Shakura S鈥橝ida and her band will play the Native Sons Hall in Courtenay, Friday, March 6, in a show music lovers, and dance lovers alike, will not want to miss.

Those who have seen S鈥橝ida perform before will attest to her incredible talent and energy.

She last visited the Comox Valley in 2018, at Vancouver Island MusicFest, and when MusicFest executive producer Doug Cox saw the opportunity to bring her back to the Valley, he jumped at the chance.

鈥淲e have had her at the festival twice, and both times she has been at the festival, she has just blown people away,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he is as good as it gets, as far as being a soul and a blues singer. She lives in Ontario, and I think the only reason she is not world-famous is because she lives in Canada.

鈥淩eally high-energy, and definitely a main-stage performer. I saw her recently in New York, and she just killed it. She will have her whole band with her in Courtenay, so the venue will be set up for dancing. I truly think this will be the best blues/soul show that will hit the Island this year, outside of Musicfest, because there just aren鈥檛 that many shows like that touring.鈥�

The concert is a licenced, all-ages event.

Shakura鈥檚 long-simmering career initially moved into high gear in 2008 with a triumph at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, when she earned the runner-up position, competing against more than 100 bands from more than 20 different countries.

Shakura S鈥橝ida has consistently been thrilling audiences with her powerful pipes for years, most recently as a guest host on CBC Radio 2鈥檚 Weekend Morning. As a veteran of the international music scene, she鈥檚 performed both as a featured artist with musicians like Jimmy Smith, Lee Oskar (WAR), Bettye LaVette and Keb Mo鈥�, as well as an award-winning solo artist.

She has had several Juno nominations, and more than 20 Maple Blues Award nominations in the past 15 years, and was named the Female Vocalist of the Year in 2010.

In addition to her singing career, S鈥橝ida is an accomplished actress. She has appeared on numerous television shows, including Schitt鈥檚 Creek (Season 2; Jazzagals), and has had supporting roles in various movies in the past 20 years.

The March 6 event in Courtenay will be one of only two Vancouver Island shows on the current tour. She plays in Victoria the following evening.

Tickets are $30 apiece and can be purchased online at

-With files from islandmusicfest.com

terry.farrell@blackpress.ca
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