ROB MURRAY: Leela Gilday is coming back to the Bow Valley, performing at artsPlace on Wednesday, March 30th at 7:30 PM. It’s great to have you back on the show. The last time we talked was back in November 2019. You had just released your album, North Star Calling, and were touring in support of it. One of the things we talked about in the interview was the focus on mental health on the album. Little did we know a few months later we’d have this global pandemic and probably one of the biggest global mental health challenges that most of us have experienced. Do you feel your album and your music took on a new life during that time?

LEELA GILDAY: I absolutely do. I think that’s 100% accurate. I mean, it continues to be a very stressful time in light of the pandemic and world events. The whole idea of taking your mental health seriously and evaluating in an honest way how you care for yourself took on a new meaning for sure.

RM: Over the course of the last couple of years since we chatted, that album’s done pretty well. I understand you won a Juno Award with it. That must have been a pretty exciting experience.

LG: I did! I won a Juno for it last year, and this is the first tour since the pandemic. It’s been two years since we’ve been out on the road and this is going to be the first time I’ve seen my band in two years, the first time I’ve played in indoor venues in two years, and the first time since we won the Juno for that record that we’ll be playing some of those songs as well as some of the new songs that I’ve been writing while I’ve been in my home for the past two years.

RM: It must be exciting to get back on the road and get back in front of audiences again.

LG: I’m really excited. I feel a little bit of anxiety but it’s more, I guess, overwhelmed by the feeling of anticipation. I love that feeling you get when you connect with live audiences and the energy that you get back. We’re going to be premiering some songs that I’ve written in my own Dene language this past year. This has been a real time of a cultural reclamation for me. I’ve been learning my language in a really studied way for the first time in my life, and that’s a big thing as an adult to learn your language for the first time. I’ve been writing some music in my language and it’s going to be really, really special for me to share those songs and premiere those songs. Canmore is actually our first show, so we’re going to be rehearsing for a couple of days in the beautiful Bow Valley. I feel a really special connection to Canmore, partially because I lived there for a bit a while back, but also because my son lives there right now. I’m so, so excited to come down and make music there.

RM: That’s really exciting. I mean, not only is it the first time that audiences are going to be hearing these songs, but it’s the first time that, like, anybody is going to be hearing these songs other than maybe you and your band. That’s cool! Not only that, another connection to Canmore, you wrote a song for the 2020 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup races that were supposed to happen in Canmore. I remember doing interview with them before the races and they were super excited to have commissioned this song and have you on board as part of this event. Then, of course, the pandemic managed to throw a big monkey wrench in things. Tell us a little bit about the song.

LG: They went ahead and allowed me to release it as a single, and it actually went to number one on the Indigenous Music Top 40 Countdown. This song is about…I put myself in the place of a world-class athlete and how they would face some of those challenges. It made me think about the resilience of my people, of our people, coming through the generations, facing cultural genocide, and all of the challenges that we’ve faced and the resilience that kind of runs through our DNA. That’s what the song is about – when we’re going through tough times and facing these obstacles, we can really draw on that strength that literally runs through our veins.

RM: You have all these brand new songs written in the Dene language. Any plans to get into the studio to record them?

LG: Absolutely. This year. This is just the first tour out and just reconnecting with my audiences, reconnecting with people, and then we’re going to be heading into the studio a bit later this year.