Indigenous music tour back on the road

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This article was published 05/07/2022 (1213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Communities in Westman will be able to take in some established and emerging Indigenous artists as part of the Manitoba Arts Network’s Indigenous Summer Tour.

For the second year in a row, the travelling music show will bring live music to 10 Indigenous communities and five of the network’s member settler communities. The tour is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and Manitoba Hydro, and its aim is to strengthen the network’s relationships with Indigenous peoples throughout the province.

Rose-Anne Harder, executive director at the Manitoba Arts Network, said she is hoping the tour will garner a bigger turnout than last year in light of COVID-19 restrictions being lifted.

“We had 15 concerts last summer, but the audience’s numbers were reflective of COVID,” Harder said. “This year, with things being a little more flexible, we’re hoping for higher attendance numbers.”

A big part of the tour, and the reason it’s so important, is to make space for Indigenous artists who don’t often have the same opportunities as other musicians.

Jerry Sereda, a Métis country music artist who grew up in Ethelbert, 220 kilometres northwest of Brandon, will headline the show while mentoring the other artists on the tour.

Sereda, whose voice has been compared to that of Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw, has released two albums, and won best new artist at the Aboriginal Peoples’ Choice Music Awards (now known as the Indigenous Music Awards) in 2010. His first single, “Time,” was recorded and released through the support of Indigenous music programs, so he’s eager to join the tour and give back to the communities that helped him get himself established as an artist.

“I like to get back out there and revitalize the communities that helped me get started by helping them get started back up and sharing some of my new music with them.”

Sereda spent his childhood learning how to hunt, fish, trap and live off of the land, which makes him proud of his Indigenous roots. Under the guidance of his grandmother, he learned how to play modern and classic country music on the guitar. Music, he explained, is a vital part of Indigenous culture and connection.

“Music, I’ve always said, is more than just entertainment. It’s therapy, in all its shapes and forms, and people need that healing and need that sound, and they need to be given a chance to come together and celebrate and enjoy a musical experience together.”

It’s that shared experience, Sereda said, that has the power to uplift everyone and form connections with community and culture.

One of these artists, 23-year-old Mitchell Makoons, is thrilled at the prospect of touring with Sereda. The Brandon musician grew up playing Métis music with his grandfather, brother and uncle, who are all fiddle players. At just seven years old, he started playing guitar and accompanying them. After foraying into blues and rock ‘n’ roll, he’s back making bluegrass and couldn’t be happier.

“I just think it’s really enriching, finding our cultural heritage and learning more about your own cultural and family history.”

Makoons’ minor in university was Native studies, and he said that’s part of what inspired the music he makes today. In addition to preparing for the summer tour, he has been writing new songs in the “crooked tunes” style of Métis tradition.

Makoons has toured Western Canada a few times, but has never been to locations as remote as the ones on the summer tour. He also spent time teaching the fiddle in northern Saskatchewan, and is looking forward to returning to similar communities in Manitoba. Many of the remote communities, he explained, have limited opportunities to take in live music.

“I was really fortunate because my grandpa was really ready to teach me how to play the fiddle, but some other folks aren’t so ready to share that stuff. Right now we’re kind of seeing a renaissance of Indigenous culture. Maybe people will get started in music and move to spirituality later.”

The Indigenous Summer Tour’s Westman stops include Birdtail Sioux First Nation, 135 kilometres northwest of Brandon, on July 27, and the Killarney-Turtle Mountain Arts Council in Killarney on July 30.

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