concert turn into a wedding but that’s exactly what happened when the Victoria-based Pink Floyd tribute band PIGS played the Royal Theatre on April 21.

In a moment that took the audience by complete surprise, PIGS vocalist and guitarist Josh Szczepanowski and vocalist/tambourinist Charlene Szczepanowski, aka Anneda, got married during the encore at the final show of their Fearless Tour.

Anneda walked down the aisle while singing The Best, and the Tina Turner hit described the moment incredibly well.

Former PIGS guitarist Jon Baglo, who was doubling as a groomsman, was part of the band backing Anneda as she sang.

The entire wedding took place during the song and included vows and a bouquet toss.

Josh said he wanted to get married during the concert because he proposed to Anneda during their show at Royal Theatre on November 13, 2021.

“I thought this was the logical next step and here we are,” Josh said. “I didn’t even tell the band when I proposed. I didn’t tell anybody. People keep asking me if we do that at every show. This is a legit wedding.”

“My boss and pretty much everybody that we know is here,” Josh added. “It’s a lot of fun.”

PIGS call themselves Canada’s most authentic Pink Floyd tribute band,with Josh stating that they “don’t mess around.”

“I think the trick to it is that we’ve taken it pretty seriously,” Josh said. “We play the songs like we wrote them. I think that really comes across. It gives us that extra edge. It’s not fake if you do it right.”

The band works hard to give the audience a similar experience to a Floyd show in the ‘70s.

“I love the impact that they had at the time,” Anneda said. “It was really reminiscent of what was actually going on.”

PIGS performed hits from The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals, along with other rarities and classics from Meddle and The Division Bell.

It was evident just how much Pink Floyd means to PIGS during the show.

VJ Photon, aka Erik Nortman, really took the show to another level with incredible and colourful visuals and lasers to help keep that classic ’70s feel.

“We try to keep everything very authentic to what a Floyd show would look like,” Basterfield said.

Overall, the night was unforgettable and PIGS played a great gig, giving Victoria a compelling Floyd experience.


@brendanmayer
brendan.mayer@blackpress.ca

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Brendan Mayer

About the Author: Brendan Mayer

I spent my upbringing in Saskatoon, and in 2021, I made the move to Vancouver Island.
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