Two-time Juno-award winning band performs in Barrie

Digging Roots performs at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie. Mar. 19, 2023 (CTV News/Steve Mansbridge)

Digging Roots, a two-time Juno-award-winning band, took the stage at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie Sunday evening.

The Canadian band consisting of husband-wife duo Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish blends folk-rock, pop, blues and hip-hop.

Last week they won the Juno award for best Contemporary Indigenous Artist/Group of the year. They also won the Aboriginal album of the year in 2010 for their album 'We Are...'.

For over a decade, the duo has toured in multiple countries worldwide, celebrating and teaching Anishinabe and Onkwehonwe traditions with their music.

"We bring a unique song structure to music. In my space and place and where we've been travelling, music really brings the best out in people, and I see it as a ceremony, and I think we need more ceremony in this world," says Kanatakta.

He says their culture and indigenous background influence the inspiration for their songs.

"Me growing up in Northwestern Quebec in the bush essentially, like in a small community of 350 people, I grew trapping, I grew up fishing, hunting, I grew up on the land and have those teachings from the land, and feel very connected to the land, and a lot of our songs come from the land," says Kanatakta.

Kanatakta says touring has recently become even more fulfilling, with his son joining the band as their drummer.

"He just won his first Juno and got a taste of being recognized by the community, and for me as a Papa, it really makes me proud," says Kanatakta.

Digging Roots is also involved in industry advocacy organizations, including the international indigenous music summit, to empower arts communities worldwide.