Leonard Sumner Brings New Music to His 2016 Summer Tour

As the music and culture festival season commences, Anishinaabe hip-hop/roots artist Leonard Sumner will be making his way back and forth across the country on the first of his summer tour dates.

"I usually play some new songs, I've been adding some spoken word material to my sets every now and then. It's been getting a great response and more motivation for me to get back in the studio," says Sumner.

After recording some new demos back in January, he hopes to be back in the studio by the end of the year.

It's been awhile since Sumner's popular release, Rez Poetry, but fans can look forward to hearing his classic folksy beats. "It's still on the same path", he says. "It still fits outside the box."

Catch up on his new music this summer, as Leonard Sumner tours across Canada.

Leonard Sumner - Summer 2016 Tour Dates

July 6 - Pacific Rim Arts Fest - Hitacu, BC

July 8-10 - Mariposa Folk Festival - Orillia, ON

July 24-26 - Dawson City Music Fest - Dawson City, YK

July 28 - 2017 Canada Games Countdown - The Forks, Winnipeg, MB

August 12-14 - Interstellar Rodeo - Winnipeg, MB

August 19-21 - Summerfolk Music Fest - Owen Sound, ON

September 2-4 - Shelter Valley Folk Fest - Grafton, ON

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhfBNUI__4c

Check leonardsumner.com for tour updates throughout the summer. He might pop-up in a city near you!

Top 5 Indigenous Music Events: July 21-24, 2011

From coast to coast, festival stage to powwow trail, here's a handful not-to-miss Indigenous gigs this weekend:

1. The Good Guys July 22 - The Pyramid Caberet, Winnipeg. A 4-in-1 night of  Indigenous hip-hop featuring Big Will, Lorenzo, Boogey and Wab Kinew. Event info: The Good Guys

2. 32nd Annual Grand River "Champion of Champions" Powwow July 23-24 - Six Nations of the Grand River, Oshweken, Ontario. Gates at 10am, Grand Entry at noon! Event info: Grand River Powwow.

3. 1stAnnual Running Water Singers Powwow July 23-24 - Fayetteville, North Carolina. While so many powwows celebrate their decades of existence, it is exciting to know that new powwow continue to come to life. Event info: Fayetteville Powwow

4. Ganondagan's 20th Native American Dance & Music Festival July 23-24 - Ganondagan State Historic Site, Victor, New York.  Grammy and 12 time Native American Music award winning artist Joanne Shenandoah headlines. Event info: Ganondagan.

5. Calgary Folk Fesitval July 21-24 - Calgary is getting a good dose of our Indigenous Sisters this weekend with performances by Buffy Ste Marie and Elisapie Isaac. Cris Derksen will also be at the festival, accompanying Lightening Dust.

Folk on the Rocks Festival 2011: Indigenous Artists and Full Festival Lineup

Folk on the Rocks, the north's largest annual summer music festival, will be held in Yellowknife this weekend from July 14-17, 2011.

The festival draws musicians and fans from all over the NWT, Nunavut and across the globe for "the North’s biggest party under the midnight sun".

Among the many talented musicians who will be performing at this year's festival are a strong selection of Indigenous musicians. This year's lineup includes performances by:

Elisapie Isaac (Inuk singer-songwriter)

Kulavak (Inuit throat singers)

Boyd Benjamin and Kevin Barr (Gwich’in fiddlers)

Michael Cazon (Ft. Simpson-based Dene drummer)

The Yellowknives Dene Drummers

Oka  (Indigenous Australian group from Torres Strait)

Tina Roy (Métis singer-songwriter)

Shauna Seeteenak  (up-and-coming female Inuk hip-hop artist from Qamini'tuaq/Baker Lake, Nunavut)

Folk on the Rocks offers four jam-packed days of music and entertainment on six stages, including a children’s area, cultural area, international and traditional cuisine, and Northern creative works featured in the Art on the Rocks area.

Check out the Folk on the Rocks 2011 Full Festival Lineup for more information.

And here's a sample of the amazing Yellowknives Dene Drummers:

Indigenous Summer Music Festival Guide 2011

Here is RPM's Turtle Island-wide list of summer music festivals featuring Indigenous artists in their line-ups. The good news is there are many - you'll be able get a dose of Indigenous music culture at a festival near you, wherever you live.

Festival season has actually been in full swing for a few weeks. Recently the Ode’min Giizis festival in Peterborough included an incredible line-up of over forty Indigenous artists while WestFest in Ottawa featured an Inuit showcase, Qaggiq, with nine artists from our North Coast, and National Aboriginal Day was a veritable Canada-wide festival of music.

And that's just the beginning. Here's what to look forward to this summer:

Atlin Arts and Music Festival, July 8-10 – Tanya Tagaq

Mariposa Folk Fest, July 8-10 - Elisapie Isaac

Montana Folk Festival, July 8-10- Nukariik

Vancouver Island Folk Festival, July 8-10 – Cris Derksen, Leela Gilday

Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 8-10 – Samantha Crain, Christa Couture, Cassidy Mann, Shayne Koyczan, Kim Barlow, Sonia Eidse, Puppet Folk

Harrison Festival of the Arts, July 9-17 – New Directions: An Aboriginal Collaboration with Diga, Leela Gilday, Cris Dersen, Diyet, Sylvia Cloutier and Kinnie Starr.

HomeSkillet Festival, July 13-16 - Strumming Dog, D script, Silver Jackson

Vancouver Folk Festival, July 15-17 – Digging Roots, Samantha Crain

Great North Arts Festival, July 15-24 – Laura Vinson & the Free Spirits, M.O. , Randy Sibbeston

Dawson City Music Festival, July 16-17 - Tanya Tagaq, Dennis Allen and The Hellhounds

Calgary Folk Festival, July 21-24 – Buffy Ste Marie, Elisapie Isaac

Brandon Folk Festival, July 22-24 – Christa Couture

Discovery Coast Music Festival, July 23-24 – Digging Roots

Six Nations Pow Wow Weekend - July 23 — Big Sugar

Komasket Music Festival, July 29-31 – Buffy Ste Marie

Lowell Folk Festival, July 29- 31 - Ledward Kaapana, Nukarik

Edmonton Folk Festival, August 4-7 - Keola And Moana Beamer

Edge of the World Festival, August 5-7 – Wayne Lavallee

Regina Folk Festival, August 6-7 – Cris Derksen

Robson Valley Music Festival, August 19-21 – Kinnie Starr, Digging Roots

Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, August 19-21 – Don Amero, Cris Dersken

CNE Bandshell Blues Fest, August 28 - Digging Roots

Who did I miss? Let us know which festivals you see showcasing Indigenous talent!