Jeremy Dutcher to perform tonight at Kings Playhouse

Jeremy Dutcher, a performer, composer, activist and musicologist, will take the stage at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown this evening.

A member of Tobique (Neqotkuk) First Nation in New Brunswick, he studied classical music in the western tradition at Dalhousie University. In 2012, he was approached by a Wolastoqiyik elder who had found wax-cylinder recordings made at the turn of the 20th century.

The recordings featured the people of Neqotkuk singing traditional songs, while in the background, others from the nation spoke in Wolastoqey and played the drums.

His subsequent study of the recordings led him to the painstaking transcription of his ancestral voices, and what emerged after that was a debut album unlike any other.

Winner of the 2018 Polaris Prize, 2019 Juno award for indigenous music album of the year and 2019 ECMAs for indigenous artist of the year and rising star recording of the year, his music transcends boundaries – unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical influences while full of reverence for the traditional songs and languages of his home.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.kingsplayhouse.com, call 1-888-346-5666 or visit 65 Grafton St., Georgetown. The playhouse aims to make its performances accessible to all – if cost is a barrier, contact the box office for one of the “pay-itforward tickets.