Tout pour la musique, a celebration of Canada’s Francophonie, is almost here, and I’m looking forward to the show Watch for it on Unis’s TV stream on June 24 at 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time!
Here are a three of the 15 participating artists that caught my eye:
Burnstick: Burnstick are Nadia, a Francophone-Métis singer-songwriter, and Jason, a Plains-Cree guitarist who plays a very cool-looking vintage Weissenborn guitar. The Manitoba-based duo sings in English, French and Cree. Listen to Prayer, a beautiful ballad featured in the award-winning NFB/ONF documentary: nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up.
Alpha Yaya Diallo: Alpha Yaya Diallo is one of Canada’s best guitar players. Diallo has made his home in Vancouver since 1991, but he has deep musical roots in Guinea, where he absorbed musical traditions from the Malenke, Sousou, and his own Foulani people. Check out his mesmerising guitar work at the Issamba African Heritage Festival in Victoria, B.C., in 2021.
Céleste Lévis and Marc-Antoine Joly: Franco-Ontarien duo Céleste Lévis and Marc-Antoine Joly have been making a name for themselves across Canada with their emo-flavoured folk music. Here’s Céleste singing the beautiful ballad Simplement in 2020.
Tout pour la Musique is a project of Winnipeg-based Productions Rivard and broadcasts each year on Unis TV. It is presented by the Foundation Dialogue with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Government of Canada.
Catherine Fisher, blogger
