Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic, recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the boundaries between story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity.
She has performed in venues and festivals across Canada. Her second album, f(l)light (2016), is a haunting collection of story-songs that interweave Simpson’s complex poetics and multi-layered stories of the land, spirit, and body with lush acoustic and electronic arrangements. Her EP Noopiming Sessions combines readings from her novel Noopiming with soundscapes composed and performed by Ansley Simpson and James Bunton, with a video by Sammy Chien and the Chimerik Collective. Produced during the isolation of COVID-19, it was released on Gizhiiwe Music in Fall 2020.
Theory Of Ice was released by You’ve Changed Records in winter 2021, featuring Ansley Simpson, Nick Ferrio, Jim Bryson, John K. Samson, Jonas Bonnetta, Nydia Myre and Sandra Brewster. It made the 2021 Polaris Prize Short List, was nominated for Pop-Alternative-Rock Album of the Year at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, and was reviewed 8/10 by Pitchfork and 10/10 by Exclaim!. Simpson has also produced 15 short films with directors including Lisa Jackson, Conner McNally, asinnajaq, Caroline Monet, and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, winning the Willie Dunn Award from the Prism Prize.
Live Like the Sky was produced by longtime collaborator Jonas Bonnetta and is forthcoming from You’ve Changed Records in Fall 2025.
And starting off your evening with Leanne is Boyhood!
When Caylie Runciman started calling herself Boyhood, it was a nod to childhood nostalgia. The alias – and the beguiling bedroom anthems – are one and the same. Tough-kid guitar grit and deadpan verses give way to whimsical synth lines and delicate harmonies. But like an off-kilter merry-go-round, or a candy shop in a seedy part of town, there’s a shady layer to Runciman’s perfect pop. Her black magic is raw – equal parts ecstasy and heartbreak. And in among the bright colours, there’s the joy and the pain in knowing what it means to grow up.
Centretown would like to acknowledge that Ottawa is built on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.
The Anishinaabe Algonquin peoples have lived on this land since time immemorial. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. We also recognize the contributions of Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community in particular, and our province and country as a whole.
