What’s up: Folklorama and human rights, Beth, WSO, Sam Singer, Kane Brown

Folklorama and human rights

Canadian Museum of Human Rights
Friday, 6 p.m.
Tickets: $65 at humanrights.ca

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights and cultural group Folklorama have teamed up to host performances and storytelling from Winnipeg’s Chilean, Greek, Irish and Indigenous communities.

Award-winning hoop and traditional dancer Brian Clyne, a member of Peguis First Nation, will start the show followed by hand-drumming and cultural storytelling from Lawrence Clifford Spence.

Grupo Rümel, a dynamic Chilean dance group, will showcase the music and dances of Chile, including those from the Island of Rapa Nui (formerly known as Easter Island). Greek culture is represented by Kefi Manitoba Inc., who will be clad in handmade costumes representing various regions of Greece.

McConnell Irish Dance, one of the oldest dance troupes in Canada, will close the night with a performance that reflects more than a century of cultural heritage and artistry.

Admission price includes the chance to sample Chilean, Irish and Greek cuisine such as Choripan sandwiches, beef and stout pies and baklava. Vegetarian options are available.

— AV Kitching

 

Beth

Public Domain, 633 Portage Ave.
Saturday, 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $19 at showpass.com

“I’m as crooked as the dealers come in my crown of golden thorns, and I took from everyone I love in pursuit of what I adore,” intones Winnipegger Stefan Braun, sounding just a little like Leonard Cohen doing a death-metal growl.

This is the chorus of Beth’s Nature of the Crime, a dark wall of sound – built on gothy synths, heavy drums and warbling guitars – that sways between nihilism and cosmic longing.

Beth brings to mind acts such as Joy Division and Nick Cave, but one may stop reaching for comparisons after seeing the band live. They are their own other- or underworldly creature.

See this spectacle Saturday, when the band headlines the Public Domain.

The show also features Vancouver post-punkers Smashed Glass and Winnipeg rapper Dru Capote, whose futuristic sound has garnered him a sizable local following since his debut under a year ago.

— Conrad Sweatman

 

How to Grow an Orchestra

Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main St.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
Tickets: $16-$119 at wso.ca

This weekend’s Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Sunday matinée combines history and music as the curtain is pulled back on how the orchestra as we know it today came to be — with more than a few laughs along the way.

Covering its humble beginnings to the 60-plus musicians that make up your typical modern orchestra, How to Grow an Orchestra will feature guest conductor Armand Sigh Birk leading the WSO through the physical manifestations of the ensemble over time, including the order in which instruments were introduced and live demonstrations of different configurations and pieces.

The orchestra on stage will grow and evolve as the afternoon goes on.

Hosting the performance is comedian and classical music junkie Lara Rae, who will flex her comedic chops as she leads the historic exploration and explanation of how the orchestra has morphed over the years. Expect learning and laughter to ensue.

For more information, see wso.ca.

— Ben Sigurdson

 

Sam Singer/ Songwriter Hour + Open Mic

Times Change(d), 234 Main St.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Admission $15

Ahead of his mini-tour of the East Coast next month, local songwriter Sam Singer hosts the fourth instalment of his monthly writers’ round at the Times Change(d), aptly titled the Sam Singer/Songwriter Hour + Open Mic. Past guests have included Slow Leaves, Dom Adams, Gabriela Ocejo, Matt Foster, Holly Ruth and Sam Fournier.

This time, Singer will pass the mic back and forth with two Winnipeg transplants in Orit Shimoni and Kieran Semple. Multi-instrumentalist Shimoni arrived in Winnipeg ahead of the pandemic and upon getting stuck, decided to stick around, since becoming a mainstay of the folk scene and an accordion-playing ensemble member of the recent Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre musical Indecent.

Semple, originally from Regina, specializes in finger-style guitar, and earned a rousing ovation during the open mic portion of an earlier Singer shindig.

Once the three artists finish trading songs, Singer draws names at random, giving musicians a shot at gracing the stage at the historic Winnipeg honky-tonk. Ask nicely, and he might let you borrow his guitar.

— Ben Waldman

 

Kane Brown comes to town

Canada Life Centre, 300 Portage Ave.
Thursday, March 27; 7 p.m.
Tickets $42-$138 at Ticketmaster

American country artist Kane Brown is taking the high road through Canada.

Brown, who hails from rural Tennessee and sings with a twangy baritone, successfully turned a wave of social media popularity into a mainstream music career following his debut release in 2016.

His fourth and latest studio album, The High Road, is a chronicle of his time in the spotlight, his experiences of fatherhood and his struggles with mental health. The record features the 2024 chart-topping, frequently remixed single Miles On It — a 2024 collaboration with masked producer Marshmello.

Brown last performed in Winnipeg in 2022 with a production-heavy show highlighting his brand of rock- and hip-hop-tinged country.

He returns to the arena next Thursday with support from American singer-songwriters Scotty McCreery and Dasha.

— Eva Wasney