"Blues music is a release and sharing of pain, similar to grief, you get through it with others and this form of music does that for me, and so many others. It is similar to prayer in a way."

Sunday Wilde: Peace, Blues, and Trouble

Sunday Wilde is from the wilds of a northern Ontario small town, and has been found singing everywhere from small logging towns at funeral parlours, and blues joints and all the way to large festivals, and bars in bustling metropolises. She is a powerful and intense vocalist, a rare voice that speaks from the primal soul. Sunday is a songwriter who explores the subjects of grief, addiction, love and the torment of social and family dysfunction. Her lyrics and delivery make it abundantly clear that she speaks from experience and authority. Sunday wilde's 9th release "Peace in Trouble" (2021) is comprised of 11 tracks recorded on a real piano in her living room. Simple. You will find female tales of love, trouble, peace, worry, men, advice and friendships. The selections are bluesy, jazzy and have an old-style intimate sound without guitar or drums. All songs are written by Sunday with the exception of her version of Willie Dixons, Home to Momma.                                  (Photo: Sunday Wilde)

The special art design cover was created by Seattle artist Joel Astley during a special one of a kind fb live event where viewers had the chance to watch him create the design while listening to the new music for a premiere listening party. Sunday's previous releases have garnered worldwide accolades with radio play hitting number one on Siriusxm Radio, Roots Music Report in Canada and on the Earshot Charts across Canada for blues. She has received numerous nominations including Best Blues Album for the 2019 Independent Music Awards, Best Blues Song Voters Choice for the IMA, and finalist in the ISC for Blues. She resides in Northern Ontario where she continues to create and write.

Interview by Michael Limnios               Sunday Wilde, 2013 Interview @ blues.gr

How has the Blues music influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?

There is a huge blues family in the world and for some reason we are all connected. It is where I feel the most comfortable, is within that realm. My own style of blues, enables me to continue to observe, feel and write. I found a place in the world where I feel most at home as a writer, performer and an artist.

How do you describe Peace in Trouble sound and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

My 9th album Peace in Trouble is the most simple blues as I used no drums or guitars on this new album. It makes it simple, but it also focuses more on who I am as a singer and writer. I also have new songs of some powerful statements, ie, an older woman giving advice to a younger woman. My creative drive really comes from observations of the human condition, or whether I experience these things myself or see them around me in others. I feel its a writers job to continue to craft messages in their music for the listeners that might empower them or enable them to change in one way or another.

Which meetings have been the most important experiences?

The most important meetings of my life began when I made the trek to Mississippi for the first time from northern Canada to meet up with a bunch of women blues artists around the world to record in Clarksdale. This meeting changed my life where I met lifelong friends and continue to network and work with some of the people from that recording.                                             (Sunday Wilde / Photo by Lois Nuttall)

"There is a huge blues family in the world and for some reason we are all connected. It is where I feel the most comfortable, is within that realm. My own style of blues, enables me to continue to observe, feel and write. I found a place in the world where I feel most at home as a writer, performer and an artist."

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

On my last tour to the prairies of Canada, we performed on the back of a refurbished 100-year-old passenger train. It was the most beautiful experience but also interesting as it was a very hot summer. I had thought once the train went down the tracks we would have wind to cool us down in the very hot prairies, but a 100 year old train doesn't move that fast down the tracks.

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

I miss blues and I find that most modern blues are electrified in some way or another and I do enjoy the old simpler kind. I also miss live shows as a performer and as an audience member, as going out to see people in person you get to meet new friends, share some conversation and laughter, and that is missing right now. I hope that when live music is allowed to be more common that people in general will appreciate it much more than prior to the pandemic. I also miss the days that when people went out to see live music, they did not research the band ahead of time and just left it as a surprise. It was exciting to discover new bands and artists when you went out years ago.

If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

The arts need to be supported by the government. Not many people buy music these days, but artists, like myself, continue to create and give out their work for others to enjoy. It would be a better place if the governments or big business could support this work in the arts.

What does to be a female artist in a Man’s World as James Brown says? What is the status of women in music?                                             (Photo: Sunday Wilde)

Women are super important in music. Women have messages that no man could ever write about. This is why we are vital. Are we under hired and underplayed on the radio.? Yep. I see it all the time.

"I miss blues and I find that most modern blues are electrified in some way or another and I do enjoy the old simpler kind."

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

Do not work with people that do not have the same values as you. Networking with like-minded artists to join and collaborate on projects is very important.

What is the impact of Blues on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want it to affect people?

Blues music is a release and sharing of pain, similar to grief, you get through it with others and this form of music does that for me, and so many others. It is similar to prayer in a way.

Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?

I would want to be in any recording studio to watch how producers in the 50s worked with people with the technology that they had at that day and to create the various sounds that were recorded during that era.

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