The Sunday Edition for August 9, 2020
Listen to this week's episode with guest-host Laurie Brown:
How musicians are responding to this moment in a time when live music isn't happening: It's a very different world now for musicians — one without live performances and in the midst of a reckoning with racism and inequality. It's leading many artists to think that a repertoire of relationship songs just doesn't cut it anymore. Singer-songwriter Donovan Woods tells us what's shifting in his creative world. And we hear from Polaris Prize-winning rapper Haviah Mighty on how the Black Lives Matter protests are resonating in her musical exploration of racism and the Canadian Black experience.
Canadian writer Aislinn Hunter on grief, witnessing and embracing uncertainty: Aislinn Hunter's new novel The Certainties, intertwines the stories of migrants and witnesses in two different eras. The novel was shaped by Hunter's own experience at her husband's side as he was dying of cancer. She talks about the responsibilities of the artist to bear witness to the events of the day, our obligations to those suffering around us, and how to stay present to the horrors of the world without giving into despair.
'Born strange,' and a remarkable 25-year friendship with a puckish parrot (reprise): Of the thousands of guests Michael Enright interviewed in his 20 years as host of The Sunday Edition, one of the most singular and entertaining was award-winning BC writer Brian Brett. Brett has endured one medical setback after another in his life, but has met them with defiance, humour and a unique perspective on life. We'll replay Enright's 2016 interview with Brett about his uncanny 25-year relationship with Tuco, an Arican grey parrot with a diabolical gift for mischief.
Music this week by: Mulatu Astatke, Haviah Mighty, Andy McNeill, Badge Époque Ensemble, Neil Young and the Doug Munro String Quartet
Laurie Brown hosted CBC Radio 2's acclaimed late night music program The Signal for 10 years. She is known for her award-winning and wide-ranging music career that has taken her from performing onstage with bands, to MuchMusic VJ, to Senior Arts Correspondent for The National before launching The Signal in 2007.
