Celeigh Cardinal & Logan Staats

Celeigh Cardinal and Logan Staats

May 12, 2023

Photo credit (top): Emilie Iggiotti

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

Jane Mallet Theatre

TO Live would like to acknowledge Tkaronto, which is a Mohawk word meaning the place in the water where the trees are standing.

We live and work on the traditional territory of Haudenosaunee-speaking nations, including the Huron-Wendat, Seneca, and Mohawk. Haudenosauneespeaking nations have been here since time immemorial, and were more recently joined by the Mississaugas of the Credit.

This place has many Indigenous ports, including where the Humber and Rouge rivers meet other waterways such as Lake Ontario. Ancient longhouses— typical Haudenosaunee housing structures—have been found along both these rivers and in the north of Toronto near modern-day York University. This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Confederacy and the Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the lands and the relationships around the Great Lakes.

What this means is that by living and working here, we all have a responsibility to the environment and to each other, to treat each other and the environment with peace and respect. This means we have responsibilities to honour, renew, and consistently uphold the values and relationships outlined in the ancient agreements.

Today, Toronto is home to Indigenous peoples and settlers from around the world. Let us all come together in an atmosphere of respect and peace to do good work together with good minds. Let’s start building stronger and healthier relationships with each other and the spaces we inhabit in Tkaronto, Ontari:io, Kanata.

Let’s hold our minds together in kindness. Nia:wen. Thank you.

© Dawn Maracle

Welcome to tonight's performance featuring Celeigh Cardinal and Logan Staats. This evening promises to be an unforgettable experience, as we are treated to the talents of two incredibly gifted musicians. With powerful and soulful voices, Celeigh Cardinal and Logan Staats have captivated audiences across the country, and we are honoured to have them grace our stage.

Both Celeigh and Logan are deeply committed to using their music to promote healing, reconciliation, and Indigenous culture. They are passionate advocates for Indigenous rights and have used their platforms to bring attention to the injustices facing Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world.

Both artists have been praised for their exceptional songwriting skills. They write music that is deeply personal and draws from their own experiences, while also speaking to universal themes of love, loss, and the human experience. Whether you are a longtime fan of these artists or discovering them for the first time, we are confident that the concert will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired.

The theatre you’re sitting in tonight was originally called “The Town Hall.” Designed as an acoustic concert hall – much loved by performers and music lovers alike – it’s a wonderful concert facility for musical presentations with superb acoustics in an intimate setting. But, after more than 50 years - it requires a radical update.

The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts was established in 1967 as Toronto’s Centennial Project. It opened its doors in 1970.

Now, a new vision for this creative hub is in the works, coming directly from the people who will be using it—the public, artists, cultural organizations, and local community. The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is transforming into a flexible, dynamic creative hub for the future with two performance venues, three rehearsal halls, 10 artist studios, and over 30,000 square feet of indoor public gathering space along with a proposed dedicated outdoor park. Visit www. stlcnext.org for all the exciting details.

We want to thank you for joining us tonight and supporting live music in our community. We hope that you enjoy the performance, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Clyde Wagner President & CEO TO Live

Max Rubino Director of Programming TO Live

Celeigh Cardinal and Logan Staats

Vocals: Celeigh Cardinal

Guitar: Brayden Treble

Keys: Brennan Cameron

Bass: Paul Bergeron

Drums: Josh Van Tassel

Vocals: Logan Staats

Guitar: Rob Lamonthe

Drums: Zander Lamonthe

Bass: Justine Fischer

Photo credit: Sheena Zilinski

Celeigh Cardinal is quickly becoming one of the great Canadian voices that make up the fabric of this country’s roots music scene. In 2020, she was awarded one of Canada’s highest musical accolades: the Juno Award for Indigenous artist of the year. She also received a Western Canadian Music Award in 2018 for Indigenous artist of the year, and two nominations in 2020, including Indigenous artist of the year and songwriter of the year. Tracks from her most recent release, Stories from a Downtown Apartment, have reached number one on the Indigenous music countdown four times since 2019.

Cardinal has two full-length albums completed and her third release in the works, which is being supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. In 2021, the Edmonton-based singer-songwriter was chosen by The Walt Disney Corporation to perform a single and music video as part of their first season of a new initiative, The Recital of Remixes. She has toured through Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands and has showcased in Dubai at Expo 2020, Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany, and Folk Alliances from 2018 to 2020 in Kansas City, Montreal, and New Orleans.

Once in a red moon, an artist emerges on the scene as if fully formed. Born on the Six Nations Reserve and raised in the small ghost town of Brantford, Ontario, Logan Staats started writing and performing music in his early teens. From a young age, his haunting and distinct voice has won him multiple opportunities to share the stage with acts like Buffy SainteMarie, Keith Secola, and Mumford and Sons, to name a few. Still a young man, Logan is regarded as an accomplished, multi-nominated, and award-winning artist.

