Hundreds of UGDSB students gathered at Island Lake Conservation in Orangeville on Tuesday, September 30 to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a concert by Oji-Cree singer-songwriter Aysanabee.
Aysanabee is a Juno Award-winning, multi-instrumentalist musician and producer from Sandy Lake First Nation. His sound has been described as "equal parts hypnotic and melodic" and he's been compared to the likes of Bon Iver, Kings of Leon, and Sam Smith.
When Aysanabee came out on stage he thanked the students for wearing orange, the colour that represents the "Every Child Matters" movement, before kicking off his first song.
Along with his music, Aysanabee also shared stories about growing up in Northern Ontario and how he ended up learning to play guitar.
"I'm just 12-years-old running through the bush doing target practice [with my bow] until an arrow ricochets and goes straight into the tire of my mom's van," Aysanabee told the crowd. "She takes it away and now I have one thing left; a guitar my brother left behind when he went to the city to go to school. So I started playing guitar."
To learn more about, and to listen to Aysanabee's music, visit aysanabee.com.