While music fans across the city scramble for waitlist spots, students at St. Monica School will have a front-row seat to a sold-out cultural collaboration this week. On Thursday, Calgary-based indie-folk band Reuben and the Dark joined forces with the Bullhorn Singers, a traditional powwow group from the Kainai Nation, for a special performance and educational workshop. The appearance at St. Monica was the only school visit on the group’s current Calgary itinerary. It comes as the band kicks off a string of three sold-out public performances in the city, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album, Funeral Sky. A bridge between cultures The collaboration blends the atmospheric indie-folk of front man Reuben Bullock with the powerful drumming and vocal traditions of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Beyond the music, the partnership serves as a platform for social awareness and dialogue. “First, I think it’s cool to come into a school and just do something that inspires someone in the arts,” said Reuben Bullock, lead singer of Reuben and the Dark. “The second part is exposing them to some Blackfoot culture where I don’t know if a lot of people have been to a powwow or familiar with that style of singing.” Bullock added that the collaboration “demonstrates a healthy, fun and creative relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.” The groups have delivered similar workshops to schools across Canada, but the St. Monica event offers a rare intimate setting during their high-demand Calgary residency. “I hope that students take away the power of music,” said St. Monica school teacher, Bonnie Blasetti. “The power of identity, storytelling, culture. Of coming together and realizing that everybody has a story.” The junior high teacher got the idea to arrange the event after seeing the bands collaborate in concert. Blasetti reached out to Rueben and the Dark in October, and said it was a dream come true when they agreed. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought, there’s no way. But they have been so genuine and such amazing collaborators,” Blasetti said.
