She’s the only American artist showcasing at FMO this weekend, and what a great singer-songwriter she is. Jillian is from Syracuse, NY, originally, but now lives in Tennessee. She’s part of the labour movement and writes about social justice and politics. Powerful stuff.
What can we say about Toronto’s Julian Taylor? He’s pretty much a legend now. He’s got a new record, Pathways, that was just released on Friday.
This troubadour of our modern age with heritage that’s Black and Mohawk, has a lot to say through his songwriting. He sings about stolen land, people stolen from their land, and children stolen from their homes. Purpose and reason he says is what children give you. This land was stolen, he says, and Woody Guthrie used a poor choice of words.
“They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds,” he sang.
There’s nobody quite like you, Julian Taylor. You’re making us see things in a whole new way through your music.
Also from Toronto, we have singer-songwriter John Muirhead. “Distance tears me up,” he sings in a lament about a relationship.
John’s collaborator on stage, Clayton, makes the act sound like a much bigger band, playing pedal steel guitar and keyboard. John’s on guitar and harmonica.
John is something of a media star. He’s got 100,000 fans on social media. Well-deserved, I think. His music is marked by strong singing, excellent material and beautiful fingerpicking. His song “Cemetery Somewhere” is all about looking back on your life. Were there second chances you missed? Or did you let things pass you by? “What a blessing what a shame to have just one life to your name,” he sings. Nice words he’s come up with.
From Whitby comes Jadea Kelly, singing “Any old boat will do … as long as it’s me and you.”
She’s a refreshing take on country music. Her partner in musical crime, Jim Bryson, plays electric guitar while Jadea sings and plays acoustic. Their voices complement each other well.
At one point, she asked Makinna Givens to join her on stage because Jadea has been her mentor this week. The two ladies’ voices melded just beautifully. They sang a song about memories from being 13, living in Whitby, and finding out a friend died.
Jessica Pearson and the East Wind started out their showcase singing about how hindsight is 20/20. This trio of lovely ladies from Ottawa tells us of the importance of imagination and reconnecting with your inner child. Jessica is a ray of light among so many dour depressed songwriters. Her long, wavy, shining red hair flows across the stage just like the flowing voices singing lyrics straight to our hearts. This band is pretty captivating. Sam Stone (voice) and Aliya Rogers (voice/banjo/mandolin) are the East Wind, making Jessica sound even better. We loved their soulful and emotional lyrics.
From Toronto, Angela Saini brought her whole band. She plays acoustic guitar, and her band includes electric guitar, cajón, and a lovely harmony singer. Angela showcased her brand of country-folk songwriting. She had a lovely ballad about a woman needing to hear good things from her lover and needing to feel beautiful and valued. That was followed by an anthem to self-love: “Wanna Be You,” which was just released yesterday. Clearly, Angela has been working hard at finding herself through her songwriting.
It didn’t take long for the dancers to get on their feet at Polky’s international folk-dance party during the late afternoon at FMO. This was the last showcase of the afternoon in the ballroom.
This band’s members are culturally diverse. Starting with Polish culture and music, they’ve added influences from all over the world, particularly from Eastern Europe.
An ancient lap fiddle, the suka, is an integral part of the sound of this band. This instrument was reconstructed from historical paintings after 200 years of being forgotten. Only about 30 people in the world know how to play it. So, it’s something of a miracle that the suka exists at all, let alone is played in a dance band.
A circle dance with flying scarves was a big hit for members of the dancing audience. And then there was a chain dance spiraling into the centre of the hall, followed by a couples’ polka.
Imagine a Polish wedding… that’s what the band was trying to achieve. This showcase wasn’t three days long though!
I finished the afternoon by spending some break time bathing in the voices and chords of the campfire song circle, an informal gathering place for jamming and socializing.
