After a year of adventure across Canada, Belle Plaine is ready to release the live album that was recorded at The Artesian in Regina. Her newest effort “The Unrequited Love” will reach happy fans on March 4, 2016.
Melanie Hankewich, a singer and songwriter from Regina, performs under the name Belle Plaine. As part of her tour to promote the new live album, she and Blake Berglund will be performing at the Tommy Douglas Centre on Saturday, February 27.
Plaine conceived this album to solve a problem. Her catalogue didn’t represent all that she had to offer in a live show.
The easy shift between country and jazz; ballads and blues; humour and honesty. Also she always struggled to answer the inevitable question, “What kind of music do you play?” How would someone label the way she can shift between genres?
Other questions that are often asked of Belle Plaine include: how does she weaves diverse styles of music together with storytelling? How does she coaxes the audience into loving jazz and country, sometimes the very styles of music they say they don’t care for?
Belle Plaine’s voice untangles anxieties, and is the salve for the sting of a broken heart. However, she had found that an easy reply was never at hand.
“The Unrequited Love” is her rejoinder to those questions. It’s her way of settling into the acceptance that a one word answer just won’t do.
From February 25 to 27 Belle Plaine will be out on the road with her cowboy sweetheart, Blake Berglund. Their live show is a classic double-bill with a twist. Belle and Blake will each perform a set with their own sideplayers, with Elizabeth Curry on bass and Jeremy Saueron keys for Belle Plaine and Bryce Lewis on guitar for Blake Berglund.
To close each set the ensemble will come together for a selection of duets.
They will perform songs from their co-release “Town To Town/Saskatchewan”, as well as original co-writes. They also apply their chops to reimagine classics like Kris Kristofferson’s “Chase The Feeling”, and Ian & Sylvia’s “Summer Wages”.
Born and raised on a farm near the village of Fosston, Belle Plaine is a true prairie girl. A performer by the age of five, she was the ringer for every local musical event. Classical voice lessons began at age six and continued through high school.
At 18, she knew what she wanted: to write songs, perform and have a home recording studio.
But when she moved to Edmonton to study jazz at Grant MacEwan College, her focus shifted toward a more technical aspect of music: sound recording. After graduation, she worked at a recording studio in Calgary - close to the action, but not in the game.
“I gave up on music in Calgary. I’d lost touch with my own voice. I had years of education, but artistically I felt drained.”
After two years at the studio Plaine realized she was better off waiting tables. Eager for change, she enrolled at the University of Victoria as an environmental science major. Science was not the right choice, but she had found the right city. Having fallen in love with Victoria’s vibrant arts community she dropped out of school. She also began to sing again.
A handful of performances at open mic nights followed. Plaine began to write. An itch to travel carried her to Sydney, Australia. During her year abroad, she discovered she wanted to be a singer.
In 2006, Plaine returned to her home province of Saskatchewan. She had not planned to live in Regina, but quickly found a home in the city’s arts community. The scene was small and welcoming. She decided to stay.
By this time, Plaine’s notebooks were filled with words and melodies. She left her job to perform full-time in early 2010.
