Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Aug 29/01) - A return to the old stompin' grounds for one, a full-blown adventure for another.

That's the way this weekend's Jammin' on the Bay music festival could be perceived for two of the headlining acts.

For Arviat's Susan Aglukark, the Kivalliq is where she was born and raised -- moving around between Arviat, Whale Cove and Rankin, before her family finally settled in Arviat in 1978.

"I'm excited about this weekend because I've been waiting for the chance to bring the band up to the Kivalliq to do a show and this is the perfect opportunity," says Aglukark.

The rising Canadian star says festival-goers can expect to hear all her hits.

"We are working on some new material but everything's kind of on hold right now, so we're not playing a lot of new stuff."

Aglukark says Jammin' on the Bay is the type of festival that could create a buzz within the industry and have musicians interested in performing at future events.

"If done right, this could become a very successful festival. I can't think of any other arctic festival which has attracted this calibre of name performers."

Canadian rock icon Kim Mitchell will also be performing at Jammin' on the Bay, which he says has the potential to be an "awesome" event.

Mitchell has six solo albums to his credit and six albums with Max Webster.

"I have a great band, so you don't have to know every one of my songs to enjoy our show," says Mitchell. "The idea of our music is to get into a groove and take the audience with us to a place I call Rockland Wonderland."

Mitchell is now in his third decade of making music and says aspiring musicians should play because they love to, not because they expect to make a million dollars.

He says you have to write and play what's in your heart and accept what that brings you -- even if it means not quitting your day job.

"There's no sense in trying to follow trends or prostitute yourself in this business. I've had amazing nights playing in a bar in front of 300 people and the feeling of that is just as intense as playing in front of 25,000 people in Buffalo, N.Y, " he said. "I've had one of the coolest jobs in the world for the past 25 years, so I consider myself pretty fortunate."

This weekend in Rankin Inlet may prove itself to be one of Mitchell's "coolest" stops yet!