Manito Ahbee Festival 2011: Aboriginal Music Week Schedule and Lineup

It's here again - Aboriginal Music Week! Indigenous artists, music fans and industry are flocking to Winnipeg, Manitoba, this week for one of the largest Indigenous music festivals on Turtle Island.

Winnipeg will be especially  bustling this week as Aboriginal Music Week (AMW2011) runs concurrently to the Manito Ahbee Festival  and the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards.

Here is the complete Aboriginal Music Week schedule and lineup:

Tuesday November 1 Take the Fort! Featuring The Métis Club Traditional Dancers, Slick & Lil' J, John Arcand and Darren Lavallee at the West End Cultural Centre.

Wednesday November 2 Hip Hop Night Featuring Winnipeg's Most and The Local Onlyz at the West End Cultural Centre.

Thursday November 3 The SaskMusic Showcase Featuring Riva, Mitch Daigneault and Donny Parenteau at The Pyramid Cabaret.

All My Releations Stage Featuring Gabriel Ayala, Christa Couture and Tracy Bone & JC Campbell at The Windsor Hotel.

Aboriginal Songwriters Concert Featuring Leela Gilday, Kyla Cederwell, Cassidy Mann and Ali Fontaine at the West End Cultural Centre.

Friday November 4 All My Relations Stage Featuring Wayne Lavallee and Tracy Bone & JC Campbell at The Windsor Hotel.

The Electric Pow Wow Featuring World Hood, Samian and A Tribe Called Red at The Pyramid Cabaret.

Saturday November 5 All My Relations Stage Featuring Will Belcourt & the Hollywood Indians, The Johnnys, JB the First Lady and Tracy Bone & JC Campbell at The Windsor Hotel.

The Saturday Night 49er Featuring Sherry St. Germain and Derek Miller at The Pyramid Cabaret.

For more information visit aboriginalmusicweek.ca. To RSVP to events on facebook, go to facebook.com/Aboriginal.Music.Week.

See you there!

Indigenous Live Music Picks: Oct.28-Nov.2, 2011

This week's top events dip into upcoming Aboriginal Music Week action. Yes, one of Turtle Island's busiest and best weeks for Indigenous music is upon us! Here are our picks for the weekend ahead.

RED Revue October 28 - This month's RED Revue, presented by ANDPVA, features folk-rock artist Nick Ferrio at The Smiling Buddha in Toronto, ON. More info: The RED Revue with Nick Ferrio.

Generations Rock for the Walk October 28 - Ryan McMahon, Will Belcourt, Red Three, Kasp, Anasaz and more will perform at the fundraising concert to support the “Walk for Nations” initiative. The event takes place at the Amiskwaciy Academy in Edmonton, AB. More info: Generations Rock for the Walk.

RC Sindacate and Will Belcourt October 29 - Celebrate Halloween with RC and Will at Fargos in Edmonton, AB. More info: RC SINDICATE and WILL BELCOURT Halloween Hellraiser Zombie Bash.

12th Annual Buffalo River Powwow October 29-30 - The Buffalo River Powwow takes place in Linden, TN. For more info, email:  rbenge1@tds.net.

Take the Fort! November 1 - John Arcand and Darren Lavallee will perform, as well as Slick & Lil' J and The Metis Club Traditional Dancers, at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg, MB, as part of Aboriginal Music Week. More info: Take the Fort! presented by Grassroots News

DigitalDrum.ca Presents: Hip Hop Night November 2 -  Winnipeg's Most, The Local Onlyz and Jr. JUST TV will perform at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg, MB, as part of Aboriginal Music Week. More info: Hip Hop Night presented by Digital Drum.ca.

Artist Call: SaskMusic Aboriginal Music Week Showcase

Indigenous artists in Saskatchewan! SaskMusic is presenting a showcase at the Pyramid Café in Winnipeg MB as part of Aboriginal Music Week 2011. They are seeking submissions.

From Call for Submissions Aboriginal Music Week Showcase:

Artists will be selected by a peer assessment jury. We will be offering a travel/performance honorarium (exact amount to be determined at a later date but be advised it may not cover 100% of your costs).

To be considered you must:

• Be of First Nation, Inuit, or Métis ancestry
• Live in Saskatchewan
• Have a current or upcoming professional release (demo / EP / full-length)
• Have professional promotional material (photos, bio, website or MySpace)

For groups or duo’s: At least half of the band members are of First Nation, Inuit, or Métis ancestry.

If you would like to be considered for this opportunity please send an email to: Derek Bachman, derek@saskmusic.org and include the following:

• Artist Name
• Style of music
• Number of people that would be performing
• Contact info (artist, manager, and/or booking agent)
• 2 MP3 songs representing your strongest material
• Artist bio including any recent touring/performances
• OR
• if all of this is available on your website, just give us your web address and the names of 2 songs that the jury should listen to.

Submission deadline: August 26, 2011, 5 pm.

Aboriginal Music Week 2011 Announces Lineup

Now more than ever, diversity is the key word in Indigenous music. From fiddle, to beats, to bluesy guitar, Aboriginal Music Week, November 1-5, 2011, will showcase the best of First Nations, Native American, Inuit and Métis music.

In their recent press release, Dancing Beyond Stereotypes: Aboriginal Music Week Bursts with Artists’ Bold New Energy, November 2011 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it was announced that A Tribe Called Red (electro-powwow), Leela Gilday (folk), Derek Miller (roots rock), John Arcand (fiddle) and Winnipeg's Most (hip-hop) will headline the festival.

“It’s an exciting time to be Aboriginal in Canada right now,” enthuses Bear Witness of the DJ collective A Tribe Called Red. “The community across Canada is coming together more and more, especially around the arts and music. There’s so much going on, so many interesting things, so many strong artists.”

The burst of new creative energy comes after several generations of cultural loss and stigma. “Until quite recently, there were no positive references in media or on stage to Native people, especially in urban centers like Winnipeg,” reflects Greyeyes. “The only time we were in the spotlight was for crimes. But now, kids are seeing Native people are great artists who perform and get played on the radio. They get to see themselves reflected on stage.”

...

Connecting Aboriginal artists—from different scenes, at different points in their career—is part of the broader mission of festival producer Aboriginal Music Manitoba (www.ammb.ca). “We want to create a stronger professional infrastructure for Aboriginal performers,” says Greyeyes. The festival, along with night after night of high-calibre concerts, provides opportunities for artists to network with local community music bookers, and to create moments of contact with new, mostly young audiences.

This year's festival will take place in Winnipeg, November 1-5, 2011. The complete festival line-up is yet to be announced - stay tuned to RPM.