Slowcity Open Mic: Jeremy Dutcher, Aysanabee, Terry Uyarak, Jade Turner, Lake Street Dive, Lead Pony, Hillsboro, and Rae Spoon

“Shared tongue is a beautiful gift, with a complicated reason,” - Jeremy Dutcher

“It’s about the human disconnect that social media has facilitated, the pressures that come along with it, and the false representation that it often can portray.” - Jesse Hofstee, Lead Pony

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Mariposa Folk festival: reserving a place in the future for the past

By Will McGuirk

Although the mission statement for the Mariposa Folk Festival speaks to the preservation of folk art in Canada this Grand Dame of festivals is no museum, but rather more akin to an art gallery.

To preserve is to know, and to know is to continue to investigate and research, and one can do such a thing through showcases, which is why when one attends Mariposa one gets the past yes but also the future of folk in Canada, and, broadly, as folk knows no borders, the Americas and the rest of the world.

This year is no different. The 62nd edition of Mariposa takes place in Tudhope Park, Orillia, July 7-9. Although to be fair this year will be different. One could usually anticipate an appearance by festival co-founder Gordon Lightfoot; one would see him sit in the audience or stroll the grounds or hang backstage with friends new and old. However his passing earlier this month will mean there will be an absence felt. But the songs remain, and that is the tradition of folk, the songs, the art, the craft, the dance; a community’s identity handed down over the years hand to hand to hand. As long as the songs are alive so too is Lightfoot, as is Ian Tyson and Leonard Cohen and Stan Rogers and all those others who have graced the stage at Mariposa.

Judy Collins, who by way of her covers bought audiences to Cohen and Joni Mitchell, performs on Sunday evening on the main stage, on a night which features festival closer, Feist, as well as Rufus Wainwright whose latest album Folkocrasy is its own showcase of covers and collaborations, and also Jeremy Dutcher, a member of Tobique First Nation, whose debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, drew from the songs and stories of the Wolastoqiyik, whose territories stretched from Quebec, to New Brunswick, and into Maine USA.

“It’s crucial for us to make sure that we’re using our language and passing it on to the next generation. If you lose the language, you’re not just losing words; you’re losing an entire way of seeing and experiencing the world from a distinctly indigenous perspective.” - Jeremy Dutcher

For tickets see here ->

Slowcity Open Mic: Leaders debate edition with WHOOP-Szo and Jeremy Dutcher

By Will McGuirk

We are here now but now we must remain here but grow louder. The growth is vocal. Amplify the voices who have survived the silencing.

“My cousin Gerry was shot by a cop. Murdered. In his own home. While the circumstances surrounding his death are unclear, there has only ever been one side to the story, that of the RCMP. No external investigations took place and our family is left without answers.” - Adam Sturgeon.

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“This song calls back and reaches forward across time. Concerning indigenous continuation and what it can mean. For all those who have gone before and all those who are yet to come. ‘ciw nihkanipasihtit naka weckuwapasihtit.” - Jeremy Dutcher

Dutcher’s Table of Indigenous Excellence, photo by Peter Hadfield

1) Lido Pimienta: 2017 Winner of the Polaris Music Prize, of Afro-Colombian and Wayuu descent. 

2) Alanis Obomsawin: legendary 86 year old filmmaker who has made over 50 documentaries with the National Film Board of Canada that explore the lives and concerns of the First Nations Peoples of Canada. She has also been singing professionally since the 60s and has recorded many records. She is a member of the Abenaki Nation.

3) Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: Leanne is from Alderville First Nation, and is an award winning songwriter, poet, and activist, who has collaborated with A Tribe Called Red, Cris Derksen, and Sean Conway.

4) Tim ‘2oolman’ Hill: & Bear Witness: JUNO and MMVA award winning Indigenous DJ duo - A Tribe Called Red. 

5) Asinnajaq Weetaluktuk: Asinnajaq is a multimedia visual artist, filmmaker, and curator whose short-form documentary “3000” was made in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada. She is from Inukjuak, Nunavik. 

6) Arielle Twist: Arielle Twist is a Nehiyaw, Two-Spirit, trans woman, and works as a poet and sex educator, and released her first book of poetry, “Disintegrate/Disassociate” in 2019. 

7) Chief Lady Bird: Chief Lady Bird is a First Nations (Potawatomi and Chippewa) artist from Rama First Nation. Her Anishinaabe name is Ogimaakwebnes, which means Chief Lady Bird. Through her art practice, she strives to look to the past to navigate her Anishinaabe identity whilst living in an urban space as well as advocate for Indigenous representation as an integral aspect of Canada’s national identity. 

8) Emma Hassencahl-Perley: Emma is Wolastoqiyik, and shares the same first nation as Jeremy Dutcher (Tobique First Nation), Emma’s artwork explores themes of legislative identity, the truth about our shared history between Indigenous nations and the Settler state and society of Canada and her own identity as a Wolastoqiyik woman.