Logan’s live performances are juxtaposed by a level of self-possession and control that still wildly careens through emotions of sadness, hope, longing, and joy. A product of passion, compulsion, and tireless musical commitment, Logan’s songs are his own. Armed with his guitar and harmonica, he has transitioned from running the weekend bar circuit to playing sold-out venues across Canada.

Ingrained with the mentality that anything is possible when you put your heart and soul into it, Staats is intent on raising the bar for Indigenous/mainstream crossover music.

Celeigh Cardinal

Logan Staats

Meet the artist

Logan Staats' live performances are a testament to his self-possession and musical commitment, ranging from emotions of sadness to hope and joy. With a belief that music is a healing salve, Staats' authentic sound is rooted in honest storytelling and reflection.

Click the video below to learn more about his artistic journey of healing, activism, and community.

Celeigh Cardinal is reclaiming what it means to be an Indigenous artist

Celeigh Cardinal didn’t become a musician to meet other people’s expectations. Quite the opposite—the Métis singer-songwriter became an artist to challenge them.

“Growing up a Native kid in a white community, there wasn’t somebody who looked like me in the media. It made me try to dye my hair blonde, have blue eye contacts, and be on diets from the time I was 11. You’d think that would make me feel like I didn’t belong, but something deeper inside me pushed past that insecurity and made me feel that music was my purpose.”

That inner voice proved to be right. The 42-year-old from Grand Prairie is now a Juno award winner known for her powerhouse vocals and songs about heartbreak. But her success challenges the mainstream and paves the way for anyone who feels different.

“I’ve been on stage and seen a chubby 11-year-old girl that I saw myself in and thought “Heck yeah! I’m doing this. You can do this if you want to.”

Cardinal’s bluesy acoustic tracks and recent experimentation with synthpop also push audiences to think beyond Buffy Sainte-Marie when it comes to Indigenous artists.

“I’ve been hired for a show where people were expecting me to show up with a drum, doing a prayer, and I’m just like, ‘oh, no, I have this classical guitar and I’m gonna sing sad songs.’ People always assumed that if I was an Indigenous performer, they’d be getting something traditional.”

Cardinal explains that while these narrow stereotypes are slowly changing, they continue to limit opportunities for Indigenous performers.

Photo credit: Megan Kemshead

“It’s difficult being an Indigenous artist in Canada when there are only so many spots for us at festivals because people still think of us as a genre. They’ll hire a couple of Indigenous artists, but it still feels kind of tokenized. We end up almost feeling like we’re in competition with each other.”

Cardinal believes more diverse Indigenous representation can broaden assumptions. On a personal level, this means showing up as her authentic self. That includes being open about why she may not be as connected to her culture as other Indigenous artists.

Cardinal explains that her father and his siblings were part of the Sixties Scoop—a period when the Canadian government removed Indigenous children from their families, often without their consent, and placed them in the child welfare system. For thousands of families like Cardinal’s, this mass removal led to a devastating loss of cultural heritage and knowledge that persists today.

“It’s so heartbreaking because that loss of community is exactly what colonization was meant to do. And it works. It’s sad, but this is why I write sad songs.”

Cardinal, whose ancestors are from the Sawridge Band of Slave Lake, is reclaiming her roots through music. She’s working on her third album and says the journey of reconnecting with her culture is “woven into my songs.” Set to be released in the fall, Cardinal will preview tracks from the record in her upcoming performance at St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts this May.

Building relationships with more Indigenous artists is another way Cardinal is learning about her culture. She says the Indigenous music community across Canada feels like home. Supporting this family is just one of the reasons why she relishes the opportunity to highlight Indigenous acts in her role as a radio producer.

“It’s so important to me that I find people who aren’t being represented and give space to them. It’s something I’m super passionate about because of how a lack of representation affected me as a child. I want people to feel like they belong. And the only way is to see themselves.”

TO Live donor listing

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our Friends of TO Live Community through donations to TO Live and the TO Live Foundation.

