MORRISBURG – “I, like many artists, write about what’s happening around me, what’s influencing my heart and soul, my happiness and my tears.”
On Saturday, November 2, the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage welcomes the powerful singer/songwriter iskwē to Upper Canada Playhouse.
iskwē , “blue sky woman”, a Juno winner for her 2019 music video “Little Star”, and a Western Canadian Music Award winner, is a performer from Winnipeg, who proudly celebrates her Cree/Metis heritage. She is a teller of stories, blessed with a powerful “mesmerizing” voice. Her musical styles range from jazz, and trip hop to rhythm and blues. She explores a range of ambient sound effects and beats. And, on stage, iskwē uses dance and multi media to create an experience for listeners that is utterly unique and utterly memorable. Since she released her debut album in 2013, she has gone on to release three more albums, including ‘The Stars’ in 2021, to critical and popular praise. She has performed hundreds of shows ranging in location from Parliament Hill, to the Met and Summer Stage in New York’s Central Park, to Germany and England and a command performance for the King and Queen of Sweden. Along the way, iskwē received the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Award in 2022, and is an ambassador for the PRS Keychange initiative.
Music is her passion. Others have sometimes attached labels to her music, so I asked the performer herself to describe her style. “I would say it is blend of influences and expressions. I grew up listening to an eclectic collection of music, and while I feel there is an arch through my catalogue that is clearly me, my sound/voice, I also love to listen back and experience the evolution of sound, conversation and maturity in my music and art.”
iskwē’s music, exploring as it sometimes does, abuses against Canada’s indigenous people, also looks at love in the face of hate. “I decided at some point, a long time ago, that I wouldn’t try to get in my own creative way. I’ve done my best to live my life as big and boldly as possible – which comes with all kinds of love and all kinds of heartache…and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
She is looking forward to her live stage show at Upper Canada Playhouse. That connection to a live audience is very important to iskwē. “Being on stage is literally my motivation in my art. I feel my truest self when I’m out there sharing real time with others – the musicians on stage with me and the audience sharing their energies with us.. Even when I’m in the studio or writing a new album, I’m always visualizing the stage show and how I can make it lush and rich for everyone.”
Opening for iskwē on November 2 will be the versatile, mega talented Ottawa singer/songwriter, Roxanne Delage. An audience favourite since her appearance at a SLAS Intimate Acoustics showcase, Roxanne Delage’s musical inventory ranges from classical music to opera, from pop and blues to reggae. Audiences can look forward to hearing songs from her latest CD release, ‘Gypsy Melodies – A Folk Opry.’ She will be a true complement to this remarkable evening of music.
iskwē’s concert at 7pm on November 2 will be a truly incredible experience. As she said, “We’ve been having a wonderful time touring my new album, ‘nina’, as an acoustic trio. We’ve just come back from Europe, and it feels like a natural direction for me, moving more and more in this world of acoustic performances. We are really looking forward to sharing this with everyone this coming Saturday.”
Contact the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage for tickets to iskwē’s Morrisburg concert, with Roxanne Delage opening.