Joe Rainey shared a cross-genre, multi-media performance with a full house at the Cedar
Cultural Center on Friday Jan 27. Rainey’s self-created melodies are drawn from his lifetime of
experience as a pow wow singer and drum song archivist. Accompanied by the immensely
talented Owls string quartet playing compositions by William Brittelle, and layered with mixes by
Andrew Broder, Rainey’s songs blended tradition and imaginative composition to create
something overwhelmingly beautiful and entirely his own. Complimentary projections by Isaac
Gale brought the performance far beyond the auditory sphere and testified to the high level of
collaboration between the artists. Rainey’s music will bring him to New York and Australia in the
near future, while he continues to focus on giving new generations of Ojibwe the protocol of pow
wow traditions. The performance was commissioned by The Great Northern, The Cedar Cultural
Center, and Ecstatic Music Festival.

By Carlyn Grande