It has been a challenging few months for Montreal blues musician Cecile-Doo Kingue.
 Her mother passed away and on top of that  somebody broke into her tour van, so she had to cancel her last tour, including a Lethbridge date.
 She returns to Southern Alberta, to play the South Country Fair in Fort Macleod, Friday, July 15.

 “There are a lot of firsts on this tour,” she said noting she will be joined by  her band , drummer Anthony Pageot and bassist Pierre Desmarias on this eight week Canadian tour.

“It’s the same band I had last year. We‘ve really developed a synergy together so we don’t want to mess with it,” said Doo-Kingue.
In addition to playing to South Country Fair for the first time, they are also playing the Vancouver Island Music Festival, Harrison Festival of the Arts and  Folk On The Rocks in Yellowknife for the first time.

“We’ve also been invited back to Calgary and Canmore, which is a real honour,” she said.
 She is pleased with the response to her new CD and her music in general.
“When people just want to see cover bands, I’m just happy they  are willing to sit through a set of original music,” she said.
 She noted audiences like the more serious issues oriented songs on the CD like “ Bloodstained Vodka” and “Six Letters,” but they also like the happier songs  like “ Thankful” and “Faith.”

“ Bloodstained Vodka seems to bring out the social justice side, but  the happier songs like “ Sunshine lady” remind them that life is beautiful. I like playing all of them,” she said.

 

 She has had a pretty serious year so far as she had to cancel her last Lethbridge show when her mother passed away. On top of that had to deal with somebody breaking into their touring van.

“ Overall I’ve been healing and adjusting and remembering to enjoy life,” she said.
“ people seem to focus on the negative things in life, but life is beautiful and you have to focus on that,” she said, adding coping with her mother’s death hasn’t found its way into her music.

“ You have to find it within yourself to deal. It’s coming  slowly but surely” she said.
 Right now  she if concentrating on her latest cross-Canada tour.

It’s the same tour as we  did last year,  to Vancouver Island and back but we’re playing a lot of fresh places and  some familiar places,” she said.
 They will be back in Lethbridge at Plum, Aug.14.
 Cecile Doo Kingue plays the South country Fair, Friday, July 15 at 9:30 p.m.