Arts and Culture

Cara Luft performs her unique brand of country infused folk-rock music.

Shine On the Light Fantastic

Resecca CARMICHAEL

Copy Epiror
Two amazing Canadian female folk artists
came to Prince George as a part of the Cold-
snap music festival. Cara Luft of the Wailin’
- Jennys and Hugh McMillan of Spirit of the
West played first, followed by the Leela Gil-
day Band. Both performances were outstand-
ing and well received at the near-capacity
show. Even though the crowd was relatively
large for Artspace, the atmosphere was very
chilled out and intimate.
Cara Luft is a folk/roots/acoustic artist hail-
ing from Manitoba, formerly a member of the
band Wailin’ Jennys. She played many songs

from her recent solo album “The Light Fan-
tastic”, as well as earlier solo work and her
own twist on several traditional folk songs.
She owned the stage with elegant guitar play-
ing and a bold voice. The skilled bass, gui-
tar, mandolin and lap steel accompaniment of
Hugh McMillan added depth and strength to
the performance. Cara has mastered the art of
witty stage banter and storytelling, keeping us
all entertained with tales of crazy nuns from
Saskatchewan, sleazy drummers, innuendo-
laden Atlantic folk songs and her love of Led
Zeppelin between songs. She also engaged
the audience with several sing along parts.
The hour-long set seemed too short for such

a great talent, and I regretted not bringing
enough money to pick up a CD.

Luckily, this set was followed by the equally
talented Leela Gilday Band, playing a differ-
ent flavour of folk/roots music. Some of you
may have caught them playing in the UNBC
cafeteria earlier that day. Leela Gilday is an
independent Dene artist from Yellowknife.
Well known in Aboriginal communities, the
band was sponsored by the UNBC First Na-
tions Centre. Leela has a strong, lovely voice,
accompanied by a full talented band, consist-
ing of Jason Burnstick on guitar, Weissenborn,
and mandolin, Okalani Leblanc on support
vocals, James Forrest on upright bass, and

OVER THE EGE
Frebrary 13-27, 2008

Respecca CARMICHAEL, Copy Eniror

Juli Steemsonon on percussion. With talented
songwriting and a rich, unique performance,
they all kept the audience fully engaged. The
highlight of the set was the last song, “One
Drum”, a beautiful performance that involved
a crowd sing-along.

Although with the end of Coldsnap both per-
formers have left town, they both tour West-
ern/Northern Canada on a fairly regular basis.
Be sure to catch a show next time either Cara
Luft or the Leela Gilday Band come to Prince
George, you won’t regret it if you enjoy good
folk music at all. Both artists have Myspace
pages if you want to hear samples.