BEATROUTE MAGAZINE AB EDITION JANUARY 2019

ROOTS
THE JERRY CANS
let’s get Inuit
“I don’t think it’ll ever die. We have
stamina. We survive the harshest climate,
and I think we can continue to keep our
language and culture alive regardless of
what might affect us.”
BY TREVOR MORELLI
KARELLA
The NMC presents
Karella steeped
in soul, soca and
calypso as part
of the Alberta
Spotlight series.
A DJ, producer,
singer and
actress originally
from Trinidad
now based in
Edmonton, her
music seamlessly
blends all aspects
of her musical
influences.
KING EDDY
Jan. 19
8:00 p.m.
$15 door
JOHN WORT-HANNAM
Fresh off his latest
release, the introspective
and inspired Acres Of
Elbow Room, Wort-
Hannam swings in
from Fort Macleod
for a night at
the Ironwood.
IRONWOOD
STAGE & GRILL
Jan. 11
9:00 p.m.
11:30 p.m.
MIKEY’S
Jan. 25
9 p.m.
STUDEBAKER JOHN
Raw, Southside Chicago blues harp
and slide guitar.
PHOTO: JEN SQUIRES
Artists. Activists. Leaders. Storytellers. interview in English, Inuktitut is the language
There are some of the words to describe she exclusively speaks at home around her
WASHBOARD HANK
The Jerry Cans, and all of them elude to their family. Despite this, she believes Inuit life in
Singer, songwriter,
enthusiasm and endurance for keeping Inuit the northern regions will continue to evolve
multi-instrumentalist
culture alive though music.
but also hold to it to roots.
and comedic backwoods
2018 was a breakthrough year for the
“Up here, I think it’s surviving, and people
philosopher!
Iqaluit, Nunavut roots-rock outfit as they are finding ways to preserve our culture and
BLUES CAN
were Juno nominated for both Contemporary language in a lot of different ways, and it’s an
Feb 1 & 2
Roots Album of the Year and Breakthrough awesome thing to see. And I don’t think it’ll
7:30 p.m.
Group of the Year last March.
ever die. We have stamina. We survive the
“It’s been an interesting year, as it was our harshest climate, and I think we can continue
first time all five of us taking on the band as to keep our language and culture alive regardless
our full-time gig. So it was really our move
of what might affect us.”
into making music our career,” remarks throat The Jerry Cans’ latest effort Innusiq (2016) SARAH MACDOUGALL
KING EDDY
singer/accordion player Nancy Mike.
attempts to enlighten fans about life in Nunavut
Whitehorse-based
Jan. 26, 7:00 p.m.
It hasn’t always been easy for The Jerry
through foot-stomping, catchy songs.
singer-songwriter Sarah
$15 advance
Cans to find an audience. Living remotely in They also released a fantastic cover of The
MacDougall hits the King
$20 door
the north is a big challenge to even exist in Hip’s “Ahead By A Century” in their native
Eddy stage in support of
the music business, and the band struggled to Inuktitut language in 2017.
her new album, All The
find the right distribution channels when they “A lot of our songs obviously are written
Hours I Have Left To Tell
first started seven years ago.
up here and are about living up here. And so, You Anything which delves
“Some of the things that we found very when we play in the south, there’s not one
into life’s consuming
hard were to find the right places to go to, show we don’t talk about what it is like up
struggles —identity, birth,
to have our music distributed … trying to here, and what kind of lifestyle, and what kind death, relationships and
get our music out there,” Mike explains. of struggles we face, because that’s our life,” the ghosts we honour and
“That was very hard when we first started Mike comments. “When we are onstage and carry throughout. The nine
because we’re from a place of 7,000 people, performing, we want to tell everybody and
songs are inspired by the
in Iqaluit, obviously it’s a remote place in educate everybody about who we really are dark beauty of Scandinavia
the North and there aren’t a lot of things and what it’s like.”
the vastness of the Yukon.
that you can just go to for easy access to
get your music out there.”
The Jerry Cans perform Jan. 19 at The Broadway
For the Inuit, the pressure to conform to Theatre (Saskatoon), Jan. 20 at The Gateway
English culture is constant. For instance, Mike (Calgary), Jan. 22 at Bo’s Bar and Grill (Red Deer),
noted that even though she conducted the and Jan. 23 at Festival Place (Edmonton).
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