Bell Presents Lakehead Celebrates….2009 featuring Buffy Sainte-Marie on September 16
(Thunder Bay, ON - August 18, 2009) The last time Buffy Sainte-Marie came to Lakehead University she stood before Class 2000 at the Community Auditorium to accept an Honorary Doctor of Letters. The mood was electric and the air full of young graduands eager to hear words of wisdom from a cultural icon, to inspire and guide them as they made their way out into the "real world."
On September 16, Buffy once again will come to Lakehead. This time, she will take her audience back to an era where her music defined a generation as well as expose them to her more recent compositions. As the main attraction for Lakehead Celebrates...2009, Buffy will be remembered by guests as the Native Canadian singer/songwriter, artist, educator and activist, who turned music into a powerful cultural and political statement. Her song Universal Soldier became the anthem of the peace movement. Her song Until It's Time for You to Go was recorded by music legends including Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand.
Buffy Sainte-Marie released her 18th album, Running for the Drum, in North America and throughout Europe, in 2009, to critical acclaim, "A really wild, ear opening set for those that aren't afraid to take the chance on something that rocks the boat against complacency and does it without a cudgel." (Midwest Records). Adding to an already expansive list of accolades and awards, Buffy Sainte-Marie won her second Juno Award for Aboriginal Album of the Year and became the 25th inductee into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Celebrated for its tremendous diversity in song-writing styles, Buffy's music cannot be easily categorized; Running for the Drum is a whip-lash collection of power and beauty: folk/roots, powwow-rock, rockabilly, and dance - a rare breed of pure music fusion. Passionate as ever, Buffy Sainte-Marie uses her latest songs to cover extensive commanding themes, including great loves and protest against environmental greed.
Lakehead Celebrates...2009 is the 5th community celebration in support of scholarships held at Lakehead University to honour the friends of Lakehead. With Bell as a presenting sponsor, the event will once again be held at the University Hangar on September 16, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. An abundance of tapas and a selection of wines from the cash bar await guests. Tickets are $90 per person and tables for eight may be reserved.
For more information and to reserve your seat (tables for 8 can be reserved for $650), please contact Debra McKever at (807) 343-8300 or dmckever@lakeheadu.ca, or go to http://advancement.lakeheadu.ca/.
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About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca