The Art of Song Festival

Shakura S’Aida celebrates Canadian songwriters at Base31

Aconcert by the legendary Carol Pope on Friday evening in the Drill Hall at Base31 will kick off a weekend festival celebrating the artistry of Canadian songwriters. The festival is curated by Shakura S’Aida, whose roots in the County go back more than 20 years. She is a 40- year veteran of the music industry, a singer-songwriter, recording artist, an actress on stage, screen and television, and has had musical tours in over 30 countries. She has three Juno nominations and numerous Maple Blues Award nominations, winning for Female Vocalist of the Year in 2010. She has performed at several wineries in the County and three times at Base31, twice hosting the New Year’s Eve parties. She came up with the concept of a songwriters festival that would bring music-lovers together with the writers of the songs. “Songwriters rarely have an opportunity to speak about their art, about what brings the song to life or why they wrote a certain song. I thought this could be a really great opportunity to create something that could have longevity in the County. It’s for songwriters to show how important it is to write down their thoughts and then put a melody to it and how that becomes a song,” she said.

Ms. S’Aida wanted the festival to feature local songwriters as well, and she’s invited County resident Rita di Ghent as well as James Keelaghan and Miss Emily, who grew up in the Milford area and established a musical career in Kingston before recently moving part-time to the US. The other musicians are from Ms. S’Aida’s contacts in the Toronto music scene. “These are musicians who believe in connecting to lots of different people through their music. Folks will get an opportunity  to hear from them and fall in love with them like I did,” she said. The festival opens on Friday evening with Carole Pope. “I cannot wait to hear her sing, and to speak about the process of these songs, and the history behind these songs. These are things the audience might never have heard before,” said Ms. S’Aida. Saturday evening’s headliner is Allison Russell, who has won a Grammy and a Juno, and has toured with artists such as Annie Lennox and Brandi Carlile.

“Her musicality, her lyrics, her belief of us coming together as one and fighting the good fight and standing up for what’s right has always been the defining factor in her music. To have her come to the County is a huge deal, and I’m really looking forward to people hearing her voice,” said Ms. S’Aida. Opening for Allison Russell will be Julian Taylor, an Indigenous Black artist based in Toronto. He has had a 25-year-plus career in the music industry, but his solo breakout album came only in 2020. “He has now become this absolute touring machine,” said Ms. S’Aida. “ His song Seeds has the lyric ‘They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds’. It is such a potent lyric, and it really encompasses for me what this festival is all about. It’s about really listening to the lyrics, really connecting to these artists who happen to be songwriters and who express their feelings and their thoughts through these songs.”

The big drawing point of this festival is the Saturday afternoon songwriting circles. Ms. S’Aida said that one of the unique features in Canadian folk festivals is the concept of a workshop where the artistic director brings different artists from different backgrounds and puts them all on stage together. “They present their songs to the audience and also to each other. And if you’re lucky, this magical thing happens where people start playing on other people’s song and it becomes this type of really sophisticated ‘campfire’ situation. It’s an opportunity for the audience to see what happens when great artists connect and collaborate,” she said. The first songwriters circle features Julian Taylor, AHI (pronounced “eye”), Lala Noel, James Keelaghan and Rita di Ghent. After a 30-minute break, the second songwriters circle brings together Ammoye, Miss Emily, KC Roberts, Aphrose and Caroline Marie Brooks. The musical styles encompass folk, jazz, soul, reggae and funk-infused grooves. Although the event takes place in the cavernous Drill Hall, Ms. S’Aida said it will still be an intimate experience. The artists will be “unplugged”, with no loud guitars and banging drums, so the audience will experience the full power of the lyrics. Ms. S’Aida frankly admits that this festival is really for herself. “I’ve gathered my most favourite songwriters, my most favourite artists and put them in one place so that I can sit back and listen to them and cry and smile and laugh and dance. And I’m inviting everyone in the County to come along with me and do the same.” For more information, please visit base31.ca and click on the “What’s On” tab.