By: Izzy Cheung, Arts & Culture Editor
When one mentions the guitar, you may think of it as an accompanying instrument — a twinkle in the background of a singer’s vocals. But as proven on February 1 by International Guitar Night’s stop in New Westminster, there’s more to this instrument than what meets the eye. The tour, which will be making stops all across North America until the end of March, features the string-based artistry of Latin swing guitarist Lulo Reinhardt, romantic musician Alexandra Whittingham, the Soukous sound-inspired Niwel Tsumbu, and the enchanting Sönke Meinen and his folk-based ballads.
“The idea behind this festival — it’s such a beautiful thing — is trying to get together four musicians from very different musical universes,” Meinen told The Peak prior to their first concert.
“All the guitar players doing this professionally would aim to be a part of this,” he explained the significance of the tour to him. “We have 43 concerts in 10 weeks, which is a massive tour. It’s the longest tour of my life — I took my whole April off just to be safe.”
This is Meinen’s first time on the tour, as well as his first time meeting his fellow performers. Despite not working together before, their sounds have been seamless, weaving together as artfully as the threads of a large tapestry.
“Niwel is doing his traditional African influences. You hear the classical music of Alexandra in the other corner of the room, and then Lulo is playing his Latin swing. I think it will be very inspiring.”
Inspiring, it was. I entered New Westminster’s Massey Theatre with no expectations, as I’d never been to a show that strictly focuses on one instrument. Upon sitting in my seat, I noticed that the stage looked simple, hosting only four chairs, four guitars, and a few microphones scattered around. Nothing else.
“It’s just a wooden box with six strings. It’s such a simple concept, but there are so many different musical universes in there.” — Sönke Meinen, guitarist and composer
The show began with a dramatic ballad by Reinhardt, written for an old friend he met on tour who he exchanged letters with before she passed away. The deft plucking of the strings wove the smell of burnt oak wood through my nostrils, creating the visual of a desolate plain where I was the only visitor. This was quickly followed up by Whittingham’s solo set, which reminded me of walking through Van Dusen Botanical Garden during the spring. Hearing her guitar’s delicate, harp-like preens made me want to put on my cutest summer dress and have a picnic among pink-petaled tulips.
Meinen started the second-half of the solo performances by perching himself atop his trademark wooden stool. He knocked his hands against the guitar with poise as he drew the audience into a fiery performance reminiscent of crackling flames. Startlingly, he followed this up with a composition best suited to stories of a faraway island home to graceful mermaids. With ripples like those from a lyre, he conjured the feeling of cold seawater and thick fog amid an audience dressed for the snow.
Tsumbu wrapped up the solos with songs that whisked the audience away to a beachfront vacation. I felt the mist of the salted ocean splash against my face as he lulled the audience into singing “na na na” alongside him. If I closed my eyes, I would have imagined I was sitting in a wooden boat while being serenaded with the rich tunes of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The duo and quartet performances were just as impressive as the artists’ solos. Meinen had talked about the group’s goal with this performance, and as each pair took turns spinning the theatre into a different story, it was clear they did exactly that.
“Music is there to tell stories, and that’s what we do onstage. If people are touched by it, then we achieved everything we wanted to achieve,” Meinen told me. “If we are able to move the people and they feel better when they leave the concert compared to when they came, then we achieved everything. That’s the goal of every concert, to just get people out of their everyday life. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small concert or a big one.”
As a finale, Tsumbu took the helm by teaching the audience some lyrics to an African song that he said would take us to a jungle in Congo. Guitar strings reminiscent of the beats of steel drums echoed throughout the small theatre as every guitarist contributed to the song. Along with the hums of “ma ma ma” from the audience, every person in attendance seemed to be part of the lush, inspiring peace.
When I settled back down at home, mind still churning in a sea of musical mastery, I thought back to something that Meinen had told me about the guitar a couple of weeks before. “It’s just a wooden box with six strings. It’s such a simple concept, but there are so many different musical universes in there.” As a settler in kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, I experienced how Latin, British, German, and Congolese influences can take you to a completely different world of musical complexity with just one insturument.
