Cariboo music lovers are in for a treat as the Quesnel Live Arts (QLA) concert association prepares to welcome a unique performer back to the region for the first time in about six years.
“Diyet & The Love Soldiers is alternative country, folk, roots and traditional with catchy melodies and stories deeply rooted in Diyet’s Indigenous world view and northern life,” said a statement from QLA.
Diyet last appeared in Quesnel in 2018 as part of the Great Canadian Songbook group tour along with Tiller’s Folly and Ken Lavigne.
This time, Diyet is coming as a trio. She sings in both English and Southern Tutchone (her native language) and plays bass guitar. The Love Soldiers alongside her are comprised of her husband and collaborator, Robert van Lieshout (acoustic guitar, drums & percussion) and Juno Award winning producer Bob Hamilton (electric guitar, pedal steel & mandolin).
People may recall Bob Hamilton’s turn with the northern B.C. bluegrass group Hungry Hill along with Jenny Lester and Mark Thibeault of Smithers. He has also toured here in recent years backing up solo singer-songwriter Gordie Tentrees.
This multi instrumental trio from the Yukon has a sound that can fill a big stage or capture an intimate room.
Diyet was born in a tent and spent her childhood on the ancestral lands of the Kluane First Nation people in the Yukon. Coming from a family rooted in traditions but tempered with a good sense of adventurous hippie attitudes, Diyet has created a musical presence that is as diverse as her Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Japanese and Scottish heritage.
She discovered her voice singing on the school bus, went on to acquire a degree in music, then became a published songwriter in Vancouver.
When the pull of the North was too strong, she packed her bags, and her Dutch husband moving back to Burwash Landing, her village of 90 people, without a plan or even a pub to play in.
The result of this unlikely career move has been international collaborations, extensive touring and two acclaimed albums (The Breaking Point and When You Were King). Third album, Diyet & The Love Soldiers was released in 2018 and received nominations for Folk Album Of The Year at The Indigenous Music Awards, Indigenous Artist Of The Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and Indigenous Songwriter Of The Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
During the last decade, Diyet & the Love Soldiers have performed nationally and internationally. Performance highlights include major folk, jazz, world and multi-disciplinary festivals and theatres in Canada, a tour in the UK and upcoming tours in Germany and The Netherlands.
Continuing to live with feet firmly planted in two worlds, Diyet’s adventurous and sometimes chaotic life is on full display in her music. She often says, “yesterday: fishing for our dinner on the ice; the next day: on the stage singing for you.”
Diyet’s concert in Quesnel will be held Mar. 12 at Bethel Church (143 Coach Road) starting at 7:30 p.m.
Get tickets in advance from Save-On-Foods, Homesteader Health, online at QLA.tickit.ca, or by calling 250-747-2207. They will be available at the door as long as supplies last. Prices are: $25 regular or $20 for youth or seniors.
QLA is also bringing another live stage event to Quesnel.
On April 4 at Bethel Church, the popular acoustic-folk band The Fugitives will be in town to present their special show titled The Ridge.
Often called the “Battle That Made Canada,” Vimy Ridge resulted in over 10,000 Canadian casualties. Through direct storytelling, verbatim theatre, and live music, band member Brendan McLeod takes the initiative to examine misconceptions and varying perspectives around the battle, while drawing parallels to other formative events in our nation’s past.