To help celebrate Canada's 145th birthday, CBC Music invited great Canadian artists to tell us about their plans for Canada Day, answer a few questions and share their all-Canadian playlist.
Claimed as “one of our own” by Ontario and two of three coasts in Canada, Jill Barber was raised in Port Credit, Ont., spent time in Halifax, and now calls Vancouver home. A confident, sultry-voiced Canadian chanteuse, Barber transports us to a golden age when popular music was filled with romance, and was undeniably cool.
She spoke to CBC Music and told us about her plans and musical playlist for Canada Day.
Q: What are your plans for Canada Day?
A: On July 1, I will be in Victoria, B.C., performing at Alix Goolden Hall as part of the Victoria International Jazz Festival, but following that I plan to make a weeklong celebration of Canada Day by heading up the Sunshine Coast for a few days of kayaking, clamming and reading on the deck of my family cabin. July 1 is an extra special date for my husband [Grant Lawrence] and I because it was on this date three years ago that we became engaged.
Q: What Canadian venue or city would you still like to play or visit?
A: I've been fortunate enough to have played all 10 provinces, as well as Yukon and Northwest Territories, so I would have to say Nunavut. I want a gig in Nunavut!
Q: What Canadian band or artist would you most like to play a Canada Day jam with?
A: Maybe the Sam Roberts Band. That sounds like fun.
Q: Who is your favourite Canadian of all time?
A: My grandfather, Joseph Elliott, was born in Scotland in 1899, immigrated to Canada in 1934 to work as a farmer, before being recruited for the Canadian army in 1939. In 1945 he returned to Canada, where he gained employment with Air Canada as a janitor, and worked there until his retirement. This country has [been], and continues to be, shaped by the bravery of immigrants willing to come to Canada, and take great pride in their new country.
Q: And, most importantly, what’s your top-five all-Canadian playlist for great Canada Day listening?
A:
1. Colleen Brown, “Good Girls.”
2. Jim Bryson, “Somewhere Else.”
3. Matthew Barber, “Where the River Bends.”
4. Sarah Harmer, “Escarpment Blues.”
5. Danny Michel, “Feather, Fur & Fin.”
Watch All Access – Jill Barber in Concert on Saturday, July 28, at 7 p.m. on CBC TV in British Columbia only, and B.C. satellite feeds. Sorry, the rest of Canada, you will have to wait until the fall on Absolutely Canadian.
Related:
Jill Barber on CBC Music
Jill Barber (official site)
Jill Barber: upcoming gigs
My Canada Day playlist: Rick Tippe
My Canada Day playlist: The Sheepdogs
posted by
Derek Bird
on Jun 29, 2012