Saturday @ 1:15pm: Willie Thrasher Interview on Beat The World: #CJLOxSuoni

Tune into Beat the World this Saturday @ 1:15pm as Sugarface Nene and Neil Lalla interview Willie Thrasher: a talented Canadian Inuit musician based in Nanaimo, B.C. where, when not playing festivals like Levitation Vancouver, he performs as a city sanctioned busker with his partner Linda Saddleback! Born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Thrasher was taken from his family at the age of five 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, singing of his life, his people, and the environment.

Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Willie Thrasher travelled widely, sharing his music and meeting many other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit musicians. The CBC released Spirit Child, a compilation of Native music in 1981, a platform to share Willie Thrasher's artistry with a wider audience. The release of Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985 (2014) brought Thrasher's work to recent international attention, allowing him to perform in festivals such as Austin Psychfest and his upcoming performance at Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival this Sunday June 5th at Sala Rossa- co-presented by CJLO's Beat the World.

Willie Thrasher will perform live with Linda Saddleback, Little Fire and with Sipreano along with a short film screening of "The Ballad of Crowfoot" by Willie Dunn at La Sala Rossa (4848 St Laurent) this year for Suoni Per Il Popolo -June 5th at 9pm! Tickets are $13 in advance and $16 at the door. For more information about the event and how to purchase tickets, click here!

Beat The World is the longest running world music radio show on CJLO. We focus on the beats, eats & culture from around the world! Listen live every Saturday 12pm-2pm E.S.T with hosts Kelly 'Sugarface Nene' & Neil 'Mr Lalla'.