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This article was published 29/08/2021 (1786 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s musical cats came back. They just could not stay away from the province’s belated birthday party.

After exactly 15 months of COVID-19 pandemic-related delays, the Unite 150 concert, the highlight of the Manitoba 150 celebrations that were to take place in 2020, went off without a hitch Saturday at Shaw Park.

The afternoon and evening concert sessions brought together a star-studded lineup of Manitobans and former Manitoban performers in a big-budget production worthy of the occasion. Big screens and camera crews provided close-up views of the stage, video projections provided an arena-worthy backdrop for the mainstage performers and a livestream of the event for folks at home unable to attend were among the pricey touches paid for by the provincial and federal governments and a large group of private sponsors.

The keystone to this Keystone province love-a-thon was Bachman Cummings, the former Guess Who rivals who teamed up once again to play hits that would have been at home at Manitoba’s 100th birthday in 1970 as much as at Manitoba 150.

The septuagenarian duo, along with Cummings’ longtime backing band, delighted the largest crowd of the day with renditions of songs that turned the two into rock ‘n’ roll legends: Laughing, American Woman, No Time, Looking Out for No. 1 and a version of the first big Guess Who hit, These Eyes, which Cummings has sung better in his younger days but can still provide an emotional punch.

“We will never forget tonight,” a heartfelt Cummings told the crowd near the end of the show.

Tom Cochrane, the product of Lynn Lake, offered several remembrances of Manitoba among his array of hits that included a raucous version of Life is a Highway. He finished with the 1979 Red Rider hit White Hot, which he said he first heard on the radio travelling south of Winnipeg and said it gave him the realization he would have a music career.

Performers who still consider Manitoba their home, such as pop songstresses Begonia and Kelly Bado, brought some variety to the evening’s classic-rock lineup.

Tom Jackson, the Aboriginal actor, singer and philanthropist long associated with Winnipeg, finished his short evening set by recognizing Canada’s residential school history, and the recent discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites and singing “Where did 215 lost souls go?”.

A smaller, second stage perched at the end of Shaw Park’s third-base-line bleachers gave country duo Doc Walker, who teamed up with Sierra Noble, Tataskweyak Cree Nation R&B artist Sebastian Gaskin and city rappers the Lytics to show their stuff. The setup was filled with good intentions from Unite 150, but its location was nowhere near anyone in the crowd and made interacting with fans difficult.

For those who missed Manitoba’s festivals over the past two summers, there were several unforgettable moments that set a high bar for the evening performers. There were tastes of folk-fest vibe, with acts such as Indian City, Andrina Turenne and Red Moon Road, Kidsfest fun with the ever-lovable Fred Penner, Jazz Winnipeg cool from guitarist Jocelyn Gould and Folklorama festivities from an all-Filipino musical theatre troupe performing parts of Ma-buhay!, a future Rainbow Stage production.

Peguis First Nation singer-songwriter William Prince was as charming and soulful as ever during his 45-minute set that included his new single Run, which commemorates Terry Fox and Gord Downie, two famous Canadians stricken by cancer.

He was bitten by a wasp while singing during his set, but he was quick with a quip after the song finished. “That’s the Creator humbling you,” he said.

Unlike the Manitoba legislature, which offers no recognition of treaties signed between the Crown and Aboriginal tribes nor the role Métis people played in the formation of the province, during its sittings, there was no such omission during Unite 150. The event began with a land acknowledgment and Chantal Kreviazuk, who wound up the afternoon concert, provided one of her own while also mentioning her family’s lineage goes back to Peguis First Nation.

It was one of many emotional moments from the Winnipeg-born and raised singer-songwriter, whose voice was in fine form while singing Before You solo as well as performing with members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on hits Feels Like Home and Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Her finale, a stirring solo rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine was a perfect fit for Unite 150’s theme of bringing all Manitobans together, whatever their backgrounds.

While Bachman Cummings ended the evening with the BTO anthem Takin’ Care of Business, Manitoba 150 and the governments’ that helped fund the evening took care of their own business with video presentations focusing on the province’s history, especially the Indigenous people who called this land home long before Confederation, and the cultural diversity that will shape Manitoba’s future.

A Heritage Canada video, broadcast in English, French and Cree at various points during the event, mentioned Manitoba’s “unparallelled growth” as well as the difficulties colonization and discrimination have created for the province’s Indigenous communities.

A video poem titled A Nation and her Mother, by Janelle Wookey, initially produced for APTN’s Indigenous Day Live earlier this summer, offered a passionate view of Métis history, resistance and pride that was a stark contrast to Unite 150’s party atmosphere.

It remains to be seen whether these messages to promote reconciliation, colonialization and diversity will resonate with a mostly white audience who wanted to boogie to songs from their younger days.

But chances are this educational medicine will go down easier with No Sugar Tonight rather than with no sugar at all.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@AlanDSmall