It was a night of influences at the last Performer’s Cafe of 2015 at the Humboldt and District Gallery on Nov. 19. Melfort’s Jodie Hergott took the headline spot for the first time along with bandmates from 40oz Philosophy.
For Hergott, it all started with a guitar when she was 12 but took off with an application to the Bruno Cherry Festival talent contest.
“Cori Norman came into my place of work with an application and said ‘you need to do this girl.’”
Hergott says she was shaking like a leaf but ended up winning a photo session at Reflections by Richard and studio time where she put together a Christmas CD.
Headlining her first show is something she can now cross off her bucket list, she says.
“This was small and intimate and was the perfect setting,” she says.
The crowd was warm and receptive says Hergott, singing along with Hergott’s mix of classic country and modern pop.
All the songs influenced Hergott in some way she says. Bring a self identifying Christmas fanatic, Hergott was sure to add 6 Christmas songs into the line up with her own twists.
The newer ones like Little Big Town’s Girl Crush, Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, and Elle King’s Ex’s & Oh’s were songs that stuck with Hergott in one way or another. Girl Crush was so controversial in the United States it was banned in some southern radio stations. Hergott bugged the boys in the band to learn it because it was such a haunting tune. Hergott says her and the band have a lot of fun learning new songs.
“These boys are talented. Once you sit them down with something it doesn’t take them long to pick it up.”
Along with Hergott was fellow bandmates Brett Hrynewich from Melfort playing lead guitar and mandolin, Derek Kozar on lead guitar and Brian Grest on vocals, bass and sometimes even picking up the acoustic guitar.
Drummer Nathan Gregg had work commitements and could not make the performance.
Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Christmas author Marion Mutala (pictured on next page) was also at the Performer’s Cafe to compliment headliner Jodie Hergott.
Mutala’s books tells of Ukrainian traditions; her first being about Christmas traditions, her next about Easter traditions and her most recent one about wedding traditions.
Her stories follow the adventures of Natalia, a young Ukrainian girl in rural Saskatchewan who is excited for Ukrainian Christmas. Through a magical babushka, she travels to Ukraine and visits her grandmother as a young girl who tells her all about Ukrainian traditions.
The Christmas book was published in 2010 but is ten years in the making, says Mutala.
“When I submitted it for publishing, (I was told) I have enough for five books.”
Mutala shared part of the story as well as Ukrainian culture and pictures from her own Ukrainian Christmas.
Sharing your culture is a big part of bringing peace to the world, says Mutala.
“The more we learn about each other, we educate people. When we educate people, it develops tolerance, love and peace.”
Even though she has not been a teacher for 30 years, she sees her books as teaching tools.
