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The annual Come Toward the Fire festival of Indigenous arts and culture is back this September.
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ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl Come Toward the Fire
When: Sept. 14, noon — 7 p.m.
Where: Indoor and outdoor events, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC
Tickets/info: Free. Visit cometowardthefire.com
There is a little bit of everything for families to enjoy at the annual ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl/Come Toward the Fire event. The free, Indigenous-led family festival takes place at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm/Musqueam territory for the third year with a lineup showcasing some of the finest Indigenous musicians, storytellers and performers on the scene today.
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Chan Centre curator-in-residence Jarrett Martineau is a nêhiyaw (Plains Cree)/Dene Sųłiné producer, artist, scholar and storyteller who holds a Ph.D. in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria. His three-year contract included developing a greater presence for Indigenous artists at the premiere Vancouver venue as well as extending relationships with the Musqueam people. UBC is built on unceded Musqueam territory.
“One of the things that was clear from the beginning was building something out of a clear partnership with that community rather than just slotting in more Indigenous artists into the annual roster should be the goal,” said Martineau. “The idea for the festival came from that and doing something in September to be in relationship with the national truth and reconciliation day was decided. Year after year, the event has been about making something that is fun, joyous and celebratory but that also is not the only time we are programming Indigenous artists.”
With events taking place from noon till dusk both inside and outside the Chan Centre grounds, ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl/Come Toward the Fire has featured a wide variety of artists each year. The event has become a marquee addition to the yearly arts and cultural calendar. Martineau says it has achieved a twofold function as hoped.
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“For someone who works as in-depth as I do with Indigenous programming and others who follow those arts, it’s a place to see a lot of well-known names under one banner for free,” he said. “For others, it’s a voyage of discovery into new artists and avenues that contributes to the continued expansion of featuring Indigenous artists throughout the rest of the year in the programming. Everyone wants to see it keep going.”
Among the artists who are appearing this year is Celeigh Cardinal.
The WCMA and Juno Award winning “soul-folk songstress from the Northern Prairies” says playing events like this one is a chance to connect with other artists in the larger community that rarely appear together in a festival lineup. Presently on the road promoting her new album, Boundless Possibilities, she has been doing the rounds at events ranging from the Calgary Folk Festival and soft seat theatres, but few all-Indigenous events.
The record was born out of a great deal of tragedy, but she looks forward to sharing such songs as the spirit reaffirming Wandering River with the Vancouver crowd.
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“Pre-COVID, it was going to be titled Euphoria, but the tragedy that followed lead to new songs and a new title,” she said. “Besides the tragedy and grief that came to communities during that time, my son’s father was murdered in 2020, a very close friend died by suicide later that year and I won a Juno Award in between. Those wildly conflicting highs and lows were what I wrote about and also made me a different person today. It’s not uncommon for Indigenous people to experience this kind of depth of sadness, which is terrible, but also to have moments of joy, wilfulness, determination and hope.”
Cardinal will bring her show to the Chan to present a set of songs old and new. She says that the energy comes from whoever is in the room and she is excited to play an event that has gained countrywide recognition in a short time.
“The Indigenous musical community is incredibly spread out, so any time you can have an event with an all-Indigenous lineup is a chance to feel surrounded by community and in a special place,” she said.
Toronto-based, Tataskweyak Cree Nation multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Sebastian Gaskin makes his first appearance at ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl/Come Toward the Fire this year. With singles such as Ghost, Medicine and Cherie Amour, Gaskin’s soul/pop sound is right in line with such contemporary acts as The Weeknd and U.K. balladeers such as Sam Smith. His forthcoming album is due out on the Indigenous-owned music company, Ishkōdé Records and Universal Music Canada.
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“I’ve become connected to a group of Indigenous artists across North American and we regularly check-in with each other and share tracks and ideas for input to make all of our art better,” said Gaskin. “Songs like Ghost reflected my anguish at the loss of so many dear family members and have really huge production, where Cherie Amour is more relaxed. But I’ve been working with a musical director and a live band with bass, drums and tracks to arrive at a live sound that is pretty close to the studio versions.”
Admitting that he has been playing around with setlists that range from more “pop-centric” to “guitar solo-crazy” and hip-hop oriented, he feels that his voice becomes the combining factor drawing all of his different musical genre interests together. His singing chops came later in his musical journey.
“I was going to school studying audio engineering and became kind of obsessed with The Weeknd and wanted to explore finding my voice,” he said. “You can do a lot of practising in your car commuting 12 hours or so a week and I did. As I’m a bit of a fast learner, I found my sound.”
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As to whether he feels part of a generational explosion of Indigenous music of the kind being showcased at ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl/Come Toward the Fire, Gaskin doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“Jeremy Dutcher said that we are in a musical renaissance of Indigenous proportions and I feel that the mainstream monster is now allowing us to expand further and shine brighter than we ever have before,” he said. “We’ve always been here, always will be, and now is our time.”
sderdeyn@postmedia.com
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