“I was anonymous and had the cachet of being Canadian,” she said.
Back on familiar soil, Plaine’s home base is Regina, Sask.
“It’s a great secret—the music scene here in Regina.” The community crowd is supportive and she has been able to connect with different artists. “I really found a home here in an unexpected way.”
Plaine’s sound revolves around folk, country and vocal jazz influences, though she plays various styles. “I like to play around with genres.”
She credits the root of her musical influence to growing up on a prairie farm and moving to Edmonton to study jazz and sound recording at Grant MacEwan College. “I went from a country kid to studying jazz.”
During performances, Plaine enjoys crowd interaction and takes time to elaborate on the “connective tissues between the songs to let people know who we are and what the songs are about.
“I really love when you have an audience that has come to hear the music and is interested in talking with you after the show.”
Performing at cozy venues allows for this type of audience interaction.
“You’re more vulnerable when you let yourself be open like that, but it’s very genuine and the audience can see your personality so much clearer when you’re comfortable doing that.”
Plaine will make a tour stop in Jasper while travelling Western Canada with The Fifteen Two band.
If time permits, the performers like to play a crib game or two after the show with members of the audience.
The competition stems from a long-standing cribbage rivalry between Plaine and the band’s pianist.
“There’s a tradition of writing the name of the person who got skunked on the back of the board, along with the date. It gets a little bit vicious sometimes,” she laughs.
Belle Plaine performs on Friday, March 8 at the Legion. Tickets are $10 and the show begins at 9 p.m.
