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StageCoach presents biggest production ever 

Robb Magley
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StageCoach presents biggest production ever 

There’s a character trait fostered in young people involved in theatre — a planted seed that grows into something complicated to explain and easy to admire.  

It’s not “fearlessness,” at least not precisely; StageCoach Theatre School artistic director Christina Penhale’s young thespians are familiar with a metaphor she uses often: that fear is in the car with you, so to speak, but you’re the one driving — and fear, she said, doesn’t get to touch the radio. The phrase got nods of approval all down the line from members of the OnStage performance class, StageCoach’s oldest group of students and the anchor around which the school’s 25th anniversary performance of Matilda the Musical JR. swings. 

For the first time in years, and as a celebration of a quarter century of helping nurture new generations of “theatre kids,” all the school’s classes are combining in a single massive performance with 14 musical numbers and a cast of 35 — from the Theatre Seekers’ five- to seven-year-olds to the Intermediate Theatre class. There are even StageCoach alumni; one of the adult ensemble is current Theatre Seekers instructor Metta Rose, who islanders may not realize played the first lead of the first StageCoach class show back in 1999, as Alice during their production of Alice in Wonderland. 

In a moment just before rehearsal, Penhale put it to the OnStage class — a proper troupe now, deep into final preparations for a show together — what message they think audiences will take away from Matilda? 

Several just started singing: “Even if you’re little, you can do a lot . . . !” 

Penhale beamed. “That’s one of my favourite songs in the show,” she admitted. 

The story of Matilda centres on a young, sweet girl who overcomes problematic parenting and outright tyrannical teachers by discovering her own power, explained senior OnStage student Abby Bouchard, who said she was thrilled with her casting as the bizarrely cruel Miss Trunchbull.  

“It is such a fun role,” said Bouchard. “She’s so unhinged; a really big bully.” 

But Trunchbull’s cruelty helps the play deliver its core message, she said, that anyone can be brave enough to stand up to bullies — and, fellow cast member Pepper Roscoe-Duvall says, bravery has been part of the process for every student going in front of an audience. 

“I’ve had stage fright my whole life!” laughed Roscoe-Duvall, who shares the titular role of Matilda with Larkin Hemstreet and Rosie Tauriac. “With people like Abby, who were in the show last year and know what it’s like — it’s less scary to be on stage with them because they’ve done it before. We’ve become like a family up here.” 

One new twist for the stage production of Matilda — at least new to StageCoach — is the addition of microphones, meaning even the quietest will be heard by the audience. For troupe members who are naturally more soft-spoken, it’s a new opportunity to express themselves — and again, a notion not too far from the show’s message. 

“It’s about speaking up for what you think is not right,” said Lucy Dagenais, who plays Ms. Honey and Mrs. Phelps. “And about making your voice heard.” 

Not to be left out, for two of the shows — the family matinee April 27 and the closing performance May 3 — the StageCoach Dancers will join the production for a number before the second half. It’s a huge undertaking that’s required major behind-the-scenes support, Penhale said, a village’s worth of parent volunteers, crew and board members to pull it off. 

“This is the biggest show we’ve ever done. It’s going to be a spectacle,” said Penhale, looking fondly at the students as they scattered to warm up before rehearsal. “I’m so proud of how hard they’ve worked; I’ve asked a lot of them, and they’ve really risen to the occasion.” 

From among the shuffling feet, young voices could be heard singing right through the din: 

“If you sit around and let them get on top, you might as well be saying you think that it’s okay. And that’s not right. And if it’s not right you have to put it right.”

“These kids are just amazing,” said Penhale with a smile. “Having the privilege of facilitating this experience for them is the just the most fulfilling thing. This is my ‘why’ in life.” 

Matilda the Musical JR. runs at ArtSpring April 25 and 26 and May 1, 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. show April 27. For more information visit stagecoachtheatre.ca. 

A gala 25th anniversary celebration is also set for Monday, April 28 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at ArtSpring. A fundraising appeal for the StageCoach Legacy Fund through the Salt Spring Island Foundation is also underway.

Hummingbird film celebrates compassion

Contributed Article
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Hummingbird film celebrates compassion

by STEVE MARTINDALE

SS FILM FESTIVAL SOCIETY  

An award-winning Australian documentary about a California woman who turns her home into a sanctuary for injured hummingbirds is the final film of the season presented by the Salt Spring Film Festival, in collaboration with Salt Spring Arts as part of the Unexpected Bateman Spring Art Show.

