Circumpolar roots-folk artist set to play Iqaluit

Whitehorse-based solo performer Sarah MacDougall will let Iqaluit residents hear her northern brand of roots-folk Dec. 6. Her award-winning songs have a fan following in Europe and Canada. (PHOTO COURTESY SARAH MACDOUGALL)

Northern Canada and Sweden might seem far removed from each other, but to singer-songwriter Sarah MacDougall they’re close neighbours, part of the circumpolar world.

Raised in the northern European country, the folk-roots artist recently found her place north of 60 again in her adopted Canada, when she moved to Yukon from Vancouver.

“I think I’ve always considered myself northern, maybe not specifically northern Canadian – but because I am from Sweden,” said MacDougall, whose father is Canadian and mother, Swedish.

“Instantly, when I came up to Whitehorse, I felt at home up here,” she told Nunatsiaq News from her most recent home. “Possibly because I’m from the North, originally. It’s a very similar kind of vibe.”

MacDougall will see if she finds the same vibe in Iqaluit, Dec. 6, when she performs Alianait’s last concert of the year at Inuksuk High School.

The solo artist, who has gained fans in Europe and throughout Canada, said the visit is her first to Nunavut.

Even so, the smaller-scale Iqaluit performance is completely in line with the types of shows she often gives in northern communities.

“It’s going to be mostly original material. I might throw in one cover,” she said. “It’ll be a bit of story-telling. I like to really connect with my audience, and I hope that’s what will happen.”

MacDougall’s visit will include a workshop at Joamie Elementary School shortly after her arrival on Friday, Dec. 5, where she will share her music with students.

“I like that — it makes it more interesting for me, too,” she said.

The musician’s career took flight after her move to Whitehorse in 2010. She earned an award for best roots solo album at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2012 for her work on The Greatest Ones Alive.

MacDougall routinely performs shows in Europe every year — mostly in the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden, she said.

Even with her European connections, MacDougall identifies her work in folk as more “Canadian” than anything else.

“It has certain things that are kind of considered Canadian,” she said of her pieces. “They’re atmospheric and kind of melancholy.”

“I use a lot of imagery from the North. Most of my influences are from northern life.”

MacDougall’s concert is in line with Alianait’s drive to showcase northern talent, said Heather Daley, executive director of the Alianait Arts Festival.

Daley spotted the folk performer at the Northern Scene festival in Ottawa earlier this year, which showcases some of the North’s best artists, and invited her to play Iqaluit.

“I didn’t really have to be convinced,” laughed MacDougall.

Opening for the Yukon performer will be Nunavut’s Terrie Kusugak, who will play her own mix of folk tunes inspired in the territory and her home community of Rankin Inlet.

MacDougall performs Alianait’s last show of the year in Iqaluit at Inuksuk High School, Dec. 6 at 8:00 p.m. Advance tickets are $22 for adults and $12 for teenagers at Arctic Ventures or on Alianait’s website.
http://www.alianait.ca/

Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $15 for teenagers. The show is free for elders and kids 12 and under with an adult.