Amanda Rheaume brought her talents to the Red Lake Legion last week.
The Jan. 5 performance was part of the Wilderness Entertainment Series (RLWES) lineup. It was the fourth performance in their eight-show line up for the 2022-2023 season. Around 80 people attended.
“We really enjoyed the show, we’ve gotten lots of great feedback from the community,” said Wilderness Entertainment Series board member Angela Bishop.
Rheaume has released five full length albums over the span of her 15-year career. Keep a Fire, released in 2013, was nominated for a Juno Award and won a Canadian Folk Music Award for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year.
She is of Métis heritage and an active member of the Métis Nation of Ontario. She is a proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Rheaume uses her life experiences and gift for storytelling to write her music.
“We were really pleased to have her, because she represents Indigenous artists and that is so important to us,” Bishop said.
Rheaume's personal connection to the area was heavily present in her show as she spoke about her family members that had once lived on Lac Seul. She is the granddaughter of Eugene Rheaume, one of Canada’s first Metis members of parliament.
The Wilderness Entertainment Series is run completely by volunteers, and brings a wide variety of live entertainment to the Red Lake community. As part of an Ontario Presenters group, Red Lake partners with seven other northern Ontario towns to create tours with each show. Rheaume preformed back-to-back shows in Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Red Lake, Fort Frances and Atikokan during the first week of January.
The Red Lake Wilderness Entertainment Series is supported by Heritage Canada and the Ontario Arts Council, as well as many community sponsors.
The next show coming to Red Lake is the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Assassinating Thomson, a one-man play written and performed by Bruce Horak in 2011, a well-established theatre and visual artist who lost 90 per cent of his vision after a battle with cancer.
Tickets are $25 each, $5 for children. They are available on the Red Lake Wilderness Entertainment Series website.
