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Musician honoured at music awards
Louie Goose receives Aboriginal Peoples Choice recognition

Danielle Sachs
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012

INUVIK
Musician Louie Goose stepped off the plane in Inuvik on Tuesday, carrying his lifetime achievement award given out at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards.

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Louie Goose received the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in Winnipeg on Nov. 2. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

Greeted by his daughter Leanne Goose, also a musician, Louie said it had been a hectic couple of days but the experience of a lifetime.

"I'm glad to be back here," he said. "When I left Calgary, Inuvik was locked in with fog and I wasn't sure the plane would land."

Louie performed at Friday's award show in Winnipeg, which was broadcast live, and became the first person to have an encore demanded and granted in the show's history.

"I was awestruck by everything going on," he said.

It wasn't easy getting to Winnipeg. Originally, the duo were supposed to be there a day and a half before the presentation. Their first flight was cancelled and the second flight delayed by three hours so they only arrived at the venue six hours before the show.

"The song set was already pre-arranged and it was a modest-sized stadium so it wasn't too overwhelming," said Louie.

For the encore, Louie played Sweet Caroline, a song he started playing when performing at the long-term care centre for elder Caroline Moses.

"People liked it then and it seems they agreed, the crowd was going crazy."

The award was presented by Premier Bob McLeod, and Leanne said it was a big honour for the legislature to grant him the absence to attend the award show.

For the younger Goose, there were a lot of highlights to the award presentation. She wrote a song specifically for the tribute and performed it for the first time at the event.

"For those of us in the North, we live through isolation," she said. "You end up having to be creative in different ways and in an increasingly digital age the contribution he's made to keeping live music around is about being able to give our gifts to the people."

Using the Muskrat Jamboree Talent Show as an example, she said one can see the tradition when people prepare all year just to give it their all at one event.

"It's an honour to be acknowledged by your peers," said Louie. "I also finally had the opportunity to acknowledge all the elders and thank them for teaching me."

He expects his next album to be out in the spring.

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