JOINING FORCES: A Fundraising Concert to Stop Ford's Kemptville Prison
Featuring:
Logan Staats
with support from Trevor Alguire
hosted by Adrian Harewood
presented by the Coalition Against the Proposed Prison (CAPP) with co-presenting support from Debaser
About the event
On November 3, opponents of the Ford government’s controversial plan to build a prison in Kemptville, Ontario are joining forces with Mohawk community leader and singer-songwriter Logan Staats to host a benefit concert in Ottawa at the Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre (CDCC). Presented by the Coalition Against the Proposed Prison (CAPP), with co-presentation support from Debaser, the concert will raise funds to support the legal challenge waged by local residents against the Ford government’s plan to build the 235-bed prison in Kemptville, which will expand the number of prison cells on Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory, further investing provincial funds into a costly and ineffective approach to enhancing community well-being and safety.
Award-winning songwriter, performer, and community activist Logan Staats will perform, supported by local country artist Trevor Alguire and hosted by former CBC Ottawa news anchor Adrian Harewoood, in the CDCC’s 850-seat historic Sanctuary venue.
Debaser is proud to support the CAPP’s efforts to Stop Ford’s Kemptville Prison as a co-presenter of the Logan Staats concert fundraiser, and join them in condemning the Ford government’s plan to build more human cages as part of an economic development strategy.
About the legal challenge
Seeking a Prohibition Order that will stop the construction of the proposed prison, Kemptville residents Victor Lachance and Kirk Albert started their David vs. Goliath-style legal action against the Ford government on August 15, 2022. The Notice of Application for a Judicial Review that they filled argues that the Ford government violated its own planning rules by ramming the Kemptville prison project through without consultation with the community or municipal council.
A key supporter and player in pushing Ford’s Kemptville prison plan through was area MPP and former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, who has since been forced to resign for his violations of the Members’ Integrity Act in relation to a similar process of removal of Greenbelt lands for development.
Find out more about CAPP’s fight to stop Ford’s Kemptville prison at www.coalitionagainstproposedprison.ca.
CAPP acknowledges the support of the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project.
About the artists
Logan Staats
In 2018, veracious Mohawk singer-songwriter Logan Staats was chosen from 10,000 hopeful contestants vying for a spot on musical competition show The Launch. Before an audience of 1.4 million viewers, Staats won, officiating the breakthrough that would lead him to Nashville and Los Angeles, and to his single “The Lucky Ones” winning the Indigenous Music Award for Best Radio Single. “The Lucky Ones” also occupied #1 in Canada.
In the years between now and then, Staats has come home, making the intentional decision to re-root at Six Nations of the Grand River. “I wanted to bring my songwriting back to the medicine inside of music, to the medicine inside of reclamation,” he says following a phase of constant travel and intensity.
To Staats, music is a healing salve, contemplatively composed and offered to listeners in need of comfort. Since returning home, Staats has been able to create music authentically again, reclaiming his sound through honest storytelling and unvarnished, sometimes painful reflection.
An evocative testament to rock’s cathartic spirit, the album was recorded with borrowed microphones at Staats’ apartment, at Six Nations recording studio Jukasa, and at downtown Brantford’s Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts.
“My nation and my community are in every chord I play and every note I sing,” says Staats. “They’ve saved me.”
Trevor Alguire
In 2006 Trevor Alguire released his first album to rave reviews and a record deal alongside Steve Earle , John Hiatt and June Carter Cash and has been writing and touring across North America and Europe ever since. Whether performing as a full band at a festival or as a duet on tour in Germany to an intimate crowd of 100 people, Alguire has always been able to captivate each person in the crowd drawing them in one word at a time with his relatable heartfelt lyrics making each show a show to remember. Americana UK wrote - " Trevor Alguire's songs are boundary defying heartfelt balladry ! " Alguire's music crosses genre's from Old school country through Americana into Rock as Melodic wrote - "A talented songwriter with songs that lie between Dylan and Petty." With tours from coast to coast in Canada and Europe for over 14 years Alguire has built a worldwide fanbase and is currently working on the release of his 7th album Reckless Daydreams set to release in May of 2020. He recently released his first single and music video for his self titled song Reckless Daydreams and plans are in place to tour Canada and Europe this year in support of his newly released album.