The CAMROSE BOOSTER, March 15, 2022 – Page 10
Millar up for three country music awards By Murray Green
Country music performer Tracy Millar is having a good year. The local singer-songwriter has been nominated for three Country Music Alberta (CMAB) awards. Not only is Tracy nominated for awards, she will be performing her music on stage during the show in Red Deer on March 20, along with names such as Drew Gregory and the Road Hammers. The ceremonies are in Red Deer at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Center at 7 p.m. “This is really exciting. I’ve been in the music industry for many years, so it is nice to be recognized by my peers and my fans,” said Tracy. She has been nominated for Horizon Female Artist of the Year; Album of the Year, I’m Not 29 No More; and the Fans’ Choice of the Year. This is the second time she has been nominated for the Fans’ Choice award. “I was nominated last year and I’m excited to be nominated again for the Fans’ Choice award because it comes from the fans. I can’t say enough about the fans because if it wasn’t for the people who support you, you wouldn’t be doing it,” said Tracy. “To be nominated for top female artist along with some very talented young women is special. It is voted on by the Association who decide on
File Photo Tracy Millar was nominated for three awards including Alberta country music’s Album of the Year.
the people who made the final nominations.” The country singer just signed to LMS Records (out of BC) under her booking agent LMS Entertainment. The award that honours consistent work over an entire album is perhaps the best of all. “My last album was back in 2008, so it was nice to record again in 2021. The songs on the album are written by me, so it’s nice to receive that honour. There are so many amazing artists out there and albums in this catego-
ry, so just to be nominated is a huge honour. It is humbling, more than anything,” shared Tracy. “It is nice to be recognized for the work that you put into it. It’s rewarding that way.” Along with the nominations, Tracy will perform on stage during the award ceremony. “To be on the same stage as The Road Hammers is great. Clayton Bellamy is part of The Road Hammers and Jason McCoy, and I’ve known Jason from when I first started in this business. We
have been friends for many years, so it is exciting to share the same stage.” Tracy comes from a world far away from those, where an artist’s career is shaped by the myriad of variables the music business insists are necessary to drive a musician’s career. A rural Alberta gal, Tracy has always been passionate about music and contributing to her community. And passionate with a capital “P”, as this recording artist never gives less than 100 per cent of her heart and God-given talents to any project or performance. All this wouldn’t carry much weight if her efforts over the last decade had landed on deaf ears and indifferent audiences. But the fact is Tracy has been winning over the public and peers with a pure voice coming out of the country tradition and songs resonating with audiences possibly hearing her for the first time or tenth time. An accomplished performer, she strives to stay humble, loving to connect with her audience, from an intimate soft stage audience or from the main stage at Big Valley Jamboree. As an accomplished performer, Tracy has shared the stage with some of North America’s biggest stars: Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Brett Kissel and Gord Bamford. “I’m honoured just
to share all of this with Albertans and local people. It encourages me to get another album out. I have so much momentum going with this last album. The pandemic changed a lot of our goals, but we moved forward. Now I find that I can’t quit now, and there is definitely another album on the horizon.” Coming off the success of her last release “Girls Like Fishing Too,” Tracy didn’t catch her breath before releasing “I’m Not 29 No More.” She placed number one on numerous charts around the world, including Canada, Australia and the US. With the 2020 pandemic came some obstacles to releasing her full self-penned third album, I’m Not 29 No More, but finally in January 2021, she released her record along with the single “Loretta’s Moonshine,” which brought her top 100 success on the BDS chart. Tracy had one more single released off the record, “Cowboy’s Last Ride” that hit Canadian radio and International radio on August 2021. As much as her sights are set on playing the large music festivals of both Australia and Europe, Tracy still loves playing the stages at home in Canada. Although she’s not 29 anymore, Tracy is not slowing down.
ASANI together again for a special night By Murray Green
ASANI, One Special Night, will be performing on Sunday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre. Why is it a special night? ASANI, an Indigenous women’s trio, retired from the centre stage in 2019 to pursue individual projects that each member wanted to do. After the pandemic and with many things on hold, the group decided to come back for a special evening in Camrose. ASANI is Debbie Houle, Sherryl Sewepagaham and Sarah Pocklington. “It is almost three years now, but nice to come together to do this show. These girls are my sisters. It is time for us to pause and reflect on the situation of residential schools. We use drums to share our music and stories,” said Debbie. ASANI draws from their cultural heritage to create music that is accessible to a wide audience, but delivers a powerful message from their hearts. “Sarah is the executive director of the Citadel Theatre. Sherryl is working on her master’s degree. She has a degree in music therapy, so she is using some of those
ASANI is made up of Debbie Houle, left, Sarah Pocklington and Sherryl Sewepagaham.
technics in music. I’m working with Alberta Indigenous Relations, sitting on the board of the Edmonton Arts Council, and I am helping Ann Briend with some new music. She was inspired by her community to perform porch concerts. We started jamming and then she asked me to sing with her,” added Debbie. They have performed
across Canada and internationally at such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC and the Saddledome in Calgary. They have performed for the Dalai Lama, Queen Elizabeth II and at the 2010 Olympics in Whistler, BC. “We started in 1996 and we just wanted to get together and sing. We started with
five members, went through some changes, and it settled with the three of us in 2001. We are all Cree and connect with the land. After we retired, nothing was happening because of the pandemic. I didn’t do any music and then in 2021, I learned to play the ukulele and wanted to play and sing music. The pandemic has opened some
new doors and ways of communicating,” shared Debbie. Their debut CD Rattle and Drum was nominated for 11 music awards including a 2006 JUNO nomination for Aboriginal Recording of the Year and received the Canadian Aboriginal Music Award (CAMA) for Best Female Traditional/ Cultural/Roots Album in 2005. In October 2009, they released their sophomore CD Listen, receiving a 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year and a 2010 Indian Summer Music Award for Best Spiritual Song. “Nothing is as pure as live music. The vibration of sound waves has an impact on us. Our songs are very dear to our heart. These songs are our opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves as Cree women and tell stories about our communities and the impact the residential schools had on our community. We didn’t learn Cree in residential schools, so this is an opportunity to share the music in our language. We gather in Camrose to come back together again in a spirit of truth at a time of where we are in Canada,” explained Debbie.
