Town & Country

C M Y K Page 6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY DECEMBER 3, 2016 6 H O M E R O U T E S B O R E A L I S T R A I L Home Routes connects touring musicians to northern audiences ON THE MUSICAL TRAIL BY KACPER ROMUALD ANTOSZEWSKI MUSICIANS WHO SIGNED UP TO TOUR ON THE BOREALIS TRAIL THIS SEASON INCLUDE SCOTT NOLAN (TOP LEFT), SIERRA NOBLE (BOTTOM LEFT), OH SUSANNA (TOP RIGHT), MARCO CASTILLO (BOTTOM RIGHT), MARY BETH CARTY AND DANIEL GERVAIS (NOT PICTURED). The Pas was one of the first communities to join the Home Routes tour in 2007. Sherain Jones hosts shows along with her director Ron Scott at the Sam Waller Museum. "It provides an opportunity for people here to listen to world-class musicians in intimate settings, where they may have the chance to actually speak with the performer," Jones says. "It's quite the cultural event." The format embodies the small-town philosophy of community and hospitality, creating a setting where artists and audiences can connect on a more intimate level. Scott Cook, a country-folk artist from Edmonton, is among the many artists who've hit the Borealis Trail in seasons past. "When I started, I was playing in bars a lot, and being ignored. I probably would have quit if it wasn't for house concerts coming along: You can really speak directly with people, make a connection." For hosts, the tour is a unique opportunity to meet a fascinating parade of talented individuals from across the continent. "We're greeting them when they come here, and hugging them when they go," says Gerard Lamontagne, who hosts artists at the bar in the Snow Lake Motor Inn. "It's only one or two days, but it's a quick connection. Everyone has the idea that touring musicians are a different kind of people. But when you sit down with them, they're just humble, nice people that play music for a living." The Borealis Trail now extends to five cities and towns: The Pas, Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage, Snow Lake and Thompson. Despite being the largest population centre on the tour, Thompson's inclusion in the program was nearly cancelled for the 2016-2017 season — not for lack of an audience, but a lack of hosts. Luckily, local couple Leigh and Larry Hall elected to step in to host the concerts. Of all communities, however, the Borealis Trail has found a home in and around Flin Flon, in the corridor connecting the Saskatchewan leg of the tour to Manitoba. Originally spearheaded by Tim Spencer and his wife Elly, Flin Flon is the only community on the tour that hosts two concerts per month, and continues to seek new venues to expand capacity. In November, pop sensation Sierra Noble broke the previous attendance record with an 83-person turnout on her first night. Tim Spencer has been Home Routes' champion in northern Manitoba. This September, he wrote a letter to Rochelle Squires, Manitoba's minister of sport, culture and heritage, to advocate for increased funding for the organization, which continues to build a nation-wide network of hosts and artists with a small staff of five and ever- increasing operating costs. "They were joking the other day that they were finally making $15 an hour," Spencer says. He notes that the program has not only been successful in itself, but has laid down the framework for a new avenue for touring artists to increase their revenue and exposure. "It's created a network of people across the country who have experience hosting shows, and have access to an audience within their communities. Now, these groups have all sorts of little places along their tour routes where they can squeeze an extra night in." With increasing restrictions on American visas and a dwindling market for live music at home, Lamontagne says new opportunities for performing artists have never been more needed. "I believe in live music. We're in the entertainment business, and I would love to see live music make a comeback." To learn more about Home Routes, and to check out tour schedules and ticket information, visit www.homeroutes.ca. S ince 2007, the Home Routes Borealis Trail has been bringing world-class acts in Canadian and American folk, country and pop music to communities in northern Manitoba — and laying the framework for more accessible live entertainment and culture across the disparate North. The Home Routes model is simple on paper: The central office handles booking, while local hosts are responsible for promotion and for providing a venue — often they simply host a house concert in a private home — along with room and board, including a home-cooked dinner for the touring artists. Hosts do not benefit from the concerts financially. Save for 15 per cent that is returned to Home Routes' central office, the artists retain all of the earnings made through cover charges. The tour makes for a (relatively) hassle-free opportunity for musicians to tour throughout rural Canada in unique environments and venues, with minimal expense to cut into their earnings.

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