A mix of musical genres and indigenous artists hit the road for the fifth incarnation of the Red Ride Tour
Tour dates:
- May 13 – Fairview Pub, Vancouver, BC (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Ostwelve)
- May 15 – Wine-Ohs, Calgary, AB (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Jay Gilday)
- May 16 – Empress Ale House, Edmonton, AB (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Jay Gilday)
- May 19 – Indian Metis Friendship Centre, Prince Albert, SK (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair)
- May 20 – Vangelis Tavern, Saskatoon, SK (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, The Northwest Kid)
- May 21 – Artful Dodger, Regina, SK (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, The Snake Oil Salesmen)
- May 22 – Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB (Derek Miller, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Cris Derksen, Sonia Eidse)
- May 23 – Apollo Bar, Thunder Bay, ON (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Nick Sherman)
- May 25 – Debajehmujig Creation Centre, Manitowaning (Manitoulin Island), ON (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair)
- May 27 – Capitol Centre Theatre, North Bay, ON (Dream Big Conference) (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Binaeshee-Quae Couchie-Nabigon)
- May 28 – Monarch Tavern, Toronto, ON (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Christa Couture)
- May 29 – Six Nations, ON (CANCELLED) (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair)
- May 30 – The Garnet, Peterborough ON (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Sean Conway)
- June 3 – Club Saw, Ottawa, ON (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair)
- June 4 – Ashukan Cultural Space, Montreal, QC (Derek Miller, Cris Derksen, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Beatrice Deer)
Listen to music here: www.soundcloud.com/red-ride-tour
When classical grunge musician Kristi Lane Sinclair first conceived of the Red Ride Tour, she didn’t think she would be organizing her fifth one, while finishing her new album, and filming a six-part TV series about her musical journey for APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network). But that is exactly what Sinclair is doing.
“It is dizzyingly awesome!”, exclaims Sinclair. “It feels so great to have so many projects coming together simultaneously”, she adds.
The Red Ride Tour is a collective of Aboriginal musicians whose goal is to showcase the diverse talent of artists across North America in what is described as an eclectic community of culture. As well as playing cities across Canada from Vancouver to Montreal, the tour expands their US dates this year and will feature the multi-talented Tlingit/Aleut artist and musician Silver Jackson and critically-acclaimed cellist Cris Derksen, who has been Sinclair’s partner-in-crime for every Red Ride tour so far.
With the mainstream success of artists like Tanya Tagaq and A Tribe Called Red, audiences are ready to discover more of what the indigenous community has to offer. The two month travelling showcase is anchored by Sinclair who will be joined by popular rocker and Juno award-winning Mohawk artist Derek Miller (who also produced Sinclair’s new album Dark Matter). The Canadian tour will also see the release of Sinclair’s third studio album and the fist date of the tour will be in Sinclair’s hometown of Vancouver.
A host of Aboriginal artists from a wide range of genres will join the tour at various stops along the way including rising folk singer Nick Sherman, Cree/Métis singer-songwriter Christa Couture, Sto:lo Territory hip-hop artist Ron Dean Harris (aka Ostwelve), Saskatchewan trio The Snake Oil Salesmen, Dene musician Jay Gilday, Curve Lake First Nation singer-songwriter Sean Conway and young up-and-coming talent Binaeshee-Que Couchie-Nabigon. Each stop on the tour will have local Indigenous artists opening for the Red Ride musicians.
A major coup for this year’s Red Ride Tour is having blues rocker Derek Miller from Six Nations, Ontario onboard. Starting off his career playing in Buffy Sainte-Marie’s band, he has gone on to win two Juno awards and is a four-time Aboriginal Music Award winner. A documentary film about his life on the road, Music is the Medicine, had its world premiere at the imagineNATIVE festival in Toronto in 2011 and his 2014 release – produced by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. – is a cover album of songs made famous by Native American musicians called Rumble: A Tribute to Native Music Icons.
“This is our fifth year in a row taking indigenous acts on the road across Canada, and each year it grows,” says Sinclair. “It started out as just Cris and I, in my little Chevy Optra hatchback, driving across Canada, playing live music venues,” she explains. “And now this year, we have acts… huge acts… and a massive North American Tour!”.
“We’re trying to get so many artists to so many places. It’s more like a touring festival than a normal tour,” said Sinclair.
“The outcome is going to be amazing and you’re not going to want to miss it.”
For more information:
www.redridetour.com
www.facebook.com/redridetour
