Why ABBA’s music never seems to be forgotten

There’s something about ABBA that is timeless.

It may have been a Monday night, but that didn’t stop a packed Kelowna Community Theatre (KCT) from bouncing to all the golden hits of the Swedish favourites courtesy of Canadian cover band, ABRA Cadabra.

“There’s something very magical about the music. It’s one of the very few groups where you will see grandparents, parents, and children from multi generations all singing along to the same music there’s not many groups that transcend age and culture like the music of ABBA,” founder of the band and one of the two lead singers Jeanette O’Keeffe told Kelowna10 before their performance.

Accompanied with a back-up band, multiple dancers, and replica outfits, the group has been pleasing audiences since 2000. Their tours have included extensive North American destinations as well southeast Asia, bringing the uplifting and classic songs like Mama Mia, Dancing Queen, and SOS to fans.

O’Keefe, who has been a fan of ABBA since she was a child, said they created this show based on their love for music, and it’s always been her dream to pay tribute to them.

“ABBA’s music is so special to the fans, and we feel very honoured to be bringing their music to life in this live setting so we can all celebrate the music together,” she said. “We’re fans of the music ourselves, so we celebrate that with our audience. We don’t impersonate ABBA, we don’t pretend to be them, we are paying homage to them and honour them.”

Fellow lead singer Marlie Collins has been part of the band for 10 years, and comes from a musical theatre background.

She is excited about bringing all of ABBA’s classic iconic numbers alive.

“Everyone’s always enjoying themselves whether they’re five or 95. It’s a special thing to be singing other people’s music and have people come up to us and say they had the best show of their lives and they got to relive their childhood. It brings me a lot of joy,” she said.

ABBA was originally formed in 1972 and was Sweden’s first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with their track Waterloo. After that, they became a global phenomenon.

ABRA Cadabra is currently on their ‘I Still Have Faith in You’ Western Canada Tour.