Through hard times and good times, through language barriers and long distances, music resonates with everyone.
Singer-songwriter Justine Giles has experienced this firsthand. A lifelong musician, Giles travelled from Northern Ontario to Calgary, where she broke through as the recipient of the Solo Artist of the Year award at the 2024 YYC Music Awards. Her EP Another Chance reached the Earshot National Folk/Roots Top 10 chart.
Presented by Hope Bridges Society's Community Concert Series, Giles will perform a free concert at Hope Community Covenant Church on Tuesday (Sept. 9) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Performing in a heartfelt folk-pop style, Giles blends acoustic melodies with personal storytelling.
"My music is just about being authentic with my story," Giles said. "It's a place for me to process a wide range of emotions as I'm going through life."
Giles grew up in a musical household. Inspired by her father, she decided early on to pursue a music career.
"Pursuing a career professionally as a musician has taken me on a pretty cool journey," she added. "It eventually led me to Calgary right before the pandemic hit. So, I've been here ever since."
After building a strong community of fellow musicians in Calgary, her growing reputation led the Hope Bridges Society to reach out.
"It was just this random e-mail that kind of came to me months ago, and it sounded like such an amazing opportunity," Giles revealed. "I was really excited to be invited to go out there."
Giles added that the upcoming concert is not just a career opportunity—it's about connection.
"It means a lot to me knowing that [Hope Bridges Society] is such an inclusive space, and also knowing that they work with adults who have different disabilities," she said. "My brother has autism, and so I think it's really special to have a welcoming space."
Throughout her musical journey, Giles has witnessed how music connects people.
"I've met people of all walks of life from different countries with different backgrounds and different stories," she said. "But music seems to be this thing that has the power and ability to connect people, no matter what their differences are. Sometimes it's not even the same language that they speak, and yet music is the thing that bonds us as humans."
For Giles herself, music has always provided a voice when words weren't enough.
"Music has always been a safe space for me to say things that I would otherwise not give myself permission to say," she said. "I've been on this journey of trying to find my voice both metaphorically and physically."
Music, as her voice, career, and safe place, has carried her through grief and hardship.
"It's been a therapeutic process for me."
Giles is preparing to release a new single this fall titled Parts of Me.
"It explores things that I have never shared about through music before," she said. "It's a new story for me to open up to the world, and I am hoping that it will lead to the next works, where I can continue to share these different parts of me and different hardships from my upbringing."
She has also been nominated once again for the 2025 Solo Artist of the Year award.
Prior to Giles's performance, the Hope Bridges Society Music Discovery Group will take the stage, led by music therapist Kate Ager.