1R32 Foundation

2608701 Ontario Inc.

Jocelyne Achat & Kenneth Maclean

Patricia Alps

Shirley Arnold

Arts Capital

John & Claudine Bailey

Bashirat Balogun

Barbara Basta

Eva Bednar

Sandra Bellisario

Bruce Bennett

Shira Bernholtz

Eleanor Bothwell

Elspeth Bowler

Stephanie Canarte

Doris Chan

Dr. Donette Chin-Loy Chang

Wendy Chong

Lesley Clark

Diana Cockburn

Judith C. Cole

Bob Collins

Leona Cotoia

Cheryl Cottle

Jacqueline Cushnie

Ashley D'Andrea

Lori DeGraw

Suzanne Denis

Anne Dumais

Maame Adjoa Duncan

Karen Ebanks

Penelope Evans

Alicia Excell

Leah Faieta

Shirley Farr

Mary Ann Farrell

Matt Farrell

Shiming Fei

Alan Feller

David Fiske

Nina Flowers

Darrell Flynn

Clarence Ford

Robert & Julia Foster

Linda Galen

Janet Gates

Derek Genova

Charles Gibbs

Deborah Gourgy

Peter Grav

Wayne Hawes

Elaine Iannuzziello

IATSE Local 58 Charitable Fund

Lev Ioussoufovitch

Rob Italiano

Janice Johnson

Sherry Kaufman

Christine Kelsey

Andrew Kempa

Megan Kotze & Michael Longfield

Laura Lee Kozody

Young Wook Kwon

Maggie Lam

Alan Levine

Kathryn Liedeman

Karen Liedeman

Jodi Lindsay

Edith Lo

Jennifer MacLachlan

Hailee Mah

Ruth & Harold Margles

Imaginus Canada Mark

Laurie Markus

Giacomina Mastromarco

Steve McAdam

Randy McCall

David McCracken

Cayla McCullough

Linda McGuire

William Milne

Leslie Milthorpe

Susan Moellers

Peter Neuschild

Sorina Oprea

Jennifer Parkin

Frances Patterson

Brenda Polzler

John Quirke

Grant Ramsay

Brandon Rattan

Josephine Ridge

Christian Roderos

Phillip Roh

Jeffrey Rohrer

Carol Rowntree

Carole Sisto

Stephanie Slobodnik

David Smith

Debbie Smith

Natalia Sorokov

Karyn in Toronto

Karyn Spiesman

Richard Spooner

St. Lawrence Market BIA

Evelyn Steinberg

Katie Sultan

Josie Tait

Erinn Todd

Peter Tsatsanis

Alicja Turner

Asha Varadharajan

Isabel Vicente Menanno

Vida Peene Fund

Taylor Vince

Peeranut Visetsuth

Vital Link Ice Cream

Clyde Wagner & Steven Tetz

Patricia Wheelan

Denise Wise

Edwin Zukowski

Anonymous (5)

Donor recognition list as of April 11, 2023.

TO Live staff and board

Board of directors

Lori DeGraw

Chair

Councillor Gary Crawford

Vice Chair

Councillor Lily Cheng

Councillor Chris Moise

Paul Bernards

Myriam Gafarou

Kevin Garland

Mustafa Humayun

Owais Lightwala

Gave Lindo

Dawn Maracle

Kathleen Sharpe

Gillian Smith

Executive management

Clyde Wagner

President & CEO

Isabel Vicente Menanno

Director of the Office of the CEO & Board Relations

Special projects

Leslie Lester

Vice President of STLC Redevelopment

Development

Sandra Bellisario

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Director of Philanthropy & Sponsorship

Ashley D'Andrea

Senior Manager, Leadership Giving

Nikita Patel

Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorships

Lawrence Tan

Assistant Manager of Partnerships & Events

Lubiana Ahmed

Philanthropy Operations Assistant

Jun Yoon

Philanthropy Operations Assistant

Finance and administration

William Milne

Vice President of Finance & Administration

Thomas Grady

Director of Finance

Hayde Boccia

Director of Finance

Michael Johnson Controller

Sabrina Li

Senior Financial Accountant

Paul Gagnon

Client Settlement Services Manager

Dorian Barton

Client Settlement Services Assistant

Gladys Torres

Payroll Specialist

Nooshin Ashraf-Zadeh

Accounting Assistant

Nelum Dissanayake

Accounting Assistant

Fiona Liu

Accounting Assistant

Fiona Wan

Accounting Assistant

Charles Mayne Office Clerk

Information technology

David McCracken

Director of Information Technology

Michael Cadiz

IT Support Technician

Chahat Khandhar

Systems Administrator

Scott Spence

IT Coordinator

Human resources

Michelle Carter

Vice President of Human Resources & Organizational Culture

Mohamed Othman

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Mini Chhabaria

Human Resources Generalist

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Human Resources Generalist

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Jeff Rohrer

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Stephanie Canarte

Director of Marketing

Grant Ramsay

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Vanessa Grant

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Lauren Finateri

Marketing Manager, Promotions & Partnerships

Emma Forhan

Digital Content Creator

Shaun Lee

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Jimena Perez

Marketing Coordinator

Box office

Tom Kerr

Director of Ticketing Services

Sandie Chui

Manager of Ticket Services

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Box Office Manager

Liz Bragg

Box Office Manager

Thomas Quinlan

Box Office Assistant Manager

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Box Office Assistant Manager

