Lonely Boy was written by Adrian Sutherland, frontman of roots-rockers Midnight Shine. It’s a deeply personal song about the loss of his father – not an easy sentiment to capture in a music video. To do this, a visual narrative was developed, and actors and extras utilized. This footage was intercut with a full-band performance that ties back to the same storyline in a clever way that is revealed at the end.

The ambitious music video – shot over three days, with three cameras, at three different Winnipeg locations – came together beautifully, thanks to an amazing crew and cast. But it was the last-minute addition on the final shoot day of an adorable four-year-old that ended up stealing the show! And all the hearts.

Lonely Boy is executive produced by Sutherland (Attawapiskat), with RoseAnna Schick (Winnipeg) producing and co-directing, and Cliff Hokanson (Vancouver) directing and cinematography. It’s the fifth music video collaboration between Schick and Hokanson – and their first award win. The poignant and memorable video was edited by the very talented Bethany Fontaine (Winnipeg), who also edited Midnight Shine’s Heart of Gold. It was finished by in-demand colourist Tony Wytinck (Winnipeg), who has applied his vibrant touches to all four of Midnight Shine’s music videos, making them stand out from the rest.

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Adrian Sutherland is passionate about helping youth have access to education, sports and recreation so they can explore their skills and talents. Adrian is an Artist Ambassador for the Downie Wenjack Fund, and is a Master Corporal with Attawapiskat’s Canadian Ranger Patrol where he leads young people in wilderness initiatives. Adrian was also instrumental in bringing ArtsCan Circle to his community.

To celebrate International Youth Day, we wanted to recognize some of the amazing youth who take joy in music by sharing videos of students across Canada performing James Bay.

Peetabeck Academy students performing James Bay for the CreeFest Opening Ceremonies in Fort Albany:

Students from Moosonee Public School performing James Bay during an assembly:

Delores D Echum Composite School’s Music Club in Moose Factory performing James Bay as part of CBC’s Canadian Music Class Challenge:

North Battleford Comprehensive High School in Saskatchewan’s Music 10 Guitar Class performing James Bay as part of CBC’s Canadian Music Class Challenge:

Students from Humberside C.I. in Toronto performing James Bay with Adrian Sutherland for the Downie Wenjack Fund:

Watch a short video from Adrian’s visit to Humberside C.I. as part of the Downie Wenjack Fund’s Artist Ambassador Program:

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Today, Sutherland is announcing his partnership with Canada’s largest book publisher, Penguin Random House Canada.

“I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to do a book,” Sutherland said. “It’s exciting for their team to believe so strongly in the project and to want to share my story. I’m looking forward to the journey, and this next chapter in my music and writing career.”

Sutherland has long enjoyed reading books by other artists, sports figures, and Indigenous authors. He started penning blog posts and magazine features in recent years to help promote his growing profile as a musician. When the pandemic hit and all plans were forced to pivot, Sutherland’s team seized the opportunity to start working on a book, and reached out to a publisher. Scott Sellers, Vice President and Associate Publisher of Penguin Random House Canada, was glad to come on board.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Adrian on his first book. He is an extraordinary talent with an incredible story to tell. All of us here at Penguin Canada are looking forward to working with Adrian on this important book,” Sellers said. 

Sutherland’s first book, which will be edited by Penguin Canada’s Associate Publisher Nicholas Garrison, will be in book stores in spring of 2022.

SUTHERLAND’S WRITING

Last week, an editorial by Sutherland was published by the Globe and Mail:
Troubled water: The slow drip of change in Attawapiskat is not and has never been enough.

Last year, HuffPost Canada published this article by Sutherland:
Attawapiskat’s Unsafe Water Emergency Has Been My Normal For 42 Years

Adrian also likes to write about hunting, like this previous feature for Outdoor Canada:
Why hunting is a way of life for roots-rocker Adrian Sutherland

The post Adrian Sutherland’s First Book In The Works appeared first on Midnight Shine.

Adrian writes about how he and his community reacted when they were informed their tap water contained potentially harmful levels of trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids.

“As my family and I struggled to come to terms with the crisis, I kept coming back to three core questions: Why did it take several days to inform us? How long had we been exposed to these chemicals? And what kinds of effects are they going to have on our children, our elders, our community?” Adrian writes.

Adrian also reflects on how he felt when he saw then-environment minister Catherine McKenna’s insensitive tweet about Ottawa’s clean drinking water, and why he responded publicly.

“Suddenly, people were calling me an activist, because I started speaking out against poor water conditions in First Nations in this country. But how could I not speak? It’s what I live, every day. Let me tell you, when your basic human needs aren’t met, when you don’t know that your family is safe, when it’s one crisis after another, after so much time, it wears you down. After a lifetime, it becomes normal,” Adrian writes.

Adrian ends the piece by writing about how the conditions First Nations communities live in isn’t something Canada, or anyone, should be proud of.

“It’s not surprising the federal government was able to suddenly pull billions of relief dollars for COVID-19, yet can’t ever seem to find money to fix the water crises in First Nations once and for all,” Adrian writes.

