When singer-songwriter Melissa Lauren decided last fall to plan a benefit concert, she knew that the project would be a personal one. But the result—a show this month featuring new music from an all-star cast of jazz, folk, classical and pop artists—and its relevance to both Lauren’s personal life and the local musical community at large, ended up hitting closer to home than even she had anticipated.
“In the Can”, on January 19 at 3030 Dundas West, is a fundraising concert for Children’s Aid Foundation, featuring unreleased works from artists in the local songwriting scene. The idea is to bring together local musicians to perform songs that are, as the saying goes, “in the can”—recorded or ready for recording, but not yet released to the public. Artists will have a chance to workshop their new material, while audiences will get an exclusive preview of local favourites’ upcoming releases.
The lineup is huge, and promising. Among others, the concert will feature Laila Biali, Barbra Lica, Lori Cullen, Devin Cuddy, Alex Pangman, Genevieve Marentete, Ori Dagan, Whitney Ross Barris, Darcy Windover, Annie Bonsignore, The O’Pears, The Sinner’s Choir, and Lauren herself, backed by a house band of guitar, bass and drums (Nathan Hiltz, Tyler Emond and David MacDougall, respectively).
“Most of the performers are friends of mine, but some of them are not,” says Lauren. “Selfishly, I wanted to create a show that I would want to watch myself. And I wanted to include something for everybody, and so I tried to take broader cross-section of styles. So I just started contacting some of my favourite artists in the city—and in Canada—to see if anyone happened to be in town.”
For Lauren, the larger inspiration for the concert came from becoming a mother—something that changed her worldview in ways she never anticipated. “For me, I didn’t really pop into my love for children until I had the baby and then it just came bombarding at me,” she says. “I suffered from postpartum depression, and was struggling a lot with being overly emotional, and having Irrational, disproportionate feelings of just wanting to help everybody. So after a few months I thought, I’m going to do something productive about this.”
Lauren initially chose to support Children’s Aid Foundation because she was impressed with their range of services and programs focused on outreach, education and recovery for children. While researching the charity, however, she discovered her own connection to the charity, which gave her selection a more personal energy. “I always knew I was adopted but we never really discussed the details of it,” Lauren explains. “My mother told me during this process that I was actually adopted through Children’s Aid, 36 years ago. It was just an interesting little spin that made me think that this is the right project for me to be doing.”
At the concert on January 19, each musician will perform a few songs, featuring mostly unreleased original work alongside a few performances of standards and audience favourites. Lauren herself will also sing two songs, including one written for her daughter, who turns one at the end of the month.
For Lauren, who is hopeful that the fundraiser will continue beyond this first iteration, the show has allowed her to try something new, and put together a project that placed personal growth for artists, and the help they can offer their communities, at the fore.
“It’ll be fun,” says Lauren. “We do so many shows every year that are sort of self-serving...so I thought, why not try to throw something together, and see if I can make it [work].”
“In The Can” takes place on January 19 at 8:30pm, at 3030 Dundas West. The evening will feature two sets of music and a silent auction (beginning at 8pm), with ticket and auction proceeds going to Children’s Aid Foundation. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.ca.
Sara Constant is a Toronto-based flutist and musicologist, and is digital media editor at The WholeNote. She can be contacted at editorial@thewholenote.com.
