Saskatchewan Artist Bell Plaine, will be at BreakOut west this year in Victoria. (Provided)

BreakOut West is a Western Canadian music event that brings artists and industry professionals for performances, networking and career development. Coming to Victoria this October, it gives musicians a chance to perform, make connections, and build their careers, while also showcasing Victoria’s music scene.

Among the artists performing at BreakOut West this year are Saskatchewan-born and based musician Melanie Hankewich, better known as Belle Plaine, and Yellowknife-born artist Grace Clark. While both have successful careers in Canada’s music industry, each has taken a different path to get there.

Plaine grew up on a farm outside the small Saskatchewan community of Rose Valley and began taking music lessons when she was five years old.

“I grew up in a small community called Fosston. Well, it was on a farm outside of a small community called Rose Valley. … Middle of Saskatchewan in the prairies, very rural area.”

After high school, Plaine moved around Western Canada, including spending time in Victoria and Australia, before eventually settling in Regina. She expands on the experience.

“So rural upbringing on a farm, and I moved around a lot after high school throughout Western Canada. I lived in Victoria. I lived in Australia after that, and then I came back to Saskatchewan and kind of unexpectedly set up roots in Regina because there was an arts community that welcomed me, and I got a real job in the arts at a theatre. And then I started my career after four years of working in theatre and was inspired by the artists who were on stage, you know, both in the production side and also in the performance side, and started working as a full-time artist in 2010.”

Plaine said music has always been a part of her life, beginning with classical voice lessons and piano.

“When I went to kindergarten, we had a very musical teacher who noticed that I sang with the kids. She played piano, and I knew all the songs. I learned them quickly. I think knowing my personality, I was likely directing the other children when I was at that age to properly sing or enunciate, or what have you. But she encouraged my parents when I was five years old to put me in music lessons. I started music lessons in grade one, and I continued all through school with classical voice lessons, some piano, and then, you know, gravitated towards musicians and artists in my small town, which is a small pool of people. … I don't know if there was ever a point that I started my career. It's been part of me.”

Plaine describes her music as Americana, drawing inspiration from artists like Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

“I would say it's, it falls under Americana. If somebody wanted to know where I want to be in the musical landscape, I mean, I love Dolly Parton, I love Linda Ronstadt, and I love Emmylou Harris, and everybody knows that they had records together. And I like to think that I'm in, at least aspirationally, in the Venn diagram of what those women created and what kind of legacy they left for people like me to walk into.”

While being based in Saskatchewan can present challenges due to the limited industry presence, Plaine said there are benefits to working outside of Canada's larger music centres.

“Living in Saskatchewan and choosing to be an artist that's based in the Prairies, you don't have to fight over the noise. And so I think that there are huge benefits to being here because the community is so supportive and welcoming and offers opportunities that people I went to school with, musicians I know who live in larger centres, they don't get those opportunities because there's so much competition. … And so I don't see the struggles of being in the Prairies because I can always travel to those places. I can always reach out to them. But I think that my focus is clearer being able to live here.”

Plaine's new album is expected later this year and focuses on compassion and change.

“The new album is called The Weather. The overarching theme is that it's about compassion, but it's about the changes that I witnessed in my neighbourhood, but also having appreciation for how we can be more compassionate. So all of the songs have a hint of that theme running through them.”

Grace Clark is a Métis artists based out of Yellowknife and Montreal. (Provided)

Grace Clark has experienced the challenges of building a music career from a different perspective.

Clark grew up in Yellowknife and is Métis. She later studied songwriting and performance in Nelson before moving to Montreal in 2022, where she is now based part-time between there and Yellowknife. Clark grew up playing the fiddle in Yellowknife, something that continues to influence her music.

“My sister and I grew up playing fiddle, so in Yellowknife there's a big fiddling community, and I think that really influences my approach to music.”

Clark said she also draws inspiration from her connection to the nature of Yellowknife.

“I really like writing about my connection to the land and the water in Yellowknife. You're on the shores of Great Slave Lake, which is this huge lake. You can't even see the other shore from one end to the other; you can't really see. It's just super wide open. And so I really like writing about those kinds of things too, my connection to nature. Which I think you can hear kind of in Chicago and my new stuff that will be coming out.”

Clark describes her sound as indie folk and indie pop, with her fiddle adding a unique element.

“I kinda put myself into the indie folk, indie pop genre. I really like having my fiddle as a kind of a unique sound in the pop world.”

While Clark said there are opportunities for musicians in the Northwest Territories, she said artists can sometimes feel overlooked by larger Canadian music centres.

“There's some opportunities that we don't necessarily get in the North, but at the same time, there are so many opportunities, like Folk on the Rocks Festival. There's now a houseboat canoe festival that happens that same weekend. So I think being from the North is a little tough because, I don't quite know how to explain it, but it feels like people in Toronto and Montreal, for example, they don't really know what is up there.”

After moving to Montreal, Clark said the city's highly competitive music scene presented a new challenge.

“I don't know, it's kind of like if you have certain connections, you'll be successful here, but if you don't necessarily have those connections, it's a little bit harder. I think that goes along with the over-saturation as well. Everyone's kind of moving here to try to be an artist, which is good, but also you kind of get lost in the midst of things.”

Clark said BreakOut West provides an opportunity to make some of those connections and introduce her music to industry professionals.

“I'm really excited to just meet people in the industry who are working with festivals. I think that's one of my favourite ways to perform is at different folk festivals and travelling. And so I'm hoping to meet some people who are connected in that way. And then also, there’s gonna be so many other professionals there, like producers, and I’m just excited to talk to people, and connect, and share my music.”

For Clark, performing at BreakOut West will also mark a new milestone in her career.

“I'm just super excited to be in Victoria. I haven't played any shows there. I think this is a big career milestone for me, so I'm really stoked.”

Clark said support for musicians in the Northwest Territories has grown in recent years, with this year's event being the first time four artists from the territory will be sent to BreakOut West.

“Music NWT in the Northwest Territories has really grown since I've started my professional career, and just the past couple years I've really felt big support from them. And this is actually the first year that we're sending four artists from the NWT, so that's a pretty big thing as well.”

BreakOut West runs in Victoria from September 30th to October 4th, featuring live performances for ticket holders, industry events and the Western Canadian Music Awards.

For Plaine and Clark, the festival is another opportunity to showcase their music, connect with industry professionals and continue building their careers. Both artists are scheduled to perform during the event. For the full schedule and ticket information, visit breakoutwest.ca.

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