The film runs at  Mahon Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 17.

Featuring gorgeous time-lapse cinematography of flowers blooming and incredibly detailed high-definition shots of hummingbirds in flight, Every Little Thing is an uplifting and emotionally engaging profile of wildlife rescuer Terry Masear, inspired by her bestselling 2015 memoir Fastest Things on Wings, which documents the decades she has spent rehabilitating thousands of hummingbirds in her house in the Hollywood Hills.

 An astonishingly immersive cinematic experience, Every Little Thing enchants audiences with the challenges, triumphs and tragedies of the smallest of rehab patients, some no larger than your fingertips, which we get to know individually by name.

 Gradually revealing that Masear’s determination to rescue injured hummingbirds serves to heal the trauma of her abusive upbringing, the film’s deliberately narrow focus ultimately becomes its strength, as tiny dramas of resilience and survival unfold on screen in an unadulterated celebration of compassion and self-care.

Heartwarming and deeply moving, Every Little Thing was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, subsequently earning filmmaker Sally Aitken the Adrienne Shelley Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Nantucket Film Festival and a nomination for the Australian Oscar for Best Documentary.

Sponsored by Mouat’s Trading Co., admission is by donation.

Editorial: More art, please

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: More art, please

Two things the Gulf Islands offer to visitors and residents in abundance are nature and art. 

Those two elements have converged beautifully at the Unexpected Bateman fine art exhibition on until April 27 at Mahon Hall. As this year’s rendition of Salt Spring Arts’ Spring Art Show, the story of Robert McLellan Bateman’s artistic life expresses the connection between and the necessity of both art and nature to nurture and sustain us.  

The exhibition illustrates how Bateman’s fascination with all facets of the natural world as a boy in Ontario led to him becoming an artist. While his international reputation is rooted in his realistic paintings of wildlife, the exhibit initiated and first curated at the Penticton Art Gallery by its director/curator Paul Crawford, with Salt Spring’s Zoe Zafiris-Casey curating the Mahon Hall show, shares many other facets of the artist through his long lifestime of making art. Quotes and explanatory notes on the works enhance the viewers’ experience, as did Bateman’s stories shared with the crowd at the opening event on April 11. 

Even more of the Bateman story will be told at an ArtSpring exhibition next month. Confluence: The Bateman Collection, also curated by Zafiris-Casey, will consist of art and collectibles from the lifetimes of travel and experiences of Bateman and his wife Birgit Freybe Bateman.  

At ArtSpring now (until April 21) is a remarkable exhibit of work by seven Salt Spring artists. Susan Benson, Seth Berkowitz, Anna Gustafson, Jane MacKenzie, April Mackey, Anette Schrage and Michela Sorrentino share their interpretations of the afterlife in Undiscovered Country, the title taken from a phrase in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

For the last few weeks at the Point Gallery, islanders and visitors had another look into the life and extraordinarily moving work of Ian Thomas, whose retrospective exhibit ran at ArtSpring last May. This fall, Mahon Hall is home to the Salt Spring National Art Prize Finalists’ Exhibition, and the Parallel Art Show will run at ArtSpring. Year-round, fine local art is found at any number of wonderful gallery spaces.

People don’t have to be educated in the visual arts to reap its benefits. In what feel like extraordinarily chaotic times, we can never overindulge in either art or nature. 

BRADFORD, Harry James

Driftwood Obituary
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BRADFORD, Harry James

Following a short battle with cancer Harry passed away peacefully on Friday the 28th of March, the date and time of his choosing. At his side when he passed were Linda, his soul mate and partner for nearly five decades, daughter Kelly, son Simon and daughter in law Danielle. His two beloved little grandchildren were in his heart although they could not be with him to hold his hand.

Harry was born in Maidstone U.K. and served nearly 23 years as a police sergeant in Kent Police, earning several commendations for bravery. He was well respected by those who served with him, many of whom remain close friends to this day.

The family emigrated to Canada in 1990, living in Manotick, Ontario for 22 years, where Harry built houses and the local veterinary clinic before becoming a home inspector. He taught many courses for the professional association of home inspectors in Ontario and BC and will be remembered as a home inspector here on the Island where we made our home in 2012. Up until the time of his passing, Harry was chairman of the Professional Insurance Program for the BC Home Inspection Association.

