Sultans of String, a Toronto-based band, teamed up with several Indigenous musicians for a free concert at Paris Lions Park on Sunday, October 5, 2025.
Back in 2023, the multi-award-winning and four-time JUNO-nominated band released its album Walking Through the Fire and toured it across Ontario.
A powerful collection of collaborations with First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island, the project was inspired by the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action that asks Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together as an opportunity to show a path forward.
On Sunday, Sultans of String members Chris McKhool, Kevin Laliberté and Drew Birston were joined on stage by a few of the Indigenous collaborators who worked on the album including: Elder Shannon Thunderbird, a Coast Tsm’syen Singer-Songwriter; Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk of the Métis Fiddler Quartet; and Marc Meriläinen, an Ojibwe/Finnish singer-songwriter. Also joining the group were special guests, Ts’msyen Elder Kate Dickson and Lacey Hill, a musician from Six Nations of the Grand River.
For those musicians who could not attend the show in person, the band used video footage to feature them on a screen beside the stage.
Throughout the performance, the group played many of the albums songs including: “Nîmihito (Dance),” “Kǫ́,” “The Rez,” “Luna,” “Lost and Found,” and “Black Winged Raven,” as well as few of Hill’s songs like “The Conduit.”
“‘The Conduit’ is a reminder for everybody that we can take the energy in the ether, put it within our systems, with our minds and our hearts, and deliver it the way that we’re meant to,” said Hill. “I wanted it to be a song to remind people that we all have beautiful gifts inside of us, and it’s up to us to really nurture that. So if you’ve got a hobby you’ve put on the back burner, maybe it’s time to bring that pot to the front and nurture those beautiful gifts that you have, because we’re meant to see and share those things.
As the show went on, many attendees could be seen sitting back taking in the music, dancing along to more of the upbeat songs, or silently wiping away tears during Thunderbird’s “Lost and Found.”
“In March 2021, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found on the land of a closed residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia,” said Thunderbird. “The news flew across Canada, and it was the first time that Canadians had tangible proof of what we have known for 150 years. I’m asking you, as you listen to this song, that you see us as we see you. It’s important that we are together.”
After the concert ended with Thunderbird’s “Black Winged Raven,” Rhonda Lee of Wellesley and Paris resident Vigi Cheng shared their thoughts on the afternoon performance with the Brant Beacon.
The two, who had never met before, happened to meet during the concert and spent the majority of the time dancing alongside each other.
“Oh, we actually just met!,” said Cheng, with a laugh.
“Vigi was just dancing away and I wanted to dance, so we just started dancing together because our energy was at the same level,” said Lee.
When asked what she thought of the performance, Lee said it was superb.
“I thought this was just an incredible display of cultures coming together. The fact that they support Indigenous and multicultural musical endeavors really demonstrates their commitment to unity and oneness,” she said. “There’s a communication through sound, frequency and energy that brings everybody together, and being able to show that and promote people through music is something I really appreciate about Chris and the band. I was just blown away by everyone on that stage, the talent was really just incredible.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
