Ian Fisher and Rachel Kilgour will be closing our their Memorial Tour with a stop at the Simcoe Street Theatre in Collingwood on March 9.
The duo will each be playing solo, with an underlying theme of loss and grief. Fisher describes his music as acoustic folk Americana. Both artists connected over personal grief, with Kilgour losing her father, and Fisher losing his mother this past year.
“I feel like our society neglects that so much, as if death doesn’t exist. I find it poisonous for our society,” Fisher told CollingwoodToday. “We live as if it doesn’t happen and when it does, we don’t know how to talk about it in a healthy way.”
Fisher grew up in Missouri, moving away when he was 21 to roam the streets of Europe for 15 years. He just moved to Toronto with his partner a few months ago.
He became aware of Rachel Kilgour’s music while in Europe, when he said he first heard a song she wrote about her father. Fisher had dealt with a similar experience following the death of his mother last year.
“I was on a train, and tears started running down my face,” Fisher recalls. “It hit close to home.”
Following the experience, Fisher reached out to Kilgour and the duo made plans to tour together in March.
The Memorial Tour will hit five stops including Toronto, Owen Sound and Peterborough, with Collingwood being the final stop. Fisher said he has never visited Collingwood before, but is looking forward to it.
“It’s challenging to play these songs about death. It can be personal, and emotional,” he said. “It creates this whole atmosphere that’s also really beautiful. We talked about wanting to create an evening around that. It could open up a dialogue.”
Fisher and Kilgour play Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Simcoe Street Theatre.
For more information on the Memorial Tour, or to purchase tickets, click here.
