Local ABBA tribute band getting in the swing (7 photos)

They have the look, they have the sound, and most importantly – they’re having the time of their life.

The four members of an up-and-coming ABBA tribute band are quickly establishing a name for themselves in the city ever since their debut performance at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Canada Day.

Called ‘ABBA Soo,’ vocalists Janet Brown and Kerry Beacock, along with keyboardist Mark Allemang and guitarist David Repath, have come together to recreate the musical stylings of the popular Swedish supergroup.

The tribute band was formed nearly three years ago by literally putting two and two together.

Beacock and Allemang have been playing together in ‘Touch of Class’ for over 30 years, while Brown and Repath come from ‘Encore,’ a local party rock cover band.

Allemang first considered the idea of an ABBA tribute in the summer of 2019, but it didn’t come without some hesitancy.

“We thought about doing ABBA songs before, but there was just too much involved,” he says. “I started listening to their songs and playing the keyboards. I then mentioned it to Kerry about possibly forming an ABBA tribute band.”

“I texted him, ‘you got my attention,’” Beacock says.

A friend of Allemang’s contacted Brown to see if she’d be interested in being one of the vocalists for the band. She then reached out to Encore bandmate Repath and got him on board to be the group’s guitarist.

Once the group was formed, its members began to channel their inner-ABBA.

“Some of the songs they’d never heard before,” Allemang says. “I’m really big on harmonies, so I would give them their harmonies and then figure out who’s going to sing what. I even sent them documentaries on ABBA so they could learn more about the group.”

“With ABBA, there’s so many different harmonies,” Beacock adds. “There’s only four of us. You have to pick the certain parts to make it mesh, and there’s still parts missing. But the parts we managed to put together makes it full. It’s a fun challenge.”

Allemang says it was the harmonies and the keyboards that made him interested in ABBA’s music to begin with.

In the early months of 2020, the group was ready to begin practicing when COVID disrupted their momentum. Although they were apart for months, it didn’t stop them from finding creative ways to get their practice time in.

“We did a lot of remote stuff during COVID,” Allemang says. “I’d do the track and keyboard parts and send it to the group, and they’d take the track, play it through headphones, sing into their phones, and send me back their vocal recordings. Dave would do the same on guitar as well. Then I’d put it all together.”

The foursome started getting together in the fall of 2021, holding in-person practices weekly.

“We really enjoy the band practices,” Repath says. “We get a lot accomplished.”

After learning 23 songs and building a lighting system with Bluetooth interface, ABBA Soo made their debut at the Pavilion on Canada Day.

Performing classic hits like ‘Waterloo,’ ‘Dancing Queen,’ and ‘Mamma Mia,’ the tribute band had audience members – young and old – dancing and singing along throughout.

“The audience is moving from the second bar of the first song,” Repath says. “It’s almost emotional.”

Near the end of their first live show as a group, ABBA Soo received a standing ovation, and the hundreds in attendance demanded they play an encore song.

The bandmates were stunned.

“We were blown away,” Brown says. “What we got back from the audience – the standing ovation – it was just incredible.”

“We’ve played a long time together and we’ve never had that before,” Allemang adds. “When you watch the ABBA tributes on YouTube, they’re not having as much fun as we are.”

The group received a similar reception at some of their more recent shows like the Summer Concert Series, as well as a pair of back-to-back sold-out evenings at the Water Tower Pub this past weekend.

The band members credit their teamwork abilities and genuine love for one another as a catalyst for their early successes.

“These three are unbelievable, everybody contributes so much,” Beacock says. “Our families have been so supportive of everything we do. We’re so lucky, it’s just a fantastic hobby.”

“Music can be a gift for life, whether you can sing or not,” Repath adds. “It can bring you to different places in your own life. I feel like with these three people, I’m creating new life moments all the time.”

ABBA Soo is hoping to perform on New Year’s Eve at the casino, and they’ve had discussions about expanding their network by taking part in summer festivals around northern Ontario in the future.