With Early Music Vancouver’s (EMV) Summer Festival, Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival, and the Surrey Fusion Festival among others, the summer is looking rather musical.
From explorations of past times to celebrations of multiculturalism, these three music festivals offer more than just captivating tunes – they also welcome new ways for fostering the sounds of diversity.
Rediscovering women in early music
Guided by the theme of WOMEN-inSIGHT, EMV’s Summer Festival, which runs from July 27 to Aug. 5, showcases the overlooked contributions of early women musicians. The Queen of Carthage, a contemporary and baroque retelling of Dido’s triumphs through music and dance, will open the festival on July 27 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Women’s revolutionary roles in history will also be explored in Our City of Ladies with music inspired by Christine de Pizan’s (b. 1364) creation of an imagined city that valourizes women’s rights and education.
“Music can help connect cultures because it’s something you can share. You don’t have to understand everything – it’s a great communicative tool,” says Suzie LeBlanc, Artistic and Executive Director of EMV.
LeBlanc first encountered Pizan’s works, which inspired this festival’s theme, during the pandemic and was moved by her commitment to women’s empowerment. For LeBlanc, early music can trace humanity’s narrative – both the stories of the past and the stories yet to come.
“If you know where you are coming from, the values of those people that came before you, you can decide where you want to go in your life,” says LeBlanc. “Instruments tell the stories of all the connections between cultures that happened.”
EMV’s performances will draw from the Italian renaissance, Louis XIV’s French court, and 18th century German music. Milton in Love, which takes place on Aug. 3 at Pyatt Hall, is an interdisciplinary performance that explores this 17th century poet’s appreciation of a singer through music and film. For LeBlanc, the hope is that previously forgotten women from history can be remembered while attendees can discover early music for themselves.
Celebrating Burnaby through blues and roots music
First conceived of in 2000, Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival 2023 takes place on Aug. 12 at Deer Lake Park. With a star-studded line-up that includes Buffy Sainte-Marie and Allison Russell, the festival aims to reflect Burnaby’s cultural diversity while celebrating blues and roots music with free admissions.
“One of the things we’ve been actively looking at is ensuring that the lineup does reflect back the society and culture we live in to ensure we have BIPOC population and women up on the stages,” says Lois Dawson, Special Events Officer for the City of Burnaby.
Along with Sainte-Marie and Russell, the Trade-Offs, whose lyrics include both English and Inuktitut, will also be performing. The Dip, a Seattle-based band, Boy Golden, and an up-and-coming artist from First Up with RBCXMUSIC are expected to take the stage as well.
“A group like the Dip – the thing that got us excited is their horn section,” says Dawson. “With blues music, horns are such a staple, so it was important to me to include something that brought that feeling to the park.”
In addition to the main stage in front of Deer Lake, Dawson notes that there will also be food trucks and a family activity area with roving performances as well as arts and crafts. For Dawson, this festival’s family-friendly nature is what makes it a standout.
“The blues and roots festival feels more like a cultural attraction for the community – not really a commercial enterprise,” says Dawson. “For our Burnaby residents who are out and attending, I hope they will be proud of Burnaby and of how the city engages with culture.”
Honouring Surrey’s cultural diversity
With a diverse musical and dance line-up spread across 8 stages, the Surrey Fusion Festival, which has the theme of “Dance Around the World,” returns to Holland Park with free admissions from 11am–10pm on July 22 and 23. In addition to music and dance performances, attendees can visit different culture pavilions and attend cooking demonstrations.
Preeti Yadav, projectmanager of special events for the City of Surrey, recommends that attendees enjoy lunch in the early afternoon at the festival, then treat themselves to cultural performances as well as the headline performances taking place on the Concord Pacific World Music Stage. Chosen with Surrey’s multicultural identity in mind, the line-up includes DJ Shub, Gurnam Bhullar, Don Amero, Tissa Rahim, and Karishma Deo. For Yadav, music is a powerful tool that preserves culture and shares stories.
“We hope attendees leave with a stronger sense of community support and belonging, new friendships and positive lasting memories,” says Yadav.
One of the performers will be Filipino-Canadian songwriter, singer, and playwright Argel Monte de Ramos (MDR), whose musical inclinations began at a young age. Just three years old when he first started singing, Argel describes music as a part of his body. Since moving to Canada at the age of 15, Argel has received many acclaims for his musical talents, including winning the music category of Surrey Art and Business Awards in 2022. For Argel, music is integral to his anti-racism work.
“Some of the hurdles and challenges of being a person of colour – hurdles to express opinions, questions about identity – music gets a grasp of what I really want to tell people,” says Argel.
In addition to performing, Argel is also a cofounder of Momentum 180 Collective’s The Parallel Project, which aims to connect BIPOC artists interested in writing monologues with mentors and other artists. At the Surrey Fusion Festival, he will be performing two new songs with the hope of uplifting and inspiring people to continue pursuing their goals.
“As human beings, we are all connected no matter what we do. I want to connect as much as possible with people and for people to feel and see my story as something that is unique and also relatable,” says Argel.
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