With Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Lennie Rayen
Believers in the power of art and music flocked to the main room of Knox Hall in Sudbury for the final day of Up Here Festival on Sunday (August 16). The stage was set up near the altar and soon, the seats were filling up to see North Bay indie rock artist Lennie Rayen.
Rayen and her band took the stage and started up "Face It" from her 2023 EP Believe That It's Blue. The acoustics in the venue were superb, the music filling every inch of the space with infectious dream pop-infused indie rock melodies, setting the scene for the show to come.
"My name's Lennie. It's nice to meet you," Rayen said after the band finished playing "In My Head," met with cheers from the audience. The band then started up "Blue Pill," the first song of the night off of Rayen's recently released debut full-length album Entertain the Space, and one of her most personal songs to date. People were resonating with the music, swaying along or keeping time with their feet while they watched the stage with rapt attention.
Everything kicked into high gear when the band played the absolute rocker that is "You Like It," making expert use of Rayen's vocal range and inviting some controlled chaos into the sound as they built up the dynamics going into the penultimate chorus. The air in the venue shifted slightly here, becoming electrified.
"This next song is about how I hate working jobs, except for music. Here's to hating working!" Rayen said to introduce the confident and upbeat "I Know What I Want." The electricity continued to crackle in the air for this song, with more people letting the music move them, including a small child who was dancing in the aisle. The kid was having one of the best days, continually trying to run up to the stage.
The band played "Snake Song," "Give It Up" and "Lean In" before ending the set with album closer "Right to Me," a burst of catharsis perfect for the final day of the festival. The band left the stage to cheers and a full standing ovation, cementing what many in the crowd knew going in: Lennie Rayen is one of the most exciting voices in the North.
Shortly afterward, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic Leanne Betasamosake Simpson took to the stage with her band, which included Caylie Runciman, who played the night before with her band Boyhood, on guitar and backing vocals.
The band began the set with "White Kites and Sky Blue", the opening track to Simpson's 2025 album Live Like the Sky. The song started out with a simple beat and Simpson's vocals, with layers of guitars and bass slowly being added as it built into a new wave tune reflecting the growing urgency in the lyrics, especially the closing lines, "I'm being held captive / By a growing nation."
"This song is a love song off the new album," Simpson said, before telling the audience that the song title, "Minode'e," is an Anishinaabe name that means "he/she/they have a good heart." Aside from a poetic spoken word section near the end in English, the song was sung in Anishinaabemowin, bringing the language to the forefront and keeping it alive.
Simpson also told us about the meaning behind the song title "Nizhooziibing," which is an Anishinaabe word meaning "two rivers," which also refers to the Forks in Manitoba. After a well-deserved shoutout to the amazing sound and lighting people at the venue, the band played "Murder of Crows." Full of soaring instrumentation and powerful vocals, the song struck a chord with everybody — especially the line, "no god, no boss, no husband, no state."
"85 Dollars an Acre" was partly sung in Anishinaabemowin and included a list of tips in English that were given to Simpson by an elder, including: "Wear your skates ice fishing, "Share everything you have," "Use everything you take," "Take only what you need," and "Don't get shot by the cops."
Simpson's vocals on "OK Indicts" made my hair rise up, especially when paired with the incredibly visual lyrics. It was followed by another track off Simpson's 2021 album Theory of Ice, "Viscosity," which featured wonderful interplay between Simpson and Runciman's vocals, creating a swirling sonic vortex. The complementary nature of their voices was also on full display during the harmonies on "Pyrrhic Victories."
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson finished one of the most captivating sets of the festival with a powerful cover of Willie Dunn's "I Pity the Country." Although the song was written in 1971, it sounds like it could've been written yesterday. Simpson and her band left the stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
After a quick turnaround, the stage was set for former VJ, multi-disciplinary artist, and overall badass Sook-Yin Lee and her anti-band, made up of guitarist Dylan Gamble, vocalist and whiteboard poet Sarah Kilpack, and dancer Ronnie Clarke.
