Jeremy Dutcher

{{short description|Canadian musician}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Jeremy Dutcher

| image = Jeremy-Dutcher-TheGreatHall.jpg

| alt = Jeremy-Dutcher-TheGreatHall.jpg

| caption = Jeremy Dutcher live in concert at The Great Hall in Toronto, Ontario, 2018

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|11|08}}

| birth_place = Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

| origin = Fredericton

| genre = {{Flatlist|

• Classical
• Indigenous
• Opera

}}

| associated_acts =

| occupation = Singer, pianist, composer, activist

| years_active = 2014–present

| label = {{Flatlist|

• Secret City Records

}}

| website = {{URL|https://jeremydutcher.com/}}

}}

Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, performer and activist,[http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1569187-jeremy-dutcher-breathes-new-life-into-century-old-wolastoq-recordings "Jeremy Dutcher breathes new life into century-old Wolastoq recordings"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618180013/http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1569187-jeremy-dutcher-breathes-new-life-into-century-old-wolastoq-recordings |date=2018-06-18 }}. Halifax Chronicle-Herald, May 8, 2018. who previously lived in Toronto, Ontario and currently lives in Montréal, Québec.{{Cite news|url=https://thewalrus.ca/how-jeremy-dutcher-keeps-his-ancestors-language-alive/|title=How Jeremy Dutcher Keeps His Ancestors' Language Alive|work=The Walrus|access-date=2018-10-29|language=en-CA}} He became widely known for his first album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize[https://exclaim.ca/music/article/jeremy_dutcher-2018_polaris_music_prize_winner "Jeremy Dutcher Wins 2018 Polaris Music Prize"]. Exclaim!, September 17, 2018 and the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/juno-london-gala-1.5059941 "Shawn Mendes the biggest winner as bulk of Juno Awards handed out Saturday"]. CBC News, March 17, 2019.

A Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) member of the Tobique First Nation in North-West New Brunswick, Dutcher studied music and anthropology at Dalhousie University.[https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/a-powerful-mix-of-culture-and-craft-485730062.html "A powerful mix of culture and craft: Dutcher's debut brings ancestors' melodies, words into present day"]. Winnipeg Free Press, June 16, 2018. After training as an operatic tenor in the Western classical tradition, he expanded his professional repertoire to include the traditional singing style and songs of his community.

He recorded Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa following a research project on archival recordings of traditional Maliseet songs at the Canadian Museum of History, many of which are no longer being passed down to contemporary Maliseet youth.[https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1101675/jeremy-dutcher-musique-actuelle-autochtone-voix-ancetres-dialogue "Jeremy Dutcher : chanter avec les voix ressuscitées de ses ancêtres"]. Ici Radio-Canada, May 22, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2018/04/28/singer-jeremy-dutcher-reaches-across-a-century-to-connect-with-wolastoq-language.html|title=Singer Jeremy Dutcher reaches across a century to connect with Wolastoq language|last=Friend|first=David|date=April 28, 2018|work=The Toronto Star / The Canadian Press|access-date=November 4, 2018}}

He appeared as a guest judge in an episode of the third season of Canada's Drag Race in 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://ew.com/tv/brooke-lynn-hytes-vanjie-reunion-canadas-drag-race-season-3-guest-judges/|title=Brooke Lynn Hytes reunites with Werk Room crush Miss Vanjie on Canada's Drag Race season 3|author=Joey Nolfi|newspaper=EW|date=June 29, 2022|access-date=July 12, 2022}}

In 2023, he released the album Motewolonuwok on Secret City Records.Alex Hudson, [https://exclaim.ca/music/article/jeremy_dutcher_announces_sophomore_album_motewolonuwok_shares_new_single_ancestors_too_young "Jeremy Dutcher Announces Sophomore Album 'Motewolonuwok,' Shares New Single 'Ancestors Too Young'"]. Exclaim!, June 20, 2023. The album again features some songs performed in the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language like on his debut, but also features some English-language songs.David Friend, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/jeremy-dutcher-worried-about-getting-stuck-in-his-archival-past-before-second-album/article_bb9bee5e-e965-5fb9-a568-77a38415c4c2.html "Jeremy Dutcher worried about getting 'stuck' in his archival past before second album"]. Toronto Star, October 12, 2023. The album was a Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024,[https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/juno-awards-2024-full-list-winners-1.7149545 "Junos 2024: full list of winners"]. CBC Music, March 23, 2024. and winner of the 2024 Polaris Music Prize,CBC Music, [https://www.cbc.ca/music/events/polaris/jeremy-dutcher-polaris-music-prize-winner-2024-1.7326386 "Jeremy Dutcher wins the 2024 Polaris Music Prize"]. CBC Music, September 17, 2024. making Dutcher the first artist in Polaris history to win the prize twice.Brad Wheeler, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-jeremy-dutcher-won-his-historic-second-polaris-music-prize-through/ "Jeremy Dutcher won his historic second Polaris Music Prize through bold reinvention"]. The Globe and Mail, September 18, 2024.

Dutcher identifies as two-spirit,[https://www.straight.com/arts/1089046/tenor-jeremy-dutcher-revives-songs-his-maliseet-ancestors-queer-arts-festival "Tenor Jeremy Dutcher revives the songs of his Maliseet ancestors at the Queer Arts Festival"]. The Georgia Straight, June 13, 2018. a modern, pan-Indian, umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe aboriginal people fulfilling a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial cultural role in their community.