Harry was always the first to lend a helping hand wherever needed. He was an amazing cook, author and regular debater of world affairs over breakfast at The Treehouse with his dear friend Scott. A loving partner,beloved father and grandfather who will be forever remembered by family, friends and his special canine girl, Miya.

‘There’s no silence as loud as the absence of a voice that you heard every day’

Nettle festivals spring up on the islands

Contributed Article
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Nettle festivals spring up on the islands

BY ROBIN JENKINSON

Pop Quiz: What celestial event do we celebrate with Nettlefest?

Answer: Spring Equinox!

The early spring growth of nettle greens coincides with these days when light hours surpass the darkness of winter. Stories of nettles from around the world feature themes of respect, protection, healing and magic. In Celtic lore, nettles grow where faeries dwell. Nettle celebrations offer us nature connection through traditional plant knowledge.

As a perfect spring tonic, nettles contain many vitamins (A, C, K, B, iron and more) and offer many medicinal benefits. Abundant and free, nettles are an important food source for sustainable and resilient island food systems.

Enjoy nettle tea or cook the leaves and soft stems like spinach in any recipe. Each spring, I make enough enough nettle-garlic pesto to freeze for the year. Nettle lasagna is a real treat, and nettle spanakopita is our Easter weekend tradition. Read on for more tasty nettle ideas!

While Saturna celebrated Nettlefest on March 29 with an inspired six-course nettle meal, you still have time to partake and participate in Mayne and Galiano’s upcoming celebrations on April 11 and 13, respectively.

At nettle workshops this past weekend on Saturna Island, Sharon Kallis, author of Common Threads: Weaving Community through Collaborative Eco-Art and lead instructor with EartHand Gleaners Society, wore an entire outfit she’d woven of nettles! She also brought cordage, dyed yarns and nettle baskets. Participants foraged for Saturday’s fabulous nettle feast. For the Sixth Annual Saturna Nettlefest 2025, chef Hubertus Surm of Saturna Island transformed heaps of nettles into a six-course feast for 31 people. He was assisted by Sam Fache in the kitchen, with dessert made by Peggy Warren. Shirlanne Johnson decorated the space with wild edibles and spring blossoms and served alongside Raeanne House. Paired wines were from Sage Hayward Vineyards.

The menu ranged from Nettle Soup (a French delicacy) to Haida Gwaii Halibut with Nettle Pesto, and was topped off with Nettle Ice Cream with Nettle-Lime Macarons.

The most basic nettle pesto recipe includes sautéed leaves and garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and lemons, with the option of adding roasted walnuts and parmesan.

The jolly event featured Nettle Poetry by Ralph Cartar, Nettle Trivia with Robin Jenkinson and Ryan Dentry, a Toast to the Nettle by Sharon Kallis, and random readings by Athena George from 101 Uses for Stinging Nettle, describing applications from ulcer treatment to erotic flogging.

Throughout the Gulf Islands, fibres from dried nettle stems were used by W̱SÁNEĆ and other peoples to twine cordage, then woven into fishing nets and ropes in the winter. 1 Interestingly, the SENĆOŦEN name for nettle, ȾEXȾEX, is also used for “oyster,” because, as Carl Olsen explained, when harvesting, they both make your hands sting.

The best way to harvest nettles for eating is with rubberized garden gloves, latex, or other thick mitts and a big bag with handles. Gently snap off the tip and the top six leaves or so of each nettle plant and stuff them into your sack, compacting as you go. This allows the plants to resprout and feed wildlife. Make sure to leave some whole plants for the many species of pollinators who depend upon them for early nectar and caterpillar food.

Rubberized gloves and two-handled basket for safe nettle harvesting.

Next day, I’m en route home to Salt Spring. My body feels replete and I’m well-provisioned with nettle breakfast. I feel better connected to this community and landscape through my primal belly. One of my fingers still tingles from nettle stings.

A sackful of freshly harvested nettles hangs from my bicycle handlebars . . . What would you make? Perhaps Deb Foote’s almond-nettle cake recipe (from her great nettle article on the mayneconservancy.ca website). Perhaps a warm honey tea for the bathtub? Or maybe they’d best be blanched and frozen in anticipation of the upcoming nettle potlucks at Mayne and Galiano Nettlefests.

Breakfast on the ferry home: nettle pesto on crusty sourdough. Yum.

