I’m currently on tour as Bandleader, Keyboards and Accordion with the Cirque du Soleil ice skating show “Crystal”. Thrilled to be back to performing and touring after the Covid shut down. The Crystal touring schedule link is posted below if you happen to be in any of the cities that we are performing in.
UPDATE: My “Pope Trump” “First American Pope” video was released TWO DAYS before Trump said “I’d like to be pope”, FIVE DAYS before Trump’s official social media accounts posted an AI photo of himself as pope, and ELEVEN DAYS before the Vatican did indeed select the First American Pope? Can I see the future? Maybe…
On Monday, April 21st 2025, Pope Francis passed away. That night the thought occurred to me that Donald Trump, with his immense ego and lack of self-awareness, would probably want to be the new pope. I started working that night on a parody video of what it might look like if Donald Trump was The First American Pope.
I recorded a film-trailer style voiceover, put in my songs “Agnus Dei” and “A Walk in the Park” as background music; and then generated AI video clips and AI Trump voices that I thought would fit the aesthetic I was looking for in a “First American Pope” parody film trailer. I released the video on Sunday, April 27th 2025.
Here’s where it gets weird. Two days later on Tuesday, April 29th, 2025 – Trump was talking to reporters and said “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice”. UNBELIEVABLE!
A few people have said that my parody is offensive, but I tell you that nothing on God’s green earth is more offensive than Trump believing he could be pope.
Oh, but we’ve only just begun. A few hours later, Lindsey Graham (South Carolina Republican) said: “I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope,” wrote alongside a video of Trump’s remarks. “This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” (https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-graham-trump-pope-2065931)
Thanks all for joining in on the fun and please share my “Pope Trump” video.
Oh, my political videos? Yah shoor yoo betchya there’s going to be more… many more…
Here’s an interview all about my “Pope Trump” video:
Watch “Pray the Gay Away”® the musical on YouTube! Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland. This video is from the original 2019 community theater premiere at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA USA
“Pray the Gay Away”® delves into the challenging realm of gay conversion therapy, offering a raw and impactful portrayal. Experience the mix of entertainment and raw emotion that left audience members describing the show as both gut-wrenching and emotionally devastating.
While performing in Abu Dhabi, UAE – we had the opportunity to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I visited in the early evening and was able to hear the beautiful dusk call to prayers.
I’m finally starting to release some clips from my 2019 original musical “Pray the Gay Away”®. This song “No More Musical Theater” is a turning point in the musical where it quickly switches from a comedy to a tragedy. This is the last of the “fun and games” moments in the script as we follow the journey of two boys going through gay conversion therapy.
Photos from my two weeks in Montreal, Canada for Christmas 2023 through New Year’s Day. We were in Montreal performing with the Cirque du Soleil show Crystal at the Bell Centre arena. Here are photos I took around Montreal city including Notre Dame cathedral, the Sphere, Cirque du Soleil international headquarters and the Montreal Christmas Market.
Last year I missed the Christmas markets when we were performing in Germany, so I was very happy this year to make it to the Montreal Christmas market. I will have great memories of Montreal as always. A beautiful city with a wonderful and interesting bilingual culture.
Yes, that’s me (Conrad Askland) sitting at the ice piano during a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. (Photo by Caroline Thibault)
We just finished a wonderful two weeks performing in Montreal, Canada over Christmas with the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. Not only were the audiences wonderful to perform for, the cast of Crystal also got a private tour of the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters in Montreal. Wonderful city. Wonderful audiences.
Here is our new recording of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus by the vocal quartet Tembresha. We recorded this in my living room at the tail end of the pandemic in December 2021. This was one of several groups I worked with in my home during the pandemic. During the pandemic I wasn’t able to perform publicly so I started working with people in my home as a way to keep my sanity and creativity alive.
Click the bottom right of the video “Watch on YouTube” to listen to it on my YouTube channel and also to read more about the singers, our recording and the history of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus
Photos of Perth, Western Australia and surrounding areas of Fremantle, Rottnest Island, Lake Clifton and Pinnacles Desert. Perth had a wonderful surprise gift for me: Astro Photography! I’ve never taken photos of the Milky Way or stars before but I kind of accidentally bumped into astro photography and wow oh wow is it fun!
Adelaide, Australia photos late August 2023. We only did one week of shows in Adelaide Australia which only gave me a couple days to explore the city. It’s a fairly small city compared to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It’s very charming and the highlights for me was the Botannical Gardens, University of Adelaide and the National Gallery of South Australia (NGSA).
