Originally part of the Manito Ahbee Festival, this year’s Aboriginal Music Week will be breaking away from MAF, starting its first annual stand-alone festival.

This November, aboriginal artists will get the chance to showcase their talents as they perform a variety of concerts throughout the downtown area.

Intended to introduce audiences to the high caliber of talent within the aboriginal music community in Canada and the United States, the Manitoba Music Host Committee created the Manito Ahbee Festival, which for four years has been able to spotlight these talented individuals.

“The reason for the committee doing the festivals is to highlight talent, cultural pride and strengths of the Aboriginal People,” said Michelle Boivin, project manager for Aboriginal Music Week 2009.

While the Manito Ahbee Festival still exists, and is in fact running concurrently to the Aboriginal Music Week, AMW is hosting its first ever event on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.

While the stage for AMW is of course in Winnipeg, numerous artists, not just from Manitoba, have been invited to participate in this event.

“The festival does not feature a specific type of genre, but rather many, all done by Aboriginal Native American artists,” said Boivin.

The week features up-and-coming artists as well as established acts that are guaranteed to entertain individuals from any community.

Aboriginal Music Week features five evening performances and three free noon-hour shows at Portage Place Shopping Centre.

Big names such as Crystal Shawanda, who is also up for an Aboriginal People’s Choice Award (which will be held Friday, Nov. 6 at the MTS Centre), will be hosting the Rising Stars Concert at the Pantages Playhouse on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Joey Stylez, hip-hop artist from Saskatchewan, will keep the energy going Friday night at Blush Ultra Club, while Digging Roots and Bastard Fairies will close out AMW with a concert Saturday evening at the Martial Caron Theatre.

Though the week’s focus is on musical performances, it also offers music workshops for those individuals already involved in the music business.

These workshops include topics such as Digital Music Marketing, Entertainment Law and more, that are designed to enlighten professionals about the inner workings of the music industry.

If you are looking to get involved in the local music scene, be sure to visit www.aboriginalmusicweek.ca for great ways to volunteer.

The site also offers free music downloads and videos from the artists that will be performing at Aboriginal Music Week, as well as AMW’s full lineup.

Tickets for all events are available at the door. So mark your calendars for Nov. 3-6 and get out and experience some great aboriginal talent.

Published in Volume 64, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 29, 2009)