Ebony Roots celebrates Vancouver’s Black community and culture
Leo D.E. Johnson is among the local artists performing in ambitious two-part concert series aimed at reclaiming Black Strathcona
Leo D.E. Johnson
Sound the Alarm presents Ebony Roots: Concert Part 1 on December 2 at 7:30 pm at Strathcona Church
Music has always been a huge part of Leo D.E. Johnson’s life. The Vancouver-based trans, non-binary, Black rock n' roll artist explores identity and belonging with passion in his songs.
“Both of my parents are artists: My mother is a blues musician and my father is a music maker and producer,” Johnson says in an interview with Stir. “Being raised in Nova Scotia, I had the pleasure of singing in my mother’s choir that consisted of my grandfather, aunties, family friends, and community members singing gospel harmonies over Baha’i prayers.
“When I was four, my Mother put me in musical theatre and I continued musical theatre until about my 18th year,” adds the artist, who plays electric guitar. “When I moved to so-called Vancouver and found myself at a poetry music fusion showcase event at a venue called Cafe Montmartre, that opened my eyes to my love of storytelling through music. From there I began my journey into my music career, touring Turtle Island with a number of different artists and groups for the past two decades.”
Johnson’s next local appearance will be in Ebony Roots, an ambitious new two-part concert series that aims to reclaim the once displaced Black Strathcona/Hogan’s Alley community.
Part 1, which takes place on December 2, is a sneak preview of the larger project scheduled to premiere in February 2024. (There will be multiple shows to coincide with Black History Month running from February 9 to 11, including one on February 9 at the Roundhouse Community and Recreation Centre.)
The 2023 event will feature half of the musical acts of the larger project, taking audiences on a musical journey through the evolving emancipation of the local Black community.
Ebony Roots: Part 1 includes a 50-minute preview of Part 2, with enslaved work-songs, passionate spirituals, and iconic songs from musicals and opera, taking audiences on a journey through to the emergence of Black soul, R&B, blues, and Motown.
The December 2 concert features the Ebony Roots core artistic team including Brandon Thornhill (vocalist), Carlos Joe Costa (percussion and flute), Leo DE Johnson (vocals, guitar), Olaf de Shield (guitars, vocals), Wayne Stewart (keyboards, vocals), and Russell Jackson (bass, vocals). Jackson is widely considered one of the best blues and funk players in North America, having toured with world with BB King. And music is in Brown’s blood: The Vancouver artist’s aunt is Eleanor Collins, who was named Canada’s First Lady of Jazz and was honoured recently with a stamp; his mom is a singer known as Black Cultured Pearl; and he’s the cousin of iconic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who lived and studied in Vancouver’s Black Strathcona starting in 1949. Since 2011, Brown has been a part of The Experience Hendrix Tour, which brings together some of America's finest blues and rock musicians. In 2019 alone, they covered 48 U.S. cities.
The second half of Ebony Roots: Part 2 celebrates some of BC’s best African-descent performing artists including Henri Brown (bass, vocals), vocalist Krystle Dos Santos, trumpeter Langston Raymond, dancer Marian Landers, vocalist Candus Churchill, and hip-hop artist Sam Chimes.
Both events are produced in partnership with Hogan’s Alley Society, African Descent Society of BC, and The Black Arts Centre in Surrey. Ebony Roots Concert, Part 1 helps reclaim the once thriving ‘Black Strathcona’, which was unnecessarily displaced with the construction of the Georgia Viaduct in the 1960s. With the City of Vancouver’s plan to remove the viaduct and restore the neighbourhood back to its former glory, the concert will celebrate Vancouver's Black musical past, present, and future.
“There just can’t be enough awareness and learning about our roots,” Brown tells Stir. “I always want to inform as many as possible about our heritage, legacy, and love of life. Let this music speak for us.”
Presenting the mega production is Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre. Its mandate, across artistic genres, is to “sound alarms”, spark discussions, and raise awareness on various social issues through its programming. Since 2017, the organization has focused on environmental issues (Theatre for the Ears!), human trafficking (Angel’s Bone), mental health (Pilgrimage to Bach, in collaboration with Early Music Vancouver), and more.
“Sound the Alarm was first approached by co-producer Brandon Thornhill with a vision to create and produce a concert celebrating Black culture,” Alan Corbishley, Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre’s artistic director says in a release. “A year later we have assembled an incredible roster of performers ready to take the audience on an incredible journey through the roots, foundations, and legacies of Black music/culture.”
For Johnson, the concert also celebrates Black history as well as the community’s future.
“The opportunity to perform and learn music of my ancestors is a huge freedom and to do so with a wide range of artists—peers and teachers—from all different places and musical backgrounds is a great honour," Johnson says. "For this I am so grateful. This will truly be an experience for the community and audience, and we hope people enjoy the walk through our ancestry.”
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