The window for harvesting young nettles here is short. They’re stringy and less nutritious once they flower. Luckily in this area, seasonal locavores are spoiled with a diversity of wild and farmed foods (check out maple flowers, clams and over-wintered carrots and beets right now). Otherwise, we’d run the risk of ending up nettle-green, like Milrepa, the 11th-century Tibetan Buddhist disciple who meditated in caves for years, eating only nettles, which turned his skin green, gave him a green aura and contributed to his enlightenment.

Thank you to Shirlanne Johnson and Heather Michaud for sharing their photographs.

1 “The Saanich Year” – by author Earle Claxton; author/illustrator: John Elliott. Published by the Saanich School Board #63.

    The above article was first published on the author’s Substack site and shared with the Driftwood for publication.

    Trustee keeps governing from afar

    Robb Magley
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    Trustee keeps governing from afar

    A Salt Spring elected official no longer living on the island says the law is on his side, as this week could mark his sixth consecutive Local Trust Committee (LTC) meeting participating remotely. 

    It has been nearly nine months since trustee Jamie Harris took part in-person in an Islands Trust meeting, last attending Salt Spring’s LTC in July 2024 and participating in subsequent meetings via Zoom. Harris, elected in 2022 on a campaign to address Salt Spring’s housing crisis, has said he lost his own living situation and was forced to move away — citing a potential threefold rent increase for “something comparable” on-island. 

    Harris did not respond to Driftwood requests for comment and has declined public invitations to elaborate on his intentions or whereabouts. 

    While “Zooming in” to meetings is commonplace — LTCs met remotely from April 2020 until October 2021 due to Covid — Salt Spring’s meeting procedures bylaw prohibits trustees from attending two consecutive regular LTC meetings remotely if the meetings themselves are held in-person.  

    Harris’ last in-person attendance at a regular monthly LTC meeting was July 11, 2024. But since there was no meeting that August and an all-online meeting was called in October, the policy’s limit wasn’t reached until the December meeting — when the two trustees attending in-person, as permitted upon unanimous vote by that policy, waived the restriction for that meeting.  

    With no LTC meeting scheduled in January, a unanimous vote permitting Harris to attend and participate remotely was repeated in February and again in March.

    Fellow Salt Spring trustee Laura Patrick has said that October meeting went fully remote in an effort to retain quorum so the meeting could take place at all. Notably, Salt Spring’s meeting procedure bylaws only allow one trustee at a time to attend remotely, meaning when either of the other two trustees cannot be in-person, the LTC meeting either changes to fully remote or must be cancelled. 

    At the March 20 LTC meeting, when a member of the public asked why Harris was not attending meetings in person, LTC chair Tim Peterson recommended that people contact Harris personally. Patrick has also declined to comment on the situation.

    During the most recent Islands Trust Council meeting in March, Harris did speak up during discussion of a Trust-wide meetings procedure bylaw –– which among its prescriptions would set a maximum number of consecutive LTC meetings trustees could attend remotely. As drafted for that meeting, local trustees could still vote to set that limit aside in the moment, as is happening on Salt Spring. 

    But as trustees discussed the policy, Harris argued March 13 that many people were losing their homes due to the “workforce housing crisis we have going on,” and that additional flexibility to attend remotely was “great.” 

    “To be clear, the Local Government Act states clearly what the requirements are for somebody to hold office,” said Harris, “and it isn’t a law that somebody needs to reside on the island.” 

    The act specifies eligibility for all local government candidates, and includes requirements for Canadian citizenship, age and at least six months’ residence in B.C.; there are indeed no enumerated requirements that trustees reside in the community they represent.  

    “The law is what it is,” said Harris, who attended all three days of Trust Council remotely, wearing a T-shirt with the word “TEXAS” across the chest for the first two. 

    “I was forced to move, so clearly flexibility is a good thing,” he continued. “And you know, you want to hold my feet to the fire, then give ‘er.” 

    Opinion: Parliament needs May’s voice for the environment

    Contributed Article
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    Opinion: Parliament needs May’s voice for the environment

    By RILEY DONOVAN

    In 1891, 1911 and 1988, Canada held “free trade elections” where Canada-U.S. trade deals took centre stage. The 2025 campaign will go down in the history books as the “Canadian sovereignty election.”

    The Trump administration’s initiation of a chaotic trade war aimed at coercing Canada into becoming the 51st American state has become the clear focal point. To many voters, all other issues pale in comparison to the ongoing economic aggression and threats of annexation.

