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Digging Roots

sākihiwē festival Paris

By Alan Greyeyes | September 29, 2022

Tags: Burnstick | Canadian Cultural Centre | Digging Roots | export mission | Leela Gilday | Paris

We're working with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, France to help Digging Roots, Leela Gilday, and Burnstick connect with music presenters and potential team members in France. The project, entitled sākihiwē festival Paris, includes a showcase on October 11, a workshop for youth on October 12, and meetings throughout Paris on October 12, 13, and 14. The group will also attend the MaMA Music & Convention in Paris, which begins on October 12.

sākihiwē festival Paris
Partner: Canadian Cultural Centre
Showcase: October 11, 2022 at 8:00 pm (RSVP)
Workshop: October 12, 2022 (by invitation)
Canadian Cultural Centre, 130 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris
Free
RSVP and photo I.D. required
RSVP page | Facebook page

Showcase schedule:
8:00 pm: Burnstick
8:40 pm: Leela Gilday
9:20 pm: Digging Roots

The sākihiwē festival Paris project is our first in-person export mission (we worked with the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom and the Embassy of Canada to Colombia on virtual export projects during the pandemic). It falls in line with our mission statement and takes our community one step closer to Indigenous stewardship of Indigenous music development programming in Canada.

"I've participated in export missions in the past," explains Festival Director Alan Greyeyes. "They're super important and I'm grateful for the support that we received from FACTOR and the Canada Council for the Arts, which gave us the ability to eliminate a lot of the financial risks that most export missions carry for artists."

Export missions are often organized by music industry associations like the Canadian Independent Music Association, the Western Canadian Music Alliance, and Manitoba Music. The missions help artists and music entrepreneurs in Canada build relationships with music presenters, booking agents, and team members in other parts of the world so they can add tours in these regions to their annual business plans and music release strategies.

The sākihiwē festival Paris project was initiated in 2019 and it's finally back on track after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The last two years were really hard and relaunching this project, along with two others that were postponed because of the pandemic, has been even harder," says Greyeyes. "But the artists we're working with are incredible and our partners have gone above and beyond the call of duty to bring everything together, so I'm sure this won't be the last trip to France for any of the folks involved."

Digging Roots, Leela Gilday, and Burnstick were selected for the sākihiwē festival Paris by a jury of music industry professionals who reviewed 44 artist applications for the project.

About Digging Roots
JUNO Award winning band Digging Roots takes you on a journey through tall grass, sweet waters and unconditional love in a joyous and powerful celebration of the new album Zhawenim. The 6-piece band presents a blues, soul and rock n’roll show that sizzles with ShoShona Kish’s dynamic and compelling vocals and Raven Kanatakta's electrifying guitar mastery.

About Leela Gilday
A passionate singer/songwriter and soulful performer, Leela Gilday has a voice that comes straight from the heart. Confessing her stories to her audiences with a gutsy voice and open stage presence, Gilday weaves her experiences as a northerner, a member of the Dene Nation, and a traveler into a beautiful world that transports the listener.

About Burnstick
It’s folk music that’s brimming with the kind of chemistry that could only come from a husband and wife. Nadia, a Francophone-Métis singer-songwriter, and Jason, a Plains-Cree guitarist, create the award-winning duo: Burnstick. Two performers whose voices and languages blend together with ease, Burnstick pushes the boundaries of contemporary folk music, weaving together the unique sounds of vintage Weissenborns with intriguing vocal harmonies, while allowing the beauty of simple melodies to shine through.

About the Canadian Cultural Centre
The heart of Canadian cultural diplomacy in France, the Canadian Cultural Centre aims to promote the most innovative contemporary Canadian artforms through public and private institutional partnerships, and collaborations with various French festivals and events.

Endowed with a 160-square metre glass-roofed art gallery and an auditorium, the centre hosts exhibitions by Canadian contemporary artists, concerts by Canadian musicians of all genres, film screenings, lectures and events for young audiences throughout the year – all free. The centre also supports Canadian cultural programming all over France, helping Canadian and French institutions with their exchanges and cooperation.

About Aboriginal Music Manitoba
Aboriginal Music Manitoba (AMM) is a non-profit organization that presents, promotes and nurtures Indigenous music and culture in order to build audiences at the community level and beyond. We do this by producing the sākihiwē festival; producing capacity development projects; shining a spotlight on the accomplishments of Indigenous music makers and musis entrepreneurs; and, by building bridges between the Indigenous music community and our counterparts around the world. 

AMM is governed by an Indigenous board of directors, which includes chairperson Brett Huson, vice-chairperson Sandra Seidle, secretary Kimberly Cleave, Rhonda Head, Ivana Yellowback, Jennifer Duka, Brendan Dong, and Rheanna Merasty.

We acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR, the Government of Canada and of Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier de FACTOR, du gouvernement du Canada, et des radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

We acknowledge the Canada Council for the Arts for their financial support of the sākihiwē festival Paris.

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