Join us for our new Live at Maclab series featuring vibrant performers in a stunning and intimate setting.
Don't miss this evening in Maclab during National Indigenous Peoples Month with Cikwes (Connie LeGrande), a Nehiyaw (Cree) Soul singer and 2023 Juno nominee. Her nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ song writing is an emblem of hope and beauty for the continuation of nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ.
Cikwes will perform songs from her debut album Isko and 2023 Juno-nominated album, kâkîsimo. This intimate performance will be accompanied with stories and meaning behind each song she sings. Melodically she will take you on a journey using her breath and the Cree syllabics to invoke a feeling of comfort similar to a wepison, a traditional baby swing. This will be a night of Cree song and matriarchal beauty for the revitalization of the Cree language and Nehiyaw musical methods. Cikwes will be sure to mesmerize you with her beautiful voice as she sings with her ancestors for Manito (the great mystery).
Cikwes Biography
ᑳ ᑮ ᓯ ᒧ ᐤ
Cikwes is a nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ soul singer and songwriter from Bigstone Cree Nation. She currently resides in amiskwaciy waskahikan, also known as Edmonton, Alberta. In 2023, her album, kâkîsimo ᑳᑮᓯᒧᐤ, a full length Cree language album, was nominated for the Juno Awards for Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year, the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards and was short listed for Edmonton’s Music Prize. Cikwes recently graduated from York University with her Masters in Music, Fall 2022. Her music explores her Cree language, nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ and nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ musical methods that include chanting cahkasinahikanak ᒐᐦᑲᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᐣ also known as spirit markers or syllabics. Her intimate performances are accompanied with stories and laughter. Using her breath and the Cree syllabics she invokes a feeling of comfort similar to that of a wepison, a traditional baby swing. She is a matriarch for the revitalization of the Cree language and Nehiyaw musical methods. Cikwes mesmerizes with her beautiful voice as she sings with her ancestors to Manito (the great mystery).
Cikwes, photo by Kristy-Lynn
