This Wednesday, March 6th at 1:30 at the Gwen Sector Creative Living Centre at 1588 Main Street, the Music and Maven’s Concert and lecture series is presenting the amazing Argentinian-Canadian singer-song writer Onna Lou in a concert called Onna Lou Sings Songs of Latin America
Fusing Latin pop rock with Latin-American folk rhythms, tango and flamenco, Onna Lou has been described as a complete artist who sings, writes, performs and records her own music with warmth, intimacy and immense talent.
She holds a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and since arriving in Winnipeg in 2016, she has established herself as a leading voice in Latin American Music here in Canada…being nominated for Global Artist of the Year in 2023 and Western Canada Music Awards.
Onna Lou draws inspiration from many sources. One big source is simply other musicians. As she states, “As I grew up playing music and as I met other musicians we were always asking each other like ’how is that you play that rhythm…and what is the characteristic?’ We love talking about it, so we just start to teach each other.”
Since coming to Canada Onna Lou has also travelled across the country and performed with many folk musicians. As she explains “I find so far that I feel comfortable around folk people, and folk music scene and jazz as well. I’ve been meeting these people and listening to so many artists and their lyrics and it is so close to what I do with my music…. the feel of folk lyrics and the connection with emotion and stories…and that appreciation of the little things in life …and I’ve noticed it is coming into my writing.”
On Wednesday, Onna Lou will be performing music from all over Latin America. As she explains, “I’ve chosen songs from many countries to showcase all these elements that differentiate us but also unite us in Latin American music.” She will also be performing material from her third CD that is set be released this spring.
Her partner on stage will be her husband Julian Vidal. He will be playing some percussion and singing. “It’s just great…I love playing with him. [Julian] We also have been known to have fun banter on stage that people seem to enjoy…so it’s always a lot of fun, and I feel more supported when I’m performing with him, because we can chat on stage and interact with the audience.”
Onna Lou is passionate about connecting with her audience and making sure that they understand and enjoy the music that is being performed from Latin America. When asked what she hopes audiences will take away from Wednesday’s performance she states, “Hopefully audiences will fall in love, if they haven’t yet with Latin-American music, and how rich it is, and how amazing it is…and falling in love with listening to it, and maybe looking up translations for the lyrics. I hope it will be very enriching for people.”
Onna Lou Sings Songs of Latin America is sure to be a concert that entertain and enrich all who attend. She is a true talent on the Canadian music scene. If you want to beat the cold and take in some Latin American warmth from her interpretations of this fantastic music, you cannot go wrong by hearing the Onna Lou and her husband.
Onna Lou Sings Songs of Latin America takes place this Wednesday, March 6th at 1:30 at the Gwen Sector Creative Living Centre at 1588 Main Street. For more details visit the Rady JCC’s Music and Maven’s website.
