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22 - Wednesday, October 16, 2019, St. Albert Gazette

Scene Desk: 780.460.5510

Fax Line: 780.460.8220 A GIFT OF WARMTH
E-mail: gazette@stalbert.greatwest.ca Free furnace helping to heat Marie Swindells’ home this
Web: StAlbertTODAY.ca winter. See page 25.

Above: Singer-songwriter Rhian Sorotsky will also test

her mettle at The Show 6.0 this Friday as part of Amplify
Festival.
AARON PEDERSEN/Photo
Right: Arlo Maverick, a wickedly popular singer-
songwriter from Edmonton, teaches a songwriting
workshop as well as being billed the headline act at
Amplify Festival’s wrap-up party on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Amplify celebrates young artists

Music, dance, spoken word, theatre, visual arts, pottery and, much more...
By Anna Borowiecki

Preview
Staff Writer

St. Albert’s sixth edition of Amplify

Festival celebrating youth talent gets
underway this coming Friday and
Saturday.
Launched in 2012, the arts festival
provides a special opportunity for
individuals from Grade 7 to age 21 to
present their art on their own terms.
It showcases talent from a variety
of disciplines, including dance, music,
songwriting, visual arts, pottery, theatre,
poetry, special effects makeup, cooking
and calligraphy, to name a few.
For Kathleen Bell, Amplify Festival
associate, the event goes deeper than
an arts showcase.
“I’ve seen it grow over the past six
years. Art is important. It lets youth be
successful and discover what they like.
It builds confidence and gives them
a new skill set they can fall back on
in a pinch. You’re allowed to find the
thing you like and be successful. It’s a
creative, engaging base for youth, and
it helps grow civic pride and leadership
while investing in our youth,” said Bell.
The festival is organized and run
by The Amplify Advisory Council, a
volunteer committee of 15 youth, many
of whom are artists themselves.
The youth-led cultural strategy is
broken into three main categories:
workshops, free stuff and concerts. This
Redacted, a Paul Kane High School sextet, will compete in The Show 6.0 on Friday
night for a chance to win a prize package that guarantees a spot as opening act for the
headliners.
Amplify Festival
Oct. 18 to 19
Kinsmen Banquet Centre
47 Riel Dr.
Tickets: $10 at eventbrite.ca
year’s theme is Explore the Uncharted,
an otherwise gentle nudge to take fresh
risks into unmapped artistic territory.
Singer-songwriter-musician Amy
Polczer, 17, never looked back after
performing her first gig in 2015 on the
acoustic stage.
“It was a huge step for me. It was my
first chance to perform and sing. Now I
sing across Alberta and I’m in the band
Redacted,” said the Paul Kane High
student, a triple threat on piano, drums
and guitar.
In just a few short years, she’s picked
up momentum singing on average 20
to 25 concerts per year at events such
as Autism Speaks Walk, March of Dimes
and Canada Day, and she’s run open
mics.
“Amplify encouraged me to sing in
the first place and it gave me credit.
Without Amplify, I wouldn’t be singing
and performing like I am today.”
Just this past year, Polczer also joined
the youth advisory council.
The Zits, an experienced six-piece from St. Albert Catholic High School, will be tough
challengers in Friday night’s The Show 6.0 at Amplify Festival.
“I wanted to join and help other
artists explore their art in the way
Amplify helped me explore my art.”
Wrap-up dance
Traditionally, the single most popular
event is the Saturday night wrap-up
dance party. This year’s headliner is the
dynamic Arlo Maverick, an Edmonton-
based hip-hop singer-songwriter who
fuses jazz, electro and soul into a gritty
signature sound.
“He’s coming with a six-piece band.
He was the second opener last year
and he blew everyone away. The band
is incredible – so high-energy. The
crowd jumped and clapped. Within
seconds he had the crowd eating out of
the palm of his hand,” Bell said.
This year’s opener just prior to
Maverick is Winnipeg singer Roman
Clarke.
“He’s our long-distance performer.
He has a cool R&B pop vibe. He’s
on YouTube and he plays all the
instruments and posts online. He sings
very catchy, soulful songs,” said Bell.
And in a surprise move, Cypress is
the party’s first opener. Originally, it was
slated to be Sydney Barbeau, winner of
last year’s The Show 5.0 competition.
“She had an opportunity to go on
a mission with her church and travel
the world. So she handed her slot to
second place winner Cypress.”
Bell goes on to say that a couple of
Cypress’ musicians met at Amplify and
decided to start the group.
“They just released a new record and
they’ve had 22,000 plays on Spotify.
They were also the first band in the
battle of the bands to get an encore.”
The Show 6.0
The Show features a diverse lineup of
local bands and solo singer-songwriters
who battle it out for a prize package
that includes a guaranteed spot opening
for next year’s headliner.
The Friday night of entertainment
kicks off at 7:15 p.m. with roots-pop
singer Rhian Sorotsky, a student at
Dominelli School of Music.
Immediately following at 7:55 p.m. is
The Zits, an indie-pop six-piece from St.
Albert Catholic High.
“Quite a few musicians in the band
play as Sidney Barbeau’s backup band
and they helped her win last year.”
King Casserole, an all female a
cappella foursome performing at 8:40
p.m., place their focus on harmonies.
“They applied with an a cappella
video. It was a really bold move.”
Redacted, a multi-instrumental
six-piece from Paul Kane High
performing at 9:25 p.m., has repeatedly
demonstrated it is a strong challenger.
“They do the gamut of rock and pop
history – anywhere from Blondie to
Amy Winehouse. They don’t stick to
any one era. The make lots of bold
choices and it’s very energetic music.”
And the last band competing is
Sweatercuff, a band that plays original
instrumental music.