What’s up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/01/2026 (252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Writers Round

• Kilter Brewing Co., 450 Rue Deschambault
• Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets $15 at wfp.to/inJ

Kilter Brewing Co.’s monthly singer-songwriter night returns for the first time in 2026 with four locals set to share their music and stories.

The Nashville-inspired The Writers Round takes place tonight at the St. Boniface brewery. Hosting the event and sharing the performing duties is Winnipeg-based Métis-Polish avant-pop artist Kwiat, who will be joined by local folk-rock-blues artist Fernanda, whose debut Deer Trails was released last month, as well as Fuller Hull, “The Songwriter for Second Chancers,” and eclectic folk musician Larysa Musick, who now goes by the moniker Lady of the Red.

Performances start at 7:30 p.m.

— Ben Sigurdson

---

Lucas Morneau’s Queer Newfoundland Hockey League

• Gallery 1C03 at University of Winnipeg
• Centennial Hall, 515 Portage Ave.
• to Jan. 28

With Crave’s queer hockey series Heated Rivalry becoming the crossover television show of the moment, it’s a good time to skate over to Gallery 1c03 to catch Lucas Morneau’s Queer Newfoundland Hockey League exhibition before its season ends.

Profiled by Jen Zoratti in November — well before the internet grew obsessed with Jacob Tierney’s (Letterkenny) adaptation of Nova Scotian author Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series — the 31-year-old Morneau crocheted and rug-hooked jerseys for 14 fictional clubs in the QNHL, each named for pejoratives used against the LGBTTQ+ community.

Moved to respond through art to former commentator Don Cherry’s word choices, which often veered across the blueline into homophobic territory, the Newfoundlander Morneau’s created original franchises, each associated with Newfoundland communities, include the Ferryland Fairies, the St. John’s Sissies, the Nain Nancies and the Francois Fruits.

“Morneau’s project is a queering of hockey iconography that faces off against homophobia and toxic masculinity within hockey culture,” Zoratti wrote. “But their work also aims to create a new masculinity in the sport, one that’s joyful, welcoming and accepting,” reclaiming the pejorative to reimagine queer players as ones to root for rather than root out from the locker room.

— Ben Waldman

---

Sound Bath

• Siobhan Richardson Field Station, FortWhyte Alive, 1961 McCreary Rd.
• Monday, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Tickets $50 at fortwhyte.org

Lie back be aurally stimulated by the calming sounds of crystal singing bowls during this immersive sound bath session.

Sound bath practitioner Vivian Morningstar of Coherence Sound Healing will use crystal bowls to create sustained ringing sounds in varying volumes and tones by gently striking or slowly rubbing a soft mallet around the rim of her bowls.

The gentle, repetitive sounds, coupled with a combination of tones — large bowls make lower notes, small bowls make higher notes — have the effect of reducing stress and anxiety, improving focus and concentration, and promoting a sense of well-being.

The session may take place outdoors if conditions allow but will be indoors in cold weather. Bring a yoga mat and anything you may need to lie down comfortably. After the sound bath, attendees are invited to relax by a bonfire and sip on herbal tea.

— AV Kitching

---

Esteban Seunarine and Ben Kenosok

• Sidestage, 700 Osborne St.
• Friday, 7 p.m.
• Tickets $13.50 at Ticketweb

Glitch Witch, Echo-ology, Nighsister:Nightbrother — these are a few of the songs off the Frequencies//For//Ghosts album, released this past fall.

For a duo so creative about titling, they’ve played it comparatively straight about naming themselves, keeping things eponymous: Esteban Seunarine and Ben Kenosok.

It may be another mouthful, but no matter, their album is one of the more adventurous jazz records to come out of Winnipeg in a minute. It’s a washed out, electronic-fusion EP, vibrating with the sort of nerdy, psychedelic energy you might expect from clever jazz school kids.

Speaking of mouthfuls, they’re joined by five opening acts for their Friday show at Sidestage: Janina Macalalad, Alanna Fast, Ingia, Anil Ramgotra and Emmanuel Bach.

That’s too many acts to describe in detail, so to focus on one: Ingia is the stage name of South Sudanese-Canadian vocalist and saxophonist Joyce German. She’s likewise got out a recent jazz EP, Genesis, with fusion inflections. But while the duo reaches for the cosmos, much of German’s sound blossoms from her roots, drawing on Sudanese influences as well as R&B, soul and gospel.

— Conrad Sweatman

---

Black Earth/Chornozem: An Installation by Michael Boss

• 226 Gallery, 226 Main St.
• Wednesday to Sunday, 12-3 p.m., to Jan. 16

Chornozem, or black earth, is the rich, fertile soil that covers Ukraine. It can also be found in the Red River Valley.

It’s yet another link between the two regions, and a fitting title for an art exhibition that explores all manner of connections — historical, familial and political. Through painting, drawing, sculpture and text, Winnipeg artist Michael Boss, whose ancestors are from Ukraine, reflects on the current ongoing war and how it intersects with Ukrainian history in seven pieces created between 2021 and 2025.

Black Earth/Chornozem is on view until Jan. 16.

— Jen Zoratti

If you value coverage of Manitoba’s arts scene, help us do more.
Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.