Welcome to Leader & District Arts Council
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Leader & District Arts Council
Leader & District Arts Council is a not-for-profit organization that strives to bring world class arts and entertainment to the Leader area.
Announcing Showcase 2022 artist Ellen Froese! ![]()
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Folk singer-songwriter Ellen Froese’s comforting and husky warble gets crowds a lil’ groovy and commands presence on Canadian and international stages. When she sings that she “feels like I’m waiting for you to let loose,” a line from the first track on her 2019 album Fightin’ Words, listeners wonder how they could’ve ever kept her waiting. Clever and slightly self-deprecating, Ellen’s songs get into the places of your heart that hold both those quieter melancholic feelings and those moments of warm contentment that make you want to dance shoulder to shoulder with whoever is around. Growing up on a dairy farm in the heart of Saskatchewan, Ellen’s passion for music started at an early age, beginning with a love of listening to the classics in her dad’s truck. But it was discovering Neil Young that drove her to a love of songwriting. Hearing his music made her quit piano lessons to instead teach herself guitar. In winter 2021, Ellen released ‘In The Sun,’ the first of two singles featuring collaborations with Chris Mason of The Deep Dark Woods and Clayton Linthicum of Kacy and Clayton. “‘In The Sun’ is about conflict and feeling helpless, unable to get your point across. It’s about the feeling of not being heard, and just wanting to escape the cycle of thought – planning your next move, and thinking and thinking about what you could say to make them hear and understand you.” says Froese.![]()
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#osac2022
Announcing Showcase 2022 artist The Andrew Collins Trio! ![]()
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Mando maestro Andrew Collins finds himself – through no actual fault of his own – at the epicentre of Canada’s burgeoning acoustic/roots music scene. He didn’t invent it – but he’s certainly been a contributor, having co-founded seriously noteworthy Canadian bands like the Creaking Tree String Quartet, the Foggy Hogtown Boys and, more recently, his namesake Trio. That’s not to mention the fact that this prolific, robust performer – comfortable on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola and mandocello – composes, produces, arranges, writes and teaches across multiple genres, including a popular collision of folk, jazz, bluegrass, celtic, and classical. As Collins gathers up innumerable JUNO nominations (5) and Canadian Folk Music Awards (7) won by his various ensembles, he’s zeroing in on the work he does with Trio-mates: fellow string guru Mike Mezzatesta, whose versatility shines through on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and mandola, and in-the-pocket James McEleney holding it down on the bass, mandocello and vocals. Showcasing a dizzying number of styles and instruments on stage, Collins and Co. appear to live by the old adage, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”, likely keeping them just ahead of his grasp. Bending and blending genres, these musical shape shifters land somewhere between the re-imagined worlds of Béla Fleck and Newgrass invader, David Grisman.![]()
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#osac2022
Announcing Showcase 2022 artist Suzie Vinnick Music! ![]()
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A Saskatoon native now living in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Suzie Vinnick’s performance will feature original roots, folk and blues music supported by acoustic guitar, electric bass and vocals from her Juno nominated albums and her other repertoire. She will share stories and invite the audience to sing along on occasion, as well. Suzie also performs a handful of cover tunes that the audience will recognize and enjoy. Particular songs Suzie may perform at a show might include her sassy song "Save Me For Later" about things you save for a special occasion; the Lonnie Mack song "Oreo Cookie Blues" about ‘life-saving’ Oreo Cookies; the heart-felt ballad "Drift Away", co-written with the East Coast’s Matt Andersen and the rollicking "I Need A Cowboy". In April 2012 Suzie performed a 15 show OSAC tour throughout Saskatchewan; she was also a featured performer at TeleMiracle 2022. She enjoys coming home to Saskatchewan and connecting with her prairie roots through music.![]()
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#osac2022
Announcing Showcase 2022 artist Andrew Allen! ![]()
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When you wear your heart on your sleeve it can be both a blessing and a curse to carry the gift of songwriting. Andrew, with his latest offering, ’12:34′ opens every emotion and shares the pain and struggle of losing love, the confusion and chaos of rediscovering yourself again, and the blissful happiness that comes in finding new love. The album catalogues all the various ups and downs that come with major change — from gaining the awareness that you’ve been numb in “Don’t Feel Much,” to reflecting on a breakup in “Did I Ever,” to experiencing new love in “Wanted” and “Linger,” all the way to the importance of a good support system through it all found in “My Friends.” The closing track really summarizes how Andrew could go through so many challenges and still find the ability to not only write about it, but share it. “How I See It” celebrates the choice to look at the positive side of things and see the opportunity to grow.![]()
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#osac2022
***FEATURED SINGLE***![]()
Berk Jodoin music – "Ghosts of the Prairies"![]()
tinyurl.com/5bcru8rh![]()
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Latest single release from this country artist out of Leader! Off his recent full-length, ‘Half Breed’, which came out this past June. Track was recorded at Bad Apple Studios in Richmound, SK with producer Stephen Kambeitz. Check out Berk performing July 24 at the EARCandy weekend music festival (www.earc.ca/earcandy). Grab the track:![]()
music.apple.com/ca/album/half-breed/1628377936
