True North Strong: TVO lines up three Hamilton-Burlington musicians for panel talk
Cadence Weapon, Sarah Harmer and Tom Wilson joined host and Hamilton native Steve Paikin for discussion of music in turbulent times and their Canadian inspirations.
A trio of prestigious Hamilton and Burlington musicians weighed in about why music matters in times of upheaval during a taping by TVO in Hamilton on Saturday.
The occasion was a live taping of the provincial channel’s TVO Today Live, described as an event series on the future of democracy. After earlier tapings in Toronto, Ottawa and Kitchener, this was the first stop in Hamilton. The visit has to be rated a real success.
The host venue was The Music Hall in New Vision United Church, a heritage building host Steve Paikin described as “a gorgeous space in a converted church.” The free taping attracted an audience of an impressive size, one that filled the large ground level of the church sanctuary.
The title of this session was True North Strong: Why Music Matters, and the format saw host and Hamilton native Paikin pose questions to three illustrious local/regional musicians: Hip-hop artist and poet Cadence Weapon (real name Rollie Pemberton and a recent arrival in Hamilton), platinum-selling and award-winning folk/roots singer-songwriter and environmental activist Sarah Harmer (a Burlington native), and Hamilton born and bred (and proud of it) singer-songwriter, visual artist, author and playwright Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond).
All three artists have prestigious awards in their trophy cabinet. Pemberton was formerly Edmonton’s poet laureate and he won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. Harmer is the 2024 Juno Humanitarian Award winner, and five-time Juno winner Wilson was the recipient of the 2024 CMW Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award and a recent appointee to the Order of Canada.
Political, social and environmental issues feature in the work of all three, so they were well-equipped to respond to Paikin’s queries. The key themes addressed included the role and responsibilities of an artist in times of political turmoil, the recent surge in Canadian patriotic pride, and a look at those Canadian artists who have inspired the three panelists.
Paikin handled the proceedings smoothly. His skills as a show host and interviewer have long been apparent on TVO’s daily current affairs show The Agenda with Steve Paikin, now in its final season after a 20-year run. The one blemish came when Paikin erroneously stated that musicians turned NDP MPs Andrew Cash and Charlie Angus played together in The Grievous Angels. It was actually Toronto punk band L’Etranger.
Angus’s name surfaced during a discussion of the politically aware and patriotic Canadian songwriters who inspired the three panellists. Harmer cited him alongside Winnipeg songwriter John K. Samson of The Weakerthans, The Tragically Hip and Stompin’ Tom Connors, Wilson strongly declared his love of Gordon Lightfoot, citing an emotional experience he shared with late comrades Russell Wilson and Bob Lanois while listening to Lightfoot’s classic “Canadian Railroad Trilogy.” Pemberton was effusive in his praise of Neil Young, saying “he has always had a strong artistic compass”, along with east coast rapper Buck 65 and Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids.
In this era of “Elbows Up” patriotic pride, Pemberton noted that “it is really nice that people are feeling positive about being Canadian. For a long time there has been self -deprecation around Canada and now it’s like 'yeah, Canada,’ but I think we need to be careful of being too much like the Americans that way; too nationalistic, too jingoistic. I don’t want it to go too far. I’m currently working with an American producer from Los Angeles, for instance. I don’t agree with the idea of collective punishment, in terms of dealing with Americans.”
In a rare example of disagreement with his two fellow artists, Wilson supported the booing of the U.S. national anthem. “It is a move to show a group effort of defiance. If that’s what it takes, let's keep it going.”
Harmer reflected that “I hope that this will be a moment for more national self-confidence in terms of our art. Being reserved is OK, but I’d like to see more of that self-assurance.”
Wilson never pulls punches and he didn’t hold back about the current political situation. “I don’t take cues from politicians and sex offenders,” he said, eliciting laughter. He pledged that “I have a burden to create art to inspire us. Unlike churches, governments and corporations, art is not there to control us.”
Harmer stressed that her primary responsibility is “to make art for myself. I clam up if there is extra pressure on me.” Wilson concurred, noting that “I say f&# that to the idea of making our art to please someone else. We need to create as artists what is important to us. If we make art that resonates with people then we are going to have allies and we can have conversations.”
Pemberton insisted he would never censor himself for fear of damaging his career. “The role of an artist is to be fearless,” he said, citing one example where he dissed grocery tycoon Galen Weston.
Clearly, self-censorship has never been in Wilson’s vocabulary, and his comment that “I have driven several careers right into the ditch” also drew laughs.
One possible missed opportunity by the event was that, given that all three panelists are highly accomplished solo performers, having each of them perform one of their own politically conscious songs would definitely have added to proceedings.
That aside, a viewing of this show when it airs on TVO, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Education and a not-for-profit, social impact charity, is highly recommended. A screening date has yet to be announced.
