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Great Lake Swimmers acknowledge their roots In The Soil By Michael Dirisio The Brock Press Showcasing the local budding arts scene, In The Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival continues to flourish. In only its second year, this 12-day festival boasts over 70 events, ranging from music to theatre to visual, media and performance arts, which will be held in 11 venues across downtown St. Catharines and Brock University. Above all else, this year's event is proud to have a performance by Great Lake Swimmers, the Toronto-based atmospheric folk band, who have received a great deal of positive attention for their most recent album, Lost Channels. General Manager of Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, Annie Wilson, who is one of the co-founders of the In The Soil festival, is excited about this year's event, and welcomes the growth that it has exhibited. After being supported by so many local arts organizations, this growth is almost to be expected. "The idea was just this tiny little seed that was started about a year and a half ago by myself and a few friends, who are involved with Yummy Recordings, Suitcase In Point, Centre for the Arts, the NAC and the Arts Council, which are the main partners," said Wilson. "We're all just so excited about what's going on. There seems to be a lot of momentum behind the local arts scene right now, so we thought it'd be great to showcase everything together in an all encompassing event." Wilson is proud of what the local arts scene has to offer, and discussed the lack of exposure that many of the Niagara-based artists receive. With an event like In The Soil, these artists have a chance to display what they have been working on, and show why Niagara should not be overlooked as an arts community. This year's festival continues to branch out, with an increased new media and theatre section. As well, Wilson is personally looking forward to having Great Lake Swimmers join the festival, providing a capstone to the event. "I'm really excited about our big showcase night at Centre for the Arts in which we have Great Lake Swimmers coming to town to play with us and support us," said Wilson. "I'm a huge fan. [Front-man, Tony Dekker] is a local boy and he's definitely doing well on the national and international scene so we're pretty pumped up that they're all coming to town to be a part of the festival." Great Lake Swimmers, who are actually Juno nominees themselves, will be performing on the Juno Awards broadcast shortly before the In The Soil Festival, showing that St. Catharines events showcase talent that is easily comparable to much larger, more recognized events. Despite their recent success, Tony Dekker of the Great Lakes Swimmers has not forgotten his roots, as he remains humble and levelheaded. Though the band began as Dekker's solo project, and he remains the sole songwriter, he has enjoyed a level of continuity in the members of the group. This has led the creative voices to begin to meld, with a more full sound being produced as a result. "It feels like it's turned into more of a band, in that we have more of a regular line-up now and I think these people are more able to add their creative touches on everything," said Dekker. "We've been able to breathe life into the older songs, some of the more quieter songs or some of the songs that were written and recorded by myself, but now are able to be played as a band." This creativity, which sings aloud on their most recent album Lost Channels, has been only another reason for the band's increasing success and recognition. The album, which has been met with praise by Eye Weekly and The New York Times, among others, continues to be received positively by both national and international critics. Though this pleases Dekker, he is quick not to get caught up in the critical acclaim. Dekker continues to remember why he began playing music, and keeps his focus on the music itself. "We're definitely not in this to pay attention to any sort of critical praise or otherwise. We're doing it for the love of music, and because we're able to make this kind of music that means something to us," said Dekker. Though the band is now based in Toronto, Dekker was born and raised in Port Colborne, which is one of the reasons that In The Soil is especially proud to have Great Lake Swimmers grace one of their many stages. The performance, which will be held in Brock University's Sean O'Sullivan theatre on the second last night of the festival, is a perfect fit for Great Lake Swimmers. Dekker, who pays a great deal of attention to the acoustic peculiarities of each venue, has a certain affinity for theatres, as well as churches and old rural locations. Lost Channels was recorded in a number of these types of unconventional venues, which allowed Great Lake Swimmers to craft a performance that is more intimate and personal that they might have had they been shut up in a studio. The pride and love of the city, shown by Great Lake Swimmers, mirrors that of the co-founders of In The Soil. Both see Southern Ontario as a great place for creative minds and beautiful works, with many talented budding and established artists alike. Though Niagara may not be known for its arts, it is continually making its voice heard, showing that a strong arts scene has been growing in the heart of the community. In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival runs April 13-24 in St. Catharines. Visit inthesoil.on.ca for more details. © Copyright 2010 Brock Press
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