David Newland and friends bring story and song to Kitchissippi

Performer, writer, and adventurer David Newland is bringing “The Northwest Passage in Story and Song” to the Westboro Masonic Hall (430 Churchill Ave. N.) Sunday April 3, at 7:30 p.m.

“The Northwest Passage in Story and Song” is part travelogue, part musical performance. Billed as a family-friendly evening, it will be full of myths and legends, history and geography, and evocative storytelling about the majesty of our planet.

David will be joined on stage by bandmates Steafan Hannigan, Saskia Tomkins, and Oisin Hannigan, and will welcome guests including Ottawa’s own Ian Tamblyn, Historian Season Osborne, and throat singers Heidi Metcalfe-Langille and Lynda Brown of the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre.

David describes his music as drawing heavily on the remote landscape of the north, inspired by lyrical, landscape-based folk traditions he owes to Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Stan Rogers. Watch the video below for a sample:

Watch the video below for a sample:

“Everyone’s compass points north,” says David. “When you say ‘Northwest Passage’ people have images, they have feelings about it, some of which have been captured but a lot of it remains mysterious,” says David. “What I’m trying to do is clear up a bit of the mystery.”

A longtime musician and outdoor enthusiast, he was recently named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society — one of just three folk singers honoured in this way — for his work.

Tickets are $25 plus service charge and are available at felixrufusmusic.ca.

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