The Guest List
Thursday July 30th, 2020 with Joe Reilly
Interviews with Nambi and the Rhythm, Haviah Mighty and Shad - all appearing at the Canada Performs at the RBC Bluesfest Drive In this weekend.

Today we focus on 3 artists coming to perform in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.... FINALLY some concerts for us as part of the series Canada Performs at the RBC Bluesfest Drive In. https://canadaperforms.ottawabluesfest.ca/ First up we talk to Nambi. In the past she recorded music and performed under the name Rita Carter. Nambi tells us about how she has gotten in touch with her heritage (her family is originally from Uganda) and how this spurred on her desire to use her African name. She talks about this journey to a focus on her cultural background and how this is reflected in her new music - like the song SHOTANOTHADOWN which addresses police violence against Black people. Nambi tells us that she intends to connect with her band on stage at the Drive In and hopes this will translate to the audience and make a strong connection between everyone present. Next up we talk to Haviah Mighty. It was a tough day connecting with Haviah this week as technical glitches interfered on several occasions. When we finally connected, we had a fantastic conversation about her Polaris-prize winning album 13th Floor and many of the hard-hitting themes she explores on it. When the interviewed was finished I found that only 6 minutes of a 25 minute conversation had been captured. I didn't want to bother Haviah again but I do share with you the moments we got on digital tape. We talk about the use of symbolism on her album and about how she intends to perform this Saturday night. https://haviahmighty.ca/ Finally we revisit an interview with Shad about his amazing album A Short Story About A War. It was also shortlisted for the Polaris Prize last year. We hear Shad talk about the ideas behind this powerful narrative album. https://www.shadk.com/ Now you can get out and see some live music this week... so maybe you should try...even if you have to get in your car to do so!!