HALIFAX Many within the Maritime music industry are optimistic for a return to centre stage in 2021, even with several COVID-19 restrictions still in place. Nova Scotia-based musician Hal Bruce kept singing throughout 2020, even after most of his live shows were cancelled in March. “That was it for the gigs, really, except for my FaceTime gigs and Zoom gigs,” says Bruce. Signs of recovery for the industry are beginning to surface with festivals large and small being organized for 2021 – tentatively. “It may happen, it may not happen because you need a lot of leeway time, a lot of lead time, to plan these things out to have the bands in place from all over the world,” says Bruce.