Alysha Brilla at Lakes District Secondary School
The sixth performance in the Lakes District Arts Council’s (LDAC) twelfth season takes place on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. sharp at Lakes District Secondary School.
Twice a Juno Award nominated singer-songwriter, as well as a producer and community organizer, Alysha Brilla is a critically acclaimed Indo-Tanzanian Canadian artist.
Her music draws on her unique background. Born in Mississauga and raised in Kitchener, Brilla started singing in her early teens in local bands and at festivals.
Growing up in a mixed-race, mixed-religious household fostered interesting discussions around things like race, religion, value systems and ideals. On her fourteenth birthday, Brilla was given her father’s acoustic guitar and she began teaching herself to play.
Her musical influences include Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez and Joni Mitchell, as well as Indian and African music.
A journey to her father’s homeland delivered the inspiration for Brilla to write and produce a lyrical record, ‘Human’, blending Indian and East African sounds with a contemporary aesthetic.
Brilla 2017 self-produced album Rooted features a rhythmic blend of soul, pop and world influences. East meets west with tabla, sitar and djembe backing lyrics about connecting to each other, and to the earth and spirit.
Tickets for the show are now on sale at Process 4 circle arts Gallery, LDFC Printing and Stationery, and the Lakes Artisan Centre. Tickets will also be available at the door the evening of the performance.
Watch for our ads in the Lakes District News, and look for LDAC posters around town.
Lakes District Festival of the Performing Arts
Look for a festival ad in an up current issue of the Lakes District News, and watch for more information in the coming weeks about the 61st annual Lakes District Festival of the Performing Arts.
The festival takes place from March 6 to 17. Festival events will be at the Island Gospel Fellowship Hall on Gerow Island.
The vocal section will be from March 6 to 8 - adjudicated by Fiona Blackburn; the speech arts, adjudicated by Mike Stack, takes place on March 9; the piano section runs from March 11-13 and will be adjudicated by April Smith; and the instrumental section, on March 14, will be adjudicated by Simone Hug.
The Gala Honours Concert takes place on Saturday evening, March 17, at the Island Gospel Hall.
For more information, go to the festival’s website at https://www.ldfestival.com