A Celebration of Women in Music: The Show

Article by Melanie Macpherson, Photos by Tracy Creighton (Copperblue Photography)

Presented by Bloom Entertainment in collaboration with Lunar Music

The International Women’s Day show at the Roxy Theatre felt like something a little different. Not really a concert. Something closer to a talent show, turned all the way up, or maybe one of those gala award shows.

The Roxy helps with that. It’s got that old-world feel, with the faux balconies and window-lined walls that make it feel less like downtown Saskatoon and more like you’ve stepped into some kind of small, ornate theatre somewhere else entirely. It sets the tone before a single note is played.

The stage was full, sometimes almost crowded, with women spanning generations, all bringing something different. Different styles, different levels of experience, different stories. And somehow it all worked. It didn’t feel scattered. It felt like everything was pulling in the same direction.

The music was powerful, fun, and sometimes just straight-up beautiful, but the messages hit even harder. There were songs about love and joy, about sexuality, about heartbreak, about healing, about taking your power back. It wasn’t one version of womanhood being presented, it was all of them, layered together on the same stage.

And that sense of support was everywhere. In the way performers introduced each other, in the way they acknowledged the people behind the scenes, in the way the whole night felt less like individual sets and more like something shared.

The night opened with Manitoba’s Stephanie Westdal of The Goddess Series, a national concert series spotlighting women in music and the arts. Alone on stage with her guitar, she eased the audience in with an indie singer-songwriter vibe before closing her set with an a cappella song about her experience with sexual assault. No band, no backing, just her voice. It took guts, and you could feel the room shift with it.

After that, the night belonged to local artists, backed by an all-female band that held everything together (Ella Hydomako on guitar, Michelle Lee-Klassen on sax, Siena Romona on drums, Darcie Lich on keys, and Ava Watchel on bass), just quietly making everyone sound even better. There were subtle musical choices that probably went unnoticed by most of the audience, and then there were moments that absolutely didn’t, like a sax solo that had the crowd losing it.

Patti Fedrau was up first and immediately felt at home on that stage. Glittery black dress, white jean jacket, Chucks, like she could go either way, dressed up or ready to just hang out, and either would work. She held the stage with the kind of confidence that comes from knowing you belong there, and not needing to prove it to anyone.

At one point she joked about a friend reacting to one of her newly written songs, wondering if she really meant to say those things out loud. Her response was to just… sing it. "In My Head" leaned right into those private thoughts and imaginings, and she didn’t soften any of it.

Next up was Prince Albert’s Mercy Glover, bringing a lighter, pop-country energy into the mix. She performed her original "Ain’t Mine" along with a cover of "Heads Carolina, Tails California" that got the crowd smiling and settling in.

Falynn Baptiste, a Cree and Métis artist from Red Pheasant First Nation, shifted the mood again. Her voice is one of those ones that just stops you dead; beautiful, emotive and powerful. She opened with "I Trusted You", full of emotion and weight, and closed with a version of "House of the Rising Sun" told from the perspective of one of the women in the story, which honestly makes a lot more sense when you consider what that story is really about. It hit differently.

Throughout the night, Gillian Snider helped bridge the gaps between performers, but also took a few minutes to talk about the history of women in music, specifically how often their work was overlooked, credited to men, or outright restricted. It was one of those moments where you realize she could have kept going for hours and no one would have complained.

Then Rebecca Celeste took the stage, bringing a quieter kind of power. Smooth, controlled, but with a depth that sneaks up on you. Her version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" wasn’t just fun, it had emotional weight to it. It felt more personal, more real, than the poppy original ever did.

Mikhaila Anderson of The Radiant was next, and the reaction from the crowd said a lot before she even sang a note. People were ready for her. Dressed in a black dress slit high at the leg, she didn’t just step onto the stage, she took it over.

Covering "This Feeling" and "King", she moved between vulnerability and power without ever losing control of the room. As always, an absolute force of nature, one of those performers you don’t just watch… you can’t look away from the first note.

Closing out the night was Rebecca Strong, winner of Canada’s Got Talent season four, now based in Prince Albert. And honestly, “raw power” is the only way to describe it. She opened with an emotional "Die on This Hill", pulling the audience in, then brought everything up for the final number, "Girl on Fire".

By the end, the stage was full again, with the other performers joining in the experience, turning the final song into something bigger than just one voice.

It was the kind of ending that felt earned.

The night wasn’t subtle about what it was. It was a reminder of what happens when women are given the space to show up fully, and when they choose to support each other while they do it. We’ve come a long way, sure. But nights like this make it pretty clear there’s still a lot more to come.