    For the large majority of voters, elections with one clear theme essentially become a referendum between the Conservatives and Liberals. Themed elections are bad news for the smaller parties. A recent Leger poll had the NDP at six per cent, Bloc Quebecois at five per cent, and the Greens and People’s Party at three per cent. A full 82 per cent went to the Liberals (44) or Conservatives (38).

    We are seeing this same phenomenon here in our local Saanich-Gulf Islands riding. According to poll aggregator 338canada.com on April 6, the Liberals and Conservatives were almost tied, with the Greens and NDP taking a corresponding dip. Clearly, both NDP and Green voters are defecting to the Liberals. Most probably, this is part of the national trend in which progressive voters are rallying behind the party they see as the defender of Canada’s economy, values and way of life.

    This is entirely rational. If your top issue is ensuring the next government in Ottawa stands up to U.S. aggression, and you believe the Liberals best suited to the job, why vote for a small party and thereby potentially help the Conservatives squeak in by a hair?

    But here in Saanich-Gulf Islands, we still have a three-way Green-Liberal-Conservative race. Up until Mark Carney became federal Liberal Leader, Green co-leader Elizabeth May was set to win this riding handsomely. Thus, in this riding, voters who distrust the Conservative approach to handling the trade war have the luxury of two choices: Liberal or Green.

    Elizabeth May has taken an equally strong stance on the trade war as has Mark Carney — if not even stronger. At a defiantly pro-Canadian Parliament Hill press conference in early January, she proclaimed: “We love our country, and it’s a country. It’s a nation, and we do not aspire to be the 51st state . . . If it was a joke, it was never funny, and it ends now.” This speech went viral — quite a feat for a January press conference held in Ottawa.

    338 Canada, the country’s foremost polling aggregator, forecasts that the Liberals could win 185 seats, 13 more than is required for a majority. If this holds true, then voters in Saanich-Gulf Islands sending one more Liberal to Parliament will do little to sway the fate of the country. But sending a Green MP will make sure that environmental concerns are not forgotten in the nation’s capital.

    In the next Parliament, a voice for Canada’s environment will be needed more than ever. The Conservatives and Liberals are united in a push for rapid approvals of industrial and resource projects. Pipelines, critical mineral extraction and energy-guzzling data centres are on the menu. Controversial mining projects in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” are on the table. Carney has already scrapped federal reviews for major infrastructure and mining projects, which can now proceed with provincial or territorial approval alone.

    The push for industrialization and resource extraction is an understandable effort to establish Canadian economic independence from the United States. Voters in Saanich-Gulf Islands have the power to send a watchdog to Ottawa to ensure that this economic realignment proceeds without undue devastation to the natural environment that we as Canadians so deeply treasure.

    Volunteers needed to keep Doggy Daycare running

    Robb Magley
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    Volunteers needed to keep Doggy Daycare running

    After more than a decade helping keep Salt Spring’s canines cared for while their families shopped at the Saturday Market, the Doggy Daycare program faces a volunteer shortage — and without more, the program won’t be offered this summer. 

    As of last week, according to Jerry Lewandowski, manager of Salt Spring Island’s BC SPCA Animal Care Centre, fewer than half the number of volunteers needed to run the popular program have reached out — and perhaps even more alarmingly, there has been no interest in taking on the volunteer coordinator position. 

    “Dogs are not allowed in the market — or in Centennial Park — so this is a service we provide so the dogs don’t stay in hot cars,” said Lewandowski. “Prior to Covid, we would have 18 to 20 volunteers in a day; last year, we had about four or five of us who were regular.” 

    It’s one-on-one dog sitting, Lewandowski said, generally between the May and September long weekends — when it’s warmest — and for animal lovers, it’s usually a pretty fun time. Volunteers are given a dog on a leash while the owners shop, and depending on the animal’s temperament and needs they’ll sit in the shade with them, play with them and give scritches, socialize or even offer a little brushing. 

    “We try to match the dog with the volunteer,” said Lewandowski. “For example, we get a lot of seniors helping who can’t have dogs that pull, so we try to give those to the stronger, younger people.” 

    Volunteers are expected to stay a minimum of two hours during market hours, with most demand coming usually between 9 a.m. and about 2:30 p.m., Lewandowski said. 

    The Doggy Daycare coordinator has additional responsibilities, including setting up and breaking down at the park every Saturday and matching the right dogs with the right people. 

    “That takes a little more time commitment, and some organizational skills,” said Lewandowski. “But that person is a necessity; if we don’t have that, we definitely cannot do Doggy Daycare.” 

