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Northern Arts Festival to entertain people virtually until the end of summer

An eclectic mix of artists are performing at the second annual Northern Arts Festival

Since performances are currently off limits to those who love live music, the Sudbury Performance Group is bringing the entertainment to the audience through their Northern Arts Festival, currently being live-streamed each week on their Facebook page.

The Northern Arts Festival, launched last year by the Sudbury Performance Group (SPG), showcases a live musical performance each Saturday evening featuring a new artist or musical group live from the Colson Night Club.

Mark Mannisto, president and founder of SPG, said the festival kicked off on May 1, and featured artist Dave McNab. However, since the festival has been extended until August, there’s still a wide variety of amazing local artists set to perform including some who are new to the festival along with favourites from last year.

Female artists dominate at this year’s Northern Arts Festival

Mannisto said what’s exciting about this year’s lineup is the amount of female programming, including First Nations singer/songwriter Thea May an up and coming pop artist who Mannisto describes as an incredible performer, and Chanelle Albert & the Easy Company. Chanelle is a Francophone artist as a solo act, but with her group Chanelle Albert & the Easy Company are an independent and psychedelic folk rock band based out of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.  

“There music is very easy to listen to, I find when you listen to their music it’s almost like you’re listening to music from different generation,” he said.

Also new to the festival this year is a group comprised of six women from the ranks of SPG’s performers  who’ve worked together throughout the years and have come together to create the newest offering of Sudbury Performance Group, Skylark. 

“Each brings a unique perspective, based on life experience and their own journeys. They are six women who share a bond through trust, laughter, respect and love. That, in itself, brings this nostalgic music to life.”

Returning this year is the ultra hip and cool, Natalie Crispo Band. Mannisto said Natalie, who is the vocalist, has “a voice of raw power” and “anybody that’s goes and watches Natalie play they’re just left in awe of the smoothness of her voice and the control she has of her performance.” 

Northern Arts Festival offers an eclectic mix of talented performers

Also returning is Edouard Landry a Francophone artist who performs both traditional Francophone music as well as some pop, rock and folk music. Edouard is very creative with his music, and has been nominated for several music awards in the past five years.

With solo artists, duos, groups and various musical genres, Mannisto said there is something for everyone at this year’s festival. “It is a really eclectic mix of performers and that was part of the goal this year to work with artists that really showcase the fabric of what makes up Northern Ontario.”

The original idea behind the Northern Arts Festival is to host a free music festival each February for two weeks during a time when there are no other festivals in Sudbury. Last year, they had a different artist at a different venue each day of the festival. This event, he said, is a way of giving local artists an opportunity to perform, a chance to support local businesses and to provide entertainment for the community. 

Mannisto said the festival was “a rousing success,” so much so they received government funding for Northern Arts Festival 2021. But with the current lockdown, hosting virtually this year was the best solution.

While nothing can replace a live performance, livestreaming has been beneficial in being able to reach a larger audience, upwards of 6,000 per show. That said, if lockdown is lifted they will host the festival live but will also continue to livestream so more people can continue to enjoy the performances. 

For more information, visit www.sudburyperformance.ca, call 705-662-8518, email [email protected], check out their Facebook page for previous and upcoming livestreams.