Jeremy Dutcher

Jeremy Dutcher
Jeremy-Dutcher-TheGreatHall.jpg
Jeremy Dutcher live in concert at The Great Hall in Toronto, Ontario, 2018
Background information
Born (1990-11-08) November 8, 1990 (age 33)
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
OriginFredericton
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, pianist, composer, activist
Years active2014–present
Labels
Websitejeremydutcher.com

Jeremy Dutcher is a classically-trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, performer and activist,[1] who previously lived in Toronto, Ontario and currently lives in Montréal, Québec.[2] He became widely known for his first album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize[3] and the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards.[4]

A Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) member of the Tobique First Nation in North-West New Brunswick, Dutcher studied music and anthropology at Dalhousie University.[5] After training as an operatic tenor in the Western classical tradition, he expanded his professional repertoire to include the traditional singing style and songs of his community.[2]

He recorded Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa following a research project on archival recordings of traditional Maliseet songs at the Canadian Museum of History, many of which are no longer being passed down to contemporary Maliseet youth.[6][7]

He appeared as a guest judge in an episode of the third season of Canada's Drag Race in 2022.[8]

In 2023, he released the album Motewolonuwok on Secret City Records.[9] The album again features some songs performed in the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language like on his debut, but also features some English-language songs.[10] The album was a Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024,[11] and winner of the 2024 Polaris Music Prize,[12] making Dutcher the first artist in Polaris history to win the prize twice.[13]

Dutcher identifies as two-spirit,[14] a modern, pan-Indian, umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe aboriginal people fulfilling a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial cultural role in their community.

  1. ^ "Jeremy Dutcher breathes new life into century-old Wolastoq recordings" Archived 2018-06-18 at the Wayback Machine. Halifax Chronicle-Herald, May 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "How Jeremy Dutcher Keeps His Ancestors' Language Alive". The Walrus. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  3. ^ "Jeremy Dutcher Wins 2018 Polaris Music Prize". Exclaim!, September 17, 2018
  4. ^ "Shawn Mendes the biggest winner as bulk of Juno Awards handed out Saturday". CBC News, March 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "A powerful mix of culture and craft: Dutcher's debut brings ancestors' melodies, words into present day". Winnipeg Free Press, June 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Jeremy Dutcher : chanter avec les voix ressuscitées de ses ancêtres". Ici Radio-Canada, May 22, 2018.
  7. ^ Friend, David (April 28, 2018). "Singer Jeremy Dutcher reaches across a century to connect with Wolastoq language". The Toronto Star / The Canadian Press. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Joey Nolfi (June 29, 2022). "Brooke Lynn Hytes reunites with Werk Room crush Miss Vanjie on Canada's Drag Race season 3". EW. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  9. ^ Alex Hudson, "Jeremy Dutcher Announces Sophomore Album 'Motewolonuwok,' Shares New Single 'Ancestors Too Young'". Exclaim!, June 20, 2023.
  10. ^ David Friend, "Jeremy Dutcher worried about getting 'stuck' in his archival past before second album". Toronto Star, October 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.
  12. ^ CBC Music, "Jeremy Dutcher wins the 2024 Polaris Music Prize". CBC Music, September 17, 2024.
  13. ^ Brad Wheeler, "Jeremy Dutcher won his historic second Polaris Music Prize through bold reinvention". The Globe and Mail, September 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "Tenor Jeremy Dutcher revives the songs of his Maliseet ancestors at the Queer Arts Festival". The Georgia Straight, June 13, 2018.