Manitoba Arts Network
Indigenous
Spring Tour 2024
Strengthening relationships with
Indigenous peoples throughout Manitoba.
WITH SPECIAL GUEST GATOR BEAULIEU
home>Indigenous Spring Tour
The Manitoba Arts Network is thrilled to announce that we have received funding from Canada Council for the Arts over the next three years to bring diverse, inclusive, and accessible live events to 10 Indigenous communities.
ABOUT THE TOUR
Strengthening relationships with Indigenous peoples throughout Manitoba.
To continue our goal of providing diverse programming for rural Manitoba communities, Manitoba Arts Network (MAN) is excited to introduce Gator Beaulieu as the touring artist scheduled for May/June 2024.
Gator Beaulieu is a Country Singer/Songwriter from Ebb and Flow First Nation with roots in Sandy Bay First Nation, Manitoba.
What to expect?
Northern Tour – Gator Beaulieu, YBK Shakur and Orvis
Southern Tour – Gator Beaulieu, OG Koy and Sadie Cyr
Each tour will feature two Indigenous artists alumni from our RBC emerging artist mentorship program who will perform and be mentored by Gator Beaulieu.
Each performance can range from 80-120 minutes, where each community will receive a participatory arts activity before the concert led by Gator Beaulieu.
Community Outreach &
Audience Engagement
Gator Beaulieu will offer each community a participatory arts activity (youth music class, masterclass, pre-concert talk to the audience, songwriting workshop, etc.) before each concert.
Marketing Support
MAN will provide posters and social media graphics and run radio ads on NCI radio to help communities spread the word.
Future Touring Artists
The 2024 featured artist will be Anishinaabe country singer Gator Beaulieu from Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and Ebb and Flow First Nation. We are so proud of Beaulieu’s success being a 2019 Indigenous emerging artist mentorship program alumni.
QUESTIONS?
What will it cost to
participate in the tour?
We have the answers!
Concerts for Indigenous communities will be free and we ask that the community provide accommodations for the artists. While we ask for a $500 contribution plus provision of accommodations from MAN member communities. The concerts will offer a wide range of music styles, entertainment, and experiences.
Each concert is valued at $3,500 CDN.
We are so proud of Gator Beaulieu’s success being a 2019 Indigenous
emerging artist mentorship program alumni.
Meet The Artists
Rhonda Head
Touring Coordinator Rhonda Head has received 15 nominations and won nine international music awards since she began her music career in 2010. Rhonda has had the opportunity to perform in some of the most unique venues – Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Centre, the Viper Room, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 5 Lands Walk Festival in NSW, Australia, and numerous other venues. Rhonda also recently released an autobiography called Mezzo-Soprano – Memoirs of a Rez Girl. It wasn’t always an easy road for Rhonda; she was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 22. Rhonda took a year off to recuperate from the 11.5 hour surgery. When she thought her life was back on track she received devastating news when she was 30 that the tumour grew back. Once again, she took time off and took care of her health. Despite the setbacks and challenges, Rhonda continued to follow her passion for music.
Gator Beaulieu
Year 3, 2024 touring artist
Gator Beaulieu is an Anishinaabe Country Singer from Ebb and Flow First Nation in Treaty 2 Territory and Sandy Bay First Nation in Treaty 1 Territory, Manitoba, Canada.
Beaulieu’s official music video for his latest single, “Highway Number Six” is now available on YouTube and has received much press coverage, including CBC. “Hard Hearted Woman”, a single Gator had collaborated with blues great Billy Joe Green, recently hit #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown that airs on NCI FM The Spirit of Manitoba and aired on Sirus XM every Saturday.
2024 Emerging Artists
Orvis
Orvis was born in Selkirk, Manitoba and raised in his home community of Cross Lake, Manitoba. After high school, Orvis moved back to Selkirk and became a standout in the burgeoning music scene. A veteran of November Underground and The Bloodshots, Orvis is no stranger to masterminding well-polished Alternative Rock & Roll anthems. The recently released (Spring 2023) Love In Vain EP showcases Orvis’ songwriting abilities and diversity as a recording artist. Orvis is currently making the rounds on the tribute and country circuit with his band Orvis & His Higher Guns. Orvis is currently recording his debut album. Influences range from Classic Rock mainstays The Beatles and David Bowie to modern R&B and Soul of Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean, but the songs still retain that signature Orvis sound.
YBK Shakur
YBK Shakur, also known as Olu Afolabi, sees his music as an ode to the journey of life, one particularly tough for a black man trying to find his way in the world. YBK stands for Young Black King, representing the Mentality, Character, and Pursuit of Freedom of Self and
others by extension. He started his journey he started in 2021 with the release of his first single, “When I’m Gone”.
YBK is actively involved in the music scene and in his local community. He is a part of Manitoba’s music initiative “BPM — Black People in Music” and also volunteers for the Youth Hub advisory committee. He has also launched his own entertainment and artist management company called YBK Studios, hosting his own shows and accumulating notable performances, publicity and partnerships.
OG Koy
Yeri Concepcion, better known by his artist name OG KOY, is a 22 year old Dominican artist who migrated to Winnipeg, Canada at the young age of 15 years old.
OG KOY has always had a passion for music and writing since he was very young. Working on perfecting his flow and craft has resulted in the creation of his own unique sound and style, which is a beautiful melodic combination of Spanish and English over a RnB/Trap type beat.
Sadie Cyr
Sadie is an 18-year-old Metis artist who loves to create fantasy worlds within her art. She writes with a burning passion for freedom, love and pain, and most importantly, her personal views of the society we are experiencing and how dark and twisted the reality can be, bringing a modern take on dark romanticism. It is her passion to sing and freely express herself in whichever way her heart calls for her, and to find people who share that likeness on the road.
“As an Artist this was my first time showcasing. The opportunity to showcase has given me access to an incredible network that I would have otherwise needed years of effort to reach. It was really and trly a game-changer for someone who has put in serious time developing a show, but just didn’t have the reach and relationships to turn that into a viable business.”
To Book a Concert Contact
For Indigenous communities; contact Rhonda Head, Indigenous Program Coordinator: email
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