Red Ride Tour’s evolution from humble start to ‘ total rock show’
The Red Ride Tour got its name when two musicians went on a trip in a small red hatchback five years ago. B. C.’ s Kristi Lane Sinclair and Cris Derksen, originally from Alberta, hit the road, played some of gigs and called it a summer.
Many summers later, Sinclair says The Red Ride Tour has become a “touring festival.”
“Every year it gets bigger and bigger,” the co- founder says. “But now we’ve upgraded to a minivan.” It’s “a total rock show,” she says. Looking back on the development of the tour from a two- person operation to more than 20 artists performing at 15 stops in Canada and the U. S., Sinclair says a “grassroots” community continues to grow around it. She and Derksen may have been the co- founders, “but without all the people helping, none of it would be possible.”
A pivotal feature of the tour is the focus on aboriginal music and culture. Sinclair says they try to book as many aboriginal artists as they can and stop at small communities and reserves. Audiences are usually “50/ 50 aboriginal and non- aboriginal.”
As a talent booker, she looks for new perspectives, different genres and forms of expression.
“I think the No. 1 thing is for aboriginal people to be visible,” Sinclair says. “I think The Red Ride Tour is doing that... Racism is pretty high in Canada. Not very many people know about the aboriginal music movement.
“Doing this every year is a positive response.”
Sinclair says aboriginal communities are highly connected through social media, which makes spreading the word easier on a budget. “I don’t think I would be able to do half the things I’m able to do if it wasn’t for the aboriginal community,” she says. “You post something and they share it.”
Sinclair looks forward to touring her newest album, Dark Matter, which was released mid- April. She describes the record as a departure from her usual folk style to something more rock- centred.