The Peterborough Folk Festival has announced one of the two ticketed concerts that will kick off the 34th annual music festival in August, featuring two award-winning female blues musicians performing at the Gordon Best Theatre in downtown Peterborough on Friday, August 18th.
Ottawa-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Angelique Francis will headline the concert, with Peterborough’s own singer-songwriter and guitarist Emily Burgess opening.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $30 and are available online at CanadaHelps.org.
Angelique Francis, whose latest record Long River won her the 2023 Juno award for blues album of the year, grew up in a musical family in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa. She first took the stage at the age of seven to sing Canada’s national anthem at the televised grant opening of her elementary school.
“Once I stepped on that stage I knew, right at that moment, that this was something I wanted to pursue,” Francis told Black Ottawa Scene in 2014.
Supported by her parents, who explained to her what a musical career would entail and who set down some ground rules such as maintaining her grades, Francis learned piano and was proficient in playing other instruments including the acoustic and electric guitar, the upright bass and electric bass, and harmonica by the time she was 13, which was when she made her American national television debut on the Oprah Network for writing and composing an original theme song for the Gayle King show.
VIDEO: “Take Command” – Angelique Francis
By the time she was 14, Francis was playing at music festivals across North America, opening for a variety of acts including Beth Hart, Trooper, and Shameka Copeland.
Her soulful smoky vocal style reflects the influences of legendary female blues singers including Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and Bessie Smith, and her instrumental performances bring to mind Willie Dixon on the upright bass, Sister Rosetta Thorpe on guitar, Big Mama Thornton on the harmonica, and Aretha Franklin on the piano.
A graduate of the music performance program at Carleton University, Francis released her acclaimed debut independent album Kissed By The Blues in 2018, with songs in a range of styles from blues to soul to classic R&B, all reflecting her signature powerhouse soulful vocals. She further refined her musical style in her Juno award-winning follow-up album Long River in 2022. She hosted the 2023 Maple Blues Awards ceremony, where she was nominated for four awards and won for new artist/group of the year and bassist of the year.
Now 25 years old, Francis has established herself as a rising star on the Canadian blues, soul, jazz, and folk scene. She’s performed internationally at the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea festival in the U.S., the Grolsch Blues Festival in Germany, and the Sighisoara Blues Festival in Romania, and in Canada at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Mariposa Folk Fest, Calgary Folk Fest, Ottawa Blues Festival, Ottawa Folk Fest, Ottawa Jazz Festival, and many more.
“The blues is everywhere,” Francis told Monica Sandreczki of North Country Public Radio in June. “I hope that my place within this blues tradition is to help continue showcasing to people that there are connections to many of the genres they loves that can help inspire people to create their own forms of blues and be curious about traditions that have come before.”
For Francis, her passion for music remains a family affair. Almost her entire band is made up of her family members, with her dad Kiran on drums and her younger sisters Kharincia, Kira, and Kayla performing on trombone, melodica, and alto, baritone, and tenor saxophone and backup vocals. Ed Lister plays trumpet and keyboards and Dave Williamson plays electric guitar.
VIDEO: “Long River” – Angelique Francis
Peterborough-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Emily Burgess grew up in Mississauga and began taking piano lessons as a child, but switched to guitar at the age of 14.
Burgess majored in guitar at Humber College and graduated at 22 years old. She then began touring with the 24th Street Wailers, writing two songs and playing guitar on the band’s 2014 Juno award-nominated album Wicked.
In addition to the 24th Street Wailers, she has worked with a variety of musical acts as a freelance guitarist, including The Women’s Blues Revue Band, Rita Chiarelli, Sue Foley, and, most notably, several years playing with The Weber Brothers.
VIDEO: “Perdy Thing” – Emily Burgess
In November 2017, she released her debut solo album Are We In Love?, produced by The Weber Brothers.
After fronting her own trio The Emburys, with Marcus Browne on drums and Dawson McManus on bass, Burgess won the 2018 Maple Blues award for new artist/group of the year.
As Emily Burgess & The Emburys, she released her second album Never-Ending Fling in 2019, and is currently working on her third studio album that is slated for release in January 2024.
VIDEO: “Til I Get To Call You My Own” – Emily Burgess
Along with the Angelique Francis and Emily Burgess show at the Gordon Best, the Peterborough Folk Festival will be presenting another ticketed concert on Thursday, August 17th at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, with the artist to be announced.
The ticketed concerts are followed by an admission-by-donation weekend of music, food, and culture on Saturday, August 19th and Sunday, August 20th at Nicholls Oval Park. Acclaimed alt-rockers Broken Social Scene will be the Saturday headliner and renowned Canadian singer-songwriter Loreena McKennitt will be the Sunday headliner, with Juno award-winning children’s music duo Splash’N Boots also performing on Sunday. Organizers will be announcing the complete line-up of performers soon.
For more information about the festival, including how to get involved as an artist, volunteer, or vendor, visit www.peterboroughfolkfest.com.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2023 Peterborough Folk Festival.
