Kicking Horse Culture: Storytelling is at the heart of many Indigenous cultures, and that is certainly true of the brother-sister musical duo Sechile Sedare, otherwise known as Leela and Jay Gilday.
Members of the Dene First Nation, are both veteran folk musicians who only started performing together a couple of years ago. Leela, a professional musician for a quarter century, has released several CDs and notably won the 2021 Juno for Indigenous Artist of the Year.
She was born and raised in the Northwest Territories, and the beauty of the land and the richness of her cultural traditions inform her songwriting. Jay, who is half Dene and half Irish-Canadian, spends a lot of time on the road as an itinerant musician and earned a Western Canadian Music Award in 2017.
The name Sechile Sedare is Dene for my younger brother, and my older sister and was chosen to express their relationship to one another.
“It’s a tribute to how interconnected we are as people,” explains Leela. “In the Dene language, you can’t refer to somebody just as ‘my brother’ or ‘my sister.’ You have to refer to them as ‘my older brother’ or ‘my older sister’ so you’re always placing yourself in a relationship with them.”
These siblings share a special bond, and with their two voices and two guitars have created a contemporary roots repertoire that resonates with their unique lived experience. According to Roots Music Canada, “their voices blend in perfect harmony, hitting notes of nostalgia, hope, humour, and reflection . . . while the songs are stories about their family history, connection to the land and water, and the twists and turns of fate.”
Sechile Sedare will be performing at the Civic Centre on Thursday, January 23rd starting at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7:00 p.m. Purchase tickets online or in person at the Art Gallery of Golden. Tickets are available at the door if they are not sold out.
Opening Hours
The Kicking Horse Culture office is open Monday to Friday.
Art Gallery of Golden hours of operation:
10:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday through Saturday
11:00 am – 4:00 pm Stat holidays, Summer Sundays, and Sundays in December