You can read the full article HERE.

The post Troubled Waters: The Globe And Mail Opinion Piece appeared first on Midnight Shine.

In May of 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be visiting Attawapiskat in response to the suicides of children in the community. He still has not made that visit. When reminded of Trudeau’s pledge in May of 2016, Sutherland admitted it was a little disappointing, but not surprising.

“I’m not even sure why he would say he would visit the community and not visit, why commit to doing something you’re not going to follow through with?” Sutherland said. “Personally, I try to be a man of my word. If I commit to something I wholeheartedly will try to see it through and complete whatever it is I’ve committed myself to.”

While discussing the social justice movements that have been happening across North America, Sutherland said he’s already noticed people becoming more aware of issues about race, such as team mascot names like the Washington Redskins.

“I think people have had enough, and they continue to push and they’re continuing to raise their voice in protesting,” Sutherland said. “I don’t think they’re going to stop, they’re going to keep pushing, and change is going to happen at some point.”

During the 18-minute long interview, Sutherland and Green also discussed what the most difficult aspect about the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people is, and the lack of trust between the two, which is making reconciliation difficult.

“The way I understand how relationships work, there needs to be trust. We certainly don’t trust our counterparts with a lot of issues,” Sutherland said. “This relationship as a whole, there’s a huge distrust there, and rightfully so… People need to feel valued and appreciated and recognized for the value they bring.”

Listen to full interview here:

The post An Insightful Conversation With Roy Green appeared first on Midnight Shine.

Listen to Since You Been Gone HERE

Listen to Misguided Woman HERE

N’DODEMUK

James Bay opens with N’Dodemuk, a special greeting by Sutherland in his Mushkegowuk Cree language. Some of the stunning photography taken by Sutherland’s wife Judy during the annual spring goose hunt on the James Bay has been compiled into a little movie. You can watch it here:

LIVE FROM ATTAWAPISKAT

Adrian Sutherland is performing short live-stream sessions from his ‘rustic home studio’ in Attawapiskat all summer long. Join him Thursdays at 2pm ET as he plays a song from the James Bay album, answers fan questions, and maybe plays a bonus song or two.

ABOUT THE ALBUM

James Bay brings the roots-rockers full circle, right back to where they started. It was 2013 when Adrian Sutherland from the Cree community of Attawapiskat released his debut album with newly-formed band Midnight Shine. This solid collection of songs written by Sutherland provided the foundation needed to start pursuing his music dream from the Far North. Now, these songs are returning to the forefront once more.

“My music is about who I am and where I come from,” Sutherland says. “I’ve always wanted to share about my life through music, and my first album has many songs worth revisiting, especially in the context of today’s uncertain world. With everything going on around us, this seems like a good time to get back to the basics of a more simple life, and the universal themes reflected in my early music.”

Title track James Bay pays homage to Sutherland’s remote home region in Northern Ontario, while Mooshum honours the memory of his grandfather. Indian In Disguise makes a powerful statement about losing one’s identity, and Save My Life reveals the darkness that comes with addiction – a struggle that Sutherland (now sober 20 years) has known firsthand. On the lighter side, Hopeless Romantic is a love song about secretly yearning for someone who “don’t even know my name,” while Small Town Girl paints the picture of someone who’s “got a simple smile, one of a kind.”

The post New-Old Album Out Now appeared first on Midnight Shine.

“I think this video is pretty special, and it’s an honour for Politician Man to be recognized by the Yorkton Film Festival,” says Adrian Sutherland. “I look forward to welcoming a Golden Sheaf statue to my home here in Attawapiskat!”

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG AND THE VIDEO

Politician Man is a protest song, calling out politicians of all stripes in a direct way, while encouraging each of us to do our part to better understand each other. The seeds of the song were planted last July when Sutherland’s Cree community of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency over contaminated water. At almost the exact same moment, insensitive comments on social media from a politician in Ottawa sparked massive public outcry, mass media coverage, and a spontaneous visceral response from Sutherland himself.

“The relationship between Canada and First Nations has been difficult for a long time, and in many ways it still is,” says Adrian Sutherland. “Politician Man is about this relationship, and the need for all of us – politicians, chiefs, Indigenous people, all Canadians – to start listening to each other, and move past the blaming. We all need to do our part. That’s what reconciliation is.”

One month later, the idea for the song was sparked in a co-writing session with brothers Matt and Chris Gormley in Toronto, and a recording session was booked in Hamilton for the fall – leaving just three weeks from song completion, to intended date of its release. In that short time, an unforgettable and powerful music video was created by Stephenson (director of animation and editor, The Secret Path) and introduced to the world on October 17, 2019 – four days before Canada’s federal election.

“The song, the recording, the video, everything happened really fast,” says Sutherland. “Justin got it right away and did an incredible job bringing the video to life in just a few weeks. He came up with really cool ideas to convey the message, even though we didn’t have much time or budget. We had a great team in place, and somehow managed to pull it all off.”

