Voices of the North celebrates decade

Page 2

This was a special year for the annual Voices of the North (VOTN) Aboriginal music showcase, which marked 10 years of celebrating and promoting Aboriginal music talent in Saskatchewan.

The theme of this year's show, held in Prince Albert Feb. 14 to 16, was Up Where We Belong. In keeping with the theme, and to celebrate the 10 year milestone, performers from past showcases who have since gone on to have successful music careers were invited back to perform at this year's event. And the Buffy Sainte-Marie song that inspired the theme was used to close the show, sung by Doyle Ironstand and Connie Mike, along with the show's entire cast.

"This has been our tenth anniversary, and we wanted to make it special," said VOTN producer Bernice Sayese. "I think that we accomplished that goal."

According to Sayese, 121 people auditioned to be part of this year's showcase, vying for one of 12 spots in the show.

"Besides the people that were chosen, we bring back guests who performed in previous shows, and we had some special guests this year who we thought deserved to be recognized for their accomplishments in the music industry," Sayese said.

Among the special guests who were invited to perform were Lorrie Church and Chester Knight, who appeared on Feb. 14, Vern Cheechoo who appeared at the early show on Feb. 15, Ray Villebrun, who appeared at the late show on Feb. 15, and Don Corrigal along with his bands Just the Boyz and D.C. and the Boys, who performed on Feb. 16.

Villebrun who, with his band Red Blaze has recorded two CDs, feels that his past involvement with the show helped his musical career out considerably.

"It's a big boost," he said. "I first performed here three years ago, and then I sat out a couple of years. I'm a strong believer in 'don't overstay your welcome.' There's so much talent here that there's no one act here that should continuously hog the limelight. There's too much talent here, it should get heard. Saskatchewan is just smoking."

One portion of the show, which was new this year, was a segment called Fiddling Through the Ages, where six fiddlers, ranging in age from 12 to 77 each played, first solo, and then in unison. The most experienced of the group, Claude Adams, said he thought the show went exceptionally well.

"The cast got along so well together, very co-operative, and me being the senior member of the group, I was treated just like royalty. I was almost embarrassed by how nice everybody treated me. I'd come in, undo my violin and get acclimatized, and somebody would already have a chair out for me. They'd bring me drinks, and that kind of thing," Adams said.

"I've worked my way through from being the youngest through to being the oldest, and probably played, with no exaggeration here, with at least a thousand fiddle players over the years."

The fact that Adams was able to perform this year was a personal triumph for him.

I'm making a comeback, actually. I had a stroke and I thought I'd never play the violin again, but I'm back playing it a little bit."

Duane Kimbley, a performer from Beauval, heard about the VOTN show through a relative.

"Sheryl Kimbley (VOTN co-producer) is my cousin in law, and she said they had a show, so she asked me to come and audition. That was in 1996, it was the second show, and I made it. I actually didn't try out again until this year again, and I actually made it again."

Although Kimbley has performed in the show only a couple of times, there was some time between his performances, and he could see the growth and change in the show.

"It's grown so much in such a short span," Kimbley said. "When it started, it wasn't a very big thing. In (Prince Albert), you have the Country North show, and that kind of thing, so that was the big deal. But now, Voices of the North is the big thing. You mention it once up north, and everybody knows what it is that you're talking about."

Villebrun has also noticed changes in the show over the years. "It's gotten beter. The production is getting better, and they're learning a little more and the organization is getting a little bit better. They're developing the ability every year to take on a few more acts and to make it a bigger and better show."