Surrounded by the stunning artwork of Roy Henry Vickers, join us for an evening of music with the incredibly talented and entertaining duo, Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback. They will have you singing along, clapping your hands, and stomping your feet, whilst laughing at Willies sense of humor which he effortlessly weaves into his performance. You do not want to miss this.

Time: Doors at 5.15 pm, for a 5:30 pm start.
This is a button event. First come first seated. Buttons available on the door, minimum donation $5.
Family friendly.
Please respect rules of the art gallery.

Willie’s Bio:
Willie Thrasher is an Inuk singer-songwriter from Aklavik, Northwest Territories. Born in 1948 into the traditional Inuit culture of the western Arctic, his father was a whaler and hunter.

At five years of age, Thrasher was taken from his family and sent to a residential school where he was forbidden to practice his Inuvialuit culture, a shameful initiative by the Canadian government to assimilate Indigenous people into mainstream society. Music was a way for Thrasher to escape the pain and longing. In the mid-1960s, Thrasher drummed for The Cordells, one of the first Inuit rock bands. One evening, a stranger recommended that the group tap into their Aboriginal roots instead of the charts for inspiration. This prompted Thrasher to take up the guitar and write songs about his life, people, and the environment. Despite losing a portion of his left middle finger in a work accident, Thrasher became a musical vagabond, travelling across Canada and the United States throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s meeting many other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit musicians. Spirit Child was released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1981 and provided a further opportunity for Thrasher to reconnect with his Native heritage and share this love and understanding with people from other cultures. “Silent Inuit” became a northern hit for Thrasher, but with limited commercial support and little promotion outside of northern communities, the album eventually fell to the wayside. Today, Thrasher lives in the town of Nanaimo, B.C., where he performs as a city sanctioned busker with his partner Linda Saddleback. The global attention garnered by Light In The Attic’s Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985 has led to recent performances at the Austin Psych Fest and Levitation Vancouver.