Indigenous elements gain more profile in P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival

More Indigenous elements are coming to the P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival, which is marking its 15th anniversary later this month.

A few years ago, the festival began to "experiment" by including Indigenous artists in the program, said Jim Power, festival chair.

"I was so impressed by the musicianship I thought, 'Why isn't this happening every year?'"

He said he wanted to build on that and find a way to include more Indigenous elements into the festival.

This years festival will kick off with a screening of a Canadian documentary called Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World.

Power said he thought it would be a great way to honour the first people who influenced music in North America.

"What the documentary is all about is how Indigenous people have influenced jazz, blues, folk, rock," Power said.

The film will be screened at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall on June 26. It is free with an invitation card that can be found on the festival's website.

'Every music has certain roots'

Julie Pellissier-Lush, P.E.I.'s Mi'kmaw poet laureate who will be participating in the festival, said she was one of the first to see the documentary when it came to P.E.I.

"Every music has certain roots and when you see this film you get to see the areas where some of the different types of music were influenced by Indigenous cultures."

Power said he was also inspired when he attended an artisan market at Founders Hall in Charlottetown around Christmas.

"I thought, 'That's it, this is how we are going to do this.' My idea … was to have an Indigenous artisan market on site …on one of the days of the festival and include in that music," Power said.

The music will include traditional, heritage, culture and contemporary music from Indigenous artists, Power said.

He said it is a free, all-ages program at Confederation Landing in Charlottetown on June 30.

'It really feels good to be included'

Pellissier-Lush said she is excited to participate in the festival for the second year in a row and expand on what she did last year.

"When the bands were switching over and tearing down and putting up we would fill in the gaps with storytelling and drumming and dancing," she said.

Pellissier-Lush is also excited for the festival to start with Indigenous elements and is especially looking forward to June 30, she said.

"I think is going to be amazing. We're going to bring dancers out and drummers and singers."

She said she is going to be involved with the artisan market selling books as well.

Pellissier-Lush said she thinks people will want more and there will be more Indigenous culture on display in the future. "It really feels good to be included."

Power said the plan is to expand on Indigenous aspect of the festival even further.

"Next year we intend to expand this to go right into the evening to have a full day of Indigenous music being presented."

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