Inuit musician celebrating album’s 30th anniversary with concert at Esplanade

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on March 20, 2025.

Inuit artist Susan Aglukark will be coming to the Esplanade on March 25, celebrating the anniversary of the album that changed it all.

The 1995 album This Child was a “a stunning blend of folk, pop and traditional Inuit storytelling that became a triple-platinum phenomenon,” said a press release announcing the tour. Now, 30 years later, Aglukark is bringing her music back on the road, with a full band, incorporating multi-media visuals that enhance the storytelling behind each song.

“I was often asked where the title of my album This Child came from,” said Aglukark. “This Child was my artist statement, my call to personal action. When I started writing, I wrote from what I knew – life in the Arctic, a deep sense of solitude and the fear of losing my connection to my Inuit identity. The introduction to singing, writing and recording gave that alone-ness a place, a voice, a direction. This Child was my song to my future artist self and my future Inuk self, telling myself: write who you are, so you never forget where you come from, who you are and why you left.”

The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are available via the Esplanade website.