State of the Arts for May 22
Kate Maki is back and it’s worth the wait.
Her new album “Impossible Knot”, her seventh, has been called her best work yet and one listen is all it takes to agree.
Maki is an award-wining songwriter who has contributed songs to films and television shows and has appeared on the cover of “Now Toronto” and “Ottawa Xpress.”
It’s been a long wait between albums. She proved herself with her first six albums but “this one is different,” said Maki. “These songs come from a truthful emotional response to where I am at the moment. I let the subconscious reveal itself and it’s shocking sometimes what comes out.”
What comes out is real and relatable. “Most people have felt hurt or loss at some point and ‘Impossible Knot’ is about those feelings. My songs contain a vulnerability most people can relate to. Loss and grief are universal but this album’s about hanging on. There’s underlying hope in every song.”
Why a nine-year break between albums?
“I couldn’t find any alone time with a full-time teaching job and two kids. At the end of the evening, there was nothing left for creativity. Now, the kids are old enough and I can carve out some writing and recording time. I love music and I’ve missed being able to do it.”
Her band on the new album is comprised of musicians from northern Ontario and the Ottawa area where she began her music career decades ago.
The Kate Maki Band that will join her on stage at Northern Lights Festival Boréal July 4 at the Cabaret Tent is made up of some of Sudbury’s most recognizable artists:
“The band has a great groove,” said Maki. “I like to say the album has heavy lyrics with a groove beat. I come from a love of old country like Willie Nelson and you can hear some of the elements of that old-fashioned country in what we do. Our style’s called Americana Music, a blend of country, folk and rock.”
“Some of the songs seem simple at first but they’re anything but. There’s intense, complex emotion and making that sound simple is hard to do.”
Maki doesn’t just sing her songs, she’s willing to go to the core of the emotion to feel the complexity. She’s a true performer and lays it all out on the table.
As a side interest, she has taken acting and scene study classes which have deepened her performance. She delivers from the heart, not the head.
“We have gigs coming up in Toronto and Ottawa and at the River and Sky Festival.”
But right around the corner for the local audience is Northern Lights Festival at Ramsey Lake the first week of July.
Check her out. Kate Maki is back. It’s impossible not to close your eyes and sway to the groove as it works its way through your body.
Her new album “Impossible Knot” is available on all internet sites. CDs and vinyl can be ordered from Kate Maki’s Bandcamp Page. For those who like to shop in person, go to Cosmic Dave’s Vinyl Emporium on 595 Kathleen St.
YES Theatre presents CHOIR! May 21-29.
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Long before “Glee” and “American Idol,” there were community youth choirs across the land where young singers gathered because they loved to sing or “their mother made them do it!”
CHOIR! is a musical comedy that follows the Tierce de Picardie Children’s Chorus through a year of the ups and downs of their lives and their music under the exacting baton of their intrepid leader Mary Dean. Headed for the bright lights of the big choir competition in Sudbury, they dream of choir glory but find a bigger prize along the way.
The YES Theatre Young Company production of “CHOIR!” plays from May to 29. Tickets are $25 and available through yestheatre.com.
Knox Fest May 23-24
Two nights. Four venues. One unforgettable weekend of music, art and community in the heart of Sudbury.
Knox Fest brings together local talent and music lovers from near and far for a two-day celebration across four unique venues: Knox Hall, The Refettorio, Books & Beans, and The Night Owl. The two-day festival features a range of performanes from intimate acoustic sets to high-energy DJ nights.
Tickets are available on eventbrite.ca. A $75 weekend pass includes all 19 performances.
Congratulations Metcalf winners Sarah Gartshore and Alain Doom
Sarah Gartshore, a playwright, director, actor and teacher, and Alain Doom, an actor and playwright who was director of the francophone theatre program at Laurentian University each received $25,000 from the Metcalf Foundation in Toronto.
They are two of the five winners of the 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes / Les Prix Johanna-Metcalf des Arts de la scène which distribute a total of $195,000 in prizes.
Winners also name a protégé, who received $10,000 in recognition of their formidable promise as early-career artists. Gartshore named theatre creator and puppeteer Adam Francis Proulx, while Doom named director Dillon Orr. Both Proulx and Orr have been part of the arts scene in Sudbury.
Sudbury Arts Council congratulates Gartshore and Doom on their achievement and recognition.
Daniel Gingras’s legacy
Sudbury Arts Council expressed condolences to the family and friends of Daniel Gingras, a prominent member of the Franco-Ontarian community, who died during a hike in British Columbia May 7.
His commitment to arts, culture and the community were extraordinary. In 2005, when the Sudbury Theatre Centre roof was leaking so extensively there were streams of water running throughout the building, board member Steve McCulloch went Gingras, a proven fundraising expert. Could he help raise $550,000? Gingras went to work and raised $680,000.
In 2017, he was awarded the Prix de la francophonie de l’ACFO du Grand Sudbury for his contributions.
In 2018, Gingras became co-chair of Place des Arts fundraising and raised $30 million. He had just completed raising money for the Maison McCulloch Hospice’s new wing and supported many key community projects in northern Ontario including for Collège Boréal.
Gingras had a huge impact on the arts and his community in general.
He was simply one of a kind.
State of the Arts is a bi-monthly column by the Sudbury Arts Council.