Politician Man topped the Indigenous Music Countdown earlier this month on the Canadian-produced and internationally-recognized “Top 40” music chart, and the video has more than 45k views on YouTube. The song is being played around the world, including on radio stations in North America, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and Australia.

PROTESTING A PROTEST SONG

Ironically, Politician Man, a protest song, has been flagged a ‘political ad’ and ‘rejected’ for advertising on Facebook numerous times since its release. Meanwhile on Twitter, Midnight Shine’s account was ‘temporarily suspended’ last week for strategically Tweeting clips of Politician Man to music fans and news sites while referencing a candidate running in the US presidential election. Sutherland sings: “Lying to my face, lying to yourself, lying to the people you said that you would help…”

You can watch the video here: Politician Man

You can listen to (or download) the song here: Politician Man

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I love being a traveling musician. There are so many opportunities that go alongside traveling for music – including the travel itself! While it can be a challenge with all the running through airports, waiting for long periods of time, catching early morning flights, and staying up late nights, it’s all worth it when you finally arrive at your destination.

These opportunities I have been given, to travel to many different places, have definitely given me the ‘Travel Bug’ – and now I want to see more of the world! It truly is hard to fathom at times just how big this world is, when you’re standing in places that hold great history. Or flying above the beauty of the mountains, and then landing right down in the middle of them, and being surrounded by them. It shows how small oneself really is in this huge world.

Or taking an overseas flight to an entirely different country on another continent. Just getting off the plane and being somewhere new, that’s totally far from home. At times, I just need to stand there for a moment and remind myself, “I’m here, right now, I’m standing in this part of the world!” I get to see some positive things and some negative things, too. There are both, no matter where you go.

I love to take any free time I have on the road to explore new places. I always try to do new things and meet new people with each new place I go, to make my visit even more memorable. I like to check out historic places and learning about them, exploring the sites as much as I can before showtime, and then talking about it with my fellow musicians.

I also love hearing different languages, and doing my best to learn a few words from each language. I’ve gotten to meet many new friends throughout my travels, and sometimes you can connect even without speaking the same language. There were a couple of ladies we met in Germany, and had conversations by pretty much just using our hands. I spoke a few German words that I knew, and we used our phones to translate and tell each other stories. We shared lots of laughs as we tried to understand each other. It was such a memorable experience because it was just so fun to try and talk with them.

I didn’t become a musician to travel, but it is turning out to be an attractive part of the lifestyle as you grow and develop as a musician. I’m thankful for that.

Travel has become a new love of mine – second to drumming and singing of course! I can’t wait for my next trip, wherever it may be, and hope to make it another memorable trip indeed.

The post Traveling Musician appeared first on Midnight Shine.

1. N’dodemuk
2. James Bay (Remastered)
3. Indian In Disguise (Remastered)
4. Hopeless Romantic (Remastered)
5. Worth The Fight (Remastered)
6. Small Town Girl (Remastered)
7. Since You Been Gone (Remastered)
8. What Do We Do With You (Remastered)
9. Save My Life (Remastered)
10. Mooshum (Remastered)
11. Since You Been Gone (Radio Edit)
12. Misguided Woman

The post James Bay appeared first on Midnight Shine.

Midnight Shine’s next album is taking them back to where they started, with a fully remastered version of their debut album, James Bay. The album, written by Adrian Sutherland of the Cree community of Attawapiskat, will include a special greeting by Adrian in his Mushkegowuk Cree language, a brand new ‘Radio Edit’ of the debut single Since You Been Gone, and the previously unreleased Misguided Woman, one of the first songs Sutherland ever wrote.

Each track will have a beautifully designed lyric video released with it. Starting at the end of June, Adrian Sutherland will perform an acoustic version of each track live from his home in Attawapiskat each week.

“The fans who have been with us from the beginning, they already know and love Midnight Shine’s early songs and we’re sure they’ll enjoy the remastered versions – they sound amazing,” Sutherland said. ”For new fans, releasing these songs again will bring new attention to the music that laid the early groundwork for the band.”

Sutherland’s music is largely inspired by his musically-inclined mother and the artists he listens to. His lyrics often reflect what life has been like for him in the North. The title track James Bay pays homage to his home region, and Mooshum honours the memory of Sutherland’s grandfather. Indian in Disguise makes a powerful statement about losing one’s identity, and Save My Life reveals the struggles of addiction, something that Sutherland, now sober 20 years, has experienced firsthand.

“My first album has many songs worth revisiting, especially in the context of today’s uncertain world. With everything going on around us, this seems like a good time to get back to the basics of a more simple life, and some of the universal themes reflected in my early music,” Sutherland said.

Songwriting is Sutherland’s way of sharing a glimpse into his life, while bringing further awareness to important issues: “Everybody has a story to share, and I think it’s important for First Nations people to shed positive light on our culture and values. That’s what I hope to do with my music.”

SPECIAL THANKS

We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario, who provided funding for Midnight Shine’s debut album back in 2013. We also acknowledge the support of Air Creebec, who in recent years has helped Adrian Sutherland and his bandmates travel out of (and back into!) remote Northern Ontario.

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