From the Promoter

A BIT MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS

SADIE BUCK -was born into a long line of traditional singers and dancers. Her life as a traditional singer has honed her training and performance skill to a master level. Sadie has taken her traditional training ideology and transposed that to her contemporary life as an artist, performer, facilitator, director, author, trainer, researcher and consultant. Sadie is also the lead singer of the Six Nations Women’s Singers, one of the most influential female Native singing groups. They have recorded with Robbie Robertson and performed at the Presidential inauguration in 1997. Representing the Onkwehonwe people, she is from the Seneca nation of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Tonawanda Seneca. She established and ran the Aboriginal Women’s Music Program at the Banff Centre for three years where she organized and co-led the JUNO nominated recording, “Hearts of the Nations”. The success of this program brought together Aboriginal women from all over the world to collaborate together, sing and perform. Sadie also wrote and co-directed the celebrated Aboriginal dance opera “Bones”. Honoured for her significant contributions to Ontario’s folk music community, Sadie was the recipient of the Estelle Klein Award in 2015.

JANI LAUZON - can’t remember a time that she didn’t sing. She grew up in British Columbia’s East Kootenays where she inherited the cultural wealth of her parents’ Metis and Scandinavian ancestries. She became a skilled performer on the Western flute. Beginning her performing career in the late 1980s, she gave virtuosic, energetic performances performing on the Western flute, a variety of Native flutes and singing her own Blues-infused songs. Jani is a three time JUNO nominee, twice for her two solo albums “Blue Voice, New Voice” produced by Ken Whiteley and “Thirst”, and also for her contribution to the compilation “Hearts of the Nations”. She was also nominated for a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for her album “Mixed Blessings” in the Best Traditional Female Artist category. More recently she has developed the acting and writing side of her career while continuing to compose and perform music. Jani is a Dora nominated actress, and the creator of several children’s television puppet characters (Mr. Dressup, Little Star, Big Comfy Couch, Prairie Berry Pie). In 2004 she won a Gemini Award for her role as Seeka in the series Wumpa’s World, the first Metis puppeteer to garner the award. janilauzon.com

Despite polar opposite backgrounds TWIN FLAMES found a common musical language. Canadian Folk Music Award Winners for Aboriginal Songwriters of the year 2016, this captivating duo combines very unique singer songwriters Jaaji an Inuk Mohawk man from Nunavik and Chelsey June a métis Woman from Ottawa. Twin Flames takes the audience on a musical journey across Canada and the Arctic, they echo the voices of their ancestors and depict life on the land as they sing songs in English, Inuktitut and French. They leave audiences fascinated, intrigued and inspired. In June 2017 they released their much anticipated second studio album, “Signal Fire” which continues to push the boundaries of Contemporary Folk music by featuring songs in both Inuttitut and English. They have a great ability to wrap Indigenous stories in traditional styles, incorporating both Western and Indigenous instruments thereby introducing us to their beautiful cultures. twinflamesmusic.com

Your host Ken Whiteley is one of Canada’s most respected ‘roots’ musicians and recording producers. His newest solo CD, “Freedom Blues” is steeped in African American blues and gospel music. This recording abounds in glorious vocal harmonies, in the cry of the slide guitar, in the density of complex horn arrangements and the wail of the Hammond organ, all anchored by the heartbeat rhythm of bass and drums. It confronts the social forces of power in our society yet affirms our struggle, individually and collectively, to make the world, and ourselves, better.