    Dog owners pay a fee when they drop off their dogs, $20 for one hour of daycare — although there are often additional donations, Lewandowski said, all of which go directly to the Salt Spring Animal Care Centre and are an important funding source that helps support their work.  

    “Depending on the volunteer interest, we may have to start later in the year,” said Lewandowski. “Or if we don’t get enough, we might have to put up a sign saying, ‘We’ll be back next year.’ Hopefully not.” 

    To sign up to help, visit spca.bc.ca/volunteer and click on “Apply Today” and then scroll to “BC SPCA – Salt Spring Island” to see all the local centre’s volunteer opportunities — or call the shelter at 250-537-2123. 

    Fire district AGM coming up April 14

    Robb Magley
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    Fire district AGM coming up April 14

    With the decision by Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District trustee John Wakefield to not seek another term — and with just one nomination received, that of current trustee Robin Williams — there will likely be a vacant seat remaining so by the end of business at the district’s annual general meeting (AGM) Monday, April 14.

    Williams stands elected by acclamation for a three-year term of office which will begin at the end of that meeting; returning officer Anthony Kennedy sent notice one additional trustee position is to be filled through a nomination and election process at a later time, although the board has not yet announced a date.

    But fire district policy wonks will still have plenty to occupy them Monday night, including audited financial statements and annual reports from Fire Chief Jamie Holmes, board chair Rollie Cook, the Salt Spring Island Firefighters Association and the district’s standing committees — as well as the annual call for a motion from the public to adjust (or leave alone) trustees’ remuneration for the year, currently $330 per month for trustees and $385 for the chair.

    The AGM, the fire district’s 65th, starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Ganges Fire Hall training room.

    Wesli brings Haitian vibes to ArtSpring

    Contributed Article
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    Wesli brings Haitian vibes to ArtSpring

    By KIRSTEN BOLTON

    For ArtSpring

    In what is promising to be one of ArtSpring’s most colourful, exuberant and multi-cultural concerts of the season, award-winning artist Wesli and his six-person band will be bringing the beats and the jam to the island next Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m.

    Born into a poor family of seven children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wesli (Wesley Louissaint) built his first guitar at the age of eight by stringing an old oil can with nylon fishing line. He sang alongside his mother in the gospel choir of the local church, and his father was a well-known banjo and percussion player of twoubadou, a popular Haitian folk music style.

    After experiencing the joyful, passionate music played around him as a child, both by his parents and his broader community, he dreamed of becoming a professional musician, saying “music chose me to share its spirit.”

    His own spirit was challenged at a young age, when his family fled to a Cuban refugee camp during the violence that erupted after the 1991 Haitian coup d’état. Just 11 years old at the time, this difficult experience taught him “resilience, reconciliation and forgiveness” in the face of conflict.

    “No matter what,” Wesli says, “you can rebuild yourself, give yourself a positive direction, and make yourself into a new person that is useful to the society that you are living in.”

    From these humble beginnings, at 21 he won a Canadian scholarship which allowed him to study arrangement and percussion in Montréal, where he continues to reside, going on to become one of Haiti’s most inspiring and celebrated musical ambassadors.

    Wesli explores a variety of genres while keeping his musical identity anchored in evangelical gospel, reggae, Afrobeat, funk and Haitian roots music, while also exploring electronic, soul and hip-hop. He has accompanied the greatest Caribbean artists and several big names in African music during their stays in Montréal.

    His ancestors can be traced to the Congo and, like many Black people from West Africa, were victims of France’s slave trade. His songs combine 60 per cent French words with a Creole patois that combines French, Spanish and African words of the Yoruba, Igbo, Ewe, Nago and other traditional music that is sung but never spoken in order to retain the purity of the language.

    “This isn’t about politics,” he says. “We sing about joy, culture, tribal songs and the value of the diversity of African heritage.”

    Earning acclaim across the globe for his appealing music, energizing live performances and charming personality, in 2019, he won the Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year and in 2024 was the winner of World Music International Male Solo Artist of the year at the prestigious Haitian Music Awards in Miami. He’s also won at the American Independent Music Awards and Canadian Folk Music Awards.

    With saxophone, banjo, guitar, keyboards, trumpet, bass, drums, other percussions and cultural instruments many will not have heard or seen before — this lively Wesli concert will no doubt be one to remember.

    Tickets are available through ArtSpring, at the box office and online.

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