Clayton Batson

Box Office Duty Manager

Jennifer Norman

Box Office Duty Manager

Brittney Channer

Box Office Duty Manager

Michelle Cruz

Box Office Duty Manager

Operations

Matthew Farrell

Vice President of Operations

Edward Delavari

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BahramAghakhan

Project Manager

Michael Gutowski

Project Manager

Zane Elliott

Project Manager

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Director of Patron Services

Lynn Frenette

Patron Services Manager

Tara Hitchman

Patron Services Manager

Natalie Ireland

Events Manager

Lina Welch

Assistant Patron Services Manager

Kelsey McGuigan

Assistant Patron Services Manager

Christian Lavigne

Assistant Patron Services Manager

Peter Harabaras

Patron Services Duty Manager

Andrew Muirhead

Patron Services Duty Manager

Bruna Pisani

Patron Services Duty Manager

Kizzie St Clair

Patron Services Duty Manager

Maria Waslenko

Patron Services Duty Manager

Stephen Lee

Executive Chef

Juliana Fay

Catering Manager

Facilities

Abiodun Ojekunle Director of Facilities

Jarryd Fish

Facilities Manager

Evan Ramdin

Chief Building Operator

Robert MacLean

Building Operator

Ryan Nerona

Junior Building Operator

Omar Nurse

Stage Door Security Supervisor

Colin Dyble

Stage Door Security

Henry Fernandes

Stage Door Security

Margreta Kristiansen

Stage Door Security

Mohammed Shaikh

Stage Door Security

Tushar Somani

Stage Door Security

Mohuddin Memon

Stage Door Security

Reza Moradi

Stage Door Security

Sangay Lhamo

Stage Door Security

Mohamed Zuhair

Maintenance Supervisor

Roger Alves

Maintenance

Robert Bischoff

Maintenance

Mizrah Mohemed

Maintenance

Catherine Patrick

Maintenance

Rosalina Silva

Maintenance

Rosa Victoria

Maintenance

Christine Vivlan

Maintenance

Vivian Hije

Maintenance (housekeeping)

Roderick Padasdao

Building Operator

Marciano Ramos

Jr. Building Operator

Ehsan Rahman

Jr. Building Operator

John Vickery

Housekeeping Supervisor

Ahmed Akinpelu

Housekeeping

Rhowen Jane Bunda

Housekeeping

Michael Kim

Housekeeping

Elliott Lewis

Housekeeping

Mabel Liwag

Housekeeping

Ian Romero

Housekeeping

Adam Sikora

Housekeeping

Lauren Smith

Housekeeping

Alicia Surujbally

Housekeeping

Matthew Pannell

Handyperson

Eduardo Costales

Handyperson

Programming

Josephine Ridge Vice President of Programming

Max Rubino

Director of Programming

Ariana Shaw Senior Producer

Zac Mansfield Producer

Shannon Murtagh Producer

John Kiggins

Programming Manager

Nathan Sartore

Programming & Accessibility Coordinator

Courtney Voyce

Bookings Manager

Alyssa Hu

Bookings Coordinator

Alex Whitehead

Bookings Coordinator

Scott North

Director Corporate & Private Events

Michaela Aguirre

Social Media Specialist

Communities and outreach

Tasneem Vahanvaty

Director of Communities and Outreach

Production

Kristopher Dell Director of Production

Zoe Carpenter

Senior Production Manager

Anthony (TJ) Shamata

Senior Production Manager

Bruce Bennett

Senior Manager, Theatre Systems and Special Projects

Chris Carlton

Production Manager

Paul McKenna

Production Manager

Armand Baksh-Zarate

Production Manager

Susanne Lankin

Production Manager

Vivek Patel

Production Intern

Meridian Hall stage crew

IATSE Local 58

Richard Karwat

Head Electrician

Steve McLean

Head Carpenter

Marcus Sirman

Head of Properties

Ross Tuskey

Head Sound Operator

David Baer

Assistant Carpenter

Zsolt Kota

Assistant Sound Operator

Michael Farkas

Assistant Electrician – AV

Jason Urbanowicz

Assistant Electrician

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

stage crew

IATSE Local 58

Wes Allen

Head of Properties, Bluma Appel Theatre

Jay Blencowe

Head Carpenter, Bluma Appel Theatre

Keijo Makela

Head Sound Technician, Bluma Appel Theatre

IATSE Local 822

Susan Batchelor

Wardrobe Head, Bluma Appel Theatre

Meridian Arts Centre stage crew

IATSE Local 58

Aaron Dell

Head Technician, Lyric Theatre

Russell Hawley

Head Technician, George Weston Recital Hall

Patrick Hales

Assistant Head Technician, George Weston Recital Hall

Grant Primeau

Head Technician, Greenwin Theatre

Duncan Morgan

Head Technician, Studio Theatre