Block Heater 2019: Saturday Afternoon

It’s big. It’s back. It’s Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Block Heater 2019!

Schedule: 

12:30 pm – Beatrice Deer, Ghostkeeper, Shaye Zadravec

2:30 pm – DJ Logic, Pierre Kwenders, The Mariachi Ghost, Sinzere

About Beatrice Deer (via Block Heater)

About Ghostkeeper (via Block Heater) 

The discordant but ultimately alluring sounds that Ghostkeeper produces are a testament to the band’s collective, unfettered creativity. With each album, Ghostkeeper explores new territory. At the heart of this Calgary band’s noisy, warped, and compelling sound is the songwriting of Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle. Entrusted with Ghostkeeper’s heart are multi-instrumentalist Ryan Bourne and drummer Eric Hamelin, extremely skilled surgeons who help bring the band’s sounds to the outer edges of psychedelic rock. Underneath and throughout the deliberate cacophony are lyrics that cut through to the surface with one listen, written by witnesses to the Indigenous experience: “There’s no pleasure like golfing on Indian bones.” This is Calgary represented musically – a modern façade that can’t hide its conflicted history.

About Shaye Zadravec (via Block Heater) 

Shaye Zadravec started sneaking up on audiences in our town about 5 years ago, sitting in at open mics and providing understated, memorable background vocals with local heroes. As core members of Tom Phillip and the D.T.s, she and her sister Sydney lend a cool old school country, roots and R&B vibe to the band.

Zadravec is no longer sneaking up on us. Her reputation grows as a real deal singer and song interpreter. Her debut EP Norway breathes new life into songs written by Chip Taylor, Shelby Lynne and Cris Cuddy. She’s a rare bird in an age with a surfeit of songwriters and a dearth of songcatchers who injects a fresh take onto a rich vein of forgotten gems in a pure and unadulterated voice.

About DJ Logic (via Block Heater) 

Her voice is slinky, wispy and sometimes raw. Her songs range from traditional Inuk legends to themes of personal struggle. The lyrics? She chooses from three languages: Inuktitut, English or French, whichever feels right, often mixing in throat singing. Deer’s music has added a new word to our musical lexicon – Inuindie, a genre she pioneered, defined and perfected over ten years and five albums. Her most recent release, My All To You, features members of the Barr Brothers, Stars, Timber Timbre and more. A decade ago, Deer moved 2,000 kilometres south to Montréal from her northern Quebec hometown of Quaqtaq (pop. 400). She says her body is in the south but her heart remains northern.  She calls herself an Urban Inuk with one foot in each world.

About The Mariachi Ghost (via Block Heater) 

Their skull candy half-face paint and haunted theatrical dances rub elbow bones with the Mexican Day of the Dead, but their harmonious mosaic of instruments rouse joy, sweet longing and bittersweet regret, anchoring The Mariachi Ghost solidly in the realm of the living. With a saucy amalgam of brass, janara and guitar accented by traditional Mexican tones draped in keyboards, they create a sound for every emotion and a spectre for every eye.

Few bands could pull off the Winnipeg Folk Fest for their first gig, but few bands blend the delights of theatre and impeccable chops with a keening for the spirit of bygone Mexico. Shake dem bones!

About Sinzere (via Block Heater) 

Winning awards, making killer videos, singing/rapping/freestyling over sick, thick beats: all just another day at the office for Sinzere. She’s a self-proclaimed Bohemian, an avant-garde free spirit who has no room in her life for your drama; she’s too busy honouring her craft. From dancer to award-winning DJ to lyricist/songwriter/hip hop champion, all of Sinzere’s previous and ongoing passions alchemize in her fierce, charismatic performances. She has an expert ear for melody, rhythm and rhyme and uses her voice and words to transport rock, jazz, soul, R&B or reggae to new places but, honestly, the genre is almost inconsequential. For all her Bohemian tendencies, Sinzere is a savvy, unrelenting creator who is amassing a fortune in unique musical currency.

Find more information about the timing and lineup here.