This year’s sessions conclude on Sept. 6 at Twin Lakes Campground
“It’s a very exciting group, but it’s a lot of work, the things we do, and it’s a volunteer board, so the more members we have on the board, the more projects we can take care of.”
Christina Mae Nimigon
Yukon Women in Music (YWIM)’s Cook Shack Sessions are family-friendly, with acoustic concerts featuring performances by YWIM artists, singers, songwriters and musicians at different parks across the territory.
Hosted throughout the summer on Saturday afternoons, the events include music workshops designed for anyone, regardless of skill or experience level, followed by concerts, complete with door prizes from Yukon businesses and ending with a jam session that is open to everyone as well.
Those who wish to participate are welcome to bring their own instruments, though loaner instruments are also available for people who are travelling and happen to chance upon the events taking place.
The Cook Shack Sessions were started in 2016 by now-retired producer BJ MacLean. Last year, the helm was taken over by Amelia Rose Slobogean and Christina Mae Nimigon, who wanted to keep the series alive after McLean’s retirement.
“Amelia and I both had the experience of being performers at the Cook Shack Sessions,” says Nimigon, who also serves as YWIM’s treasurer. “We felt that it was something that was of great value to the community. It’s such a beautiful situation to be out in nature and to be performing.”
There’s more to the Cook Shack Sessions than just the Saturday afternoon, though. For some, it turns into a weekend-long event with impromptu jam sessions taking place the night before and the day after.
“Some people stay an extra day, so on Sunday evening you can hear fiddles, guitars and banjos across the campground,” Nimigon says. “Before quiet time, of course.”
One thing MacLean started in her final year was adding a special spot for youth in the sessions. The Cook Shack Sessions may be the first time ever performing publicly for some musicians under the age of 16.
“It’s very different performing for an audience of strangers than it is doing a recital or something at school,” says Nimigon. “It really sparks a lot of excitement in the children and gives them an opportunity to enjoy a weekend with their parents out camping but also be mentored by the more seasoned musicians that are in attendance as well.”
Active since 1998, YWIM started small, with just a group of musicians getting together for songwriting circles. In the past 27 years, that initiative has grown into a full-fledged organization that has put on concerts, recorded compilation albums and helped to launch new talent through workshops and professional development opportunities.
“In the past, we’ve had compilation CDs where Yukon Women In Music’s musicians are given the opportunity to record and produce a CD as a group—so you’re not making a whole album, you’re making one song on it,” says Nimigon. “It’s very beneficial for emerging artists to have an opportunity to learn what it really means to go into the studio to produce a song. It’s very educational and eye-opening for the emerging artists, and fun for the established artists.”
Another event, which Nimigon says is a complement to the Cook Shack Sessions is YWIM’s JamFest, which, this year, will take place Aug. 29 at Braeburn Lake Camp.
“This is a chance for musicians, especially the ones who are jammers who haven’t had a lot of experience performing or working with other musicians,” she explains. “The JamFest does attract a lot of recreational musicians or shower singers.
“It’s two and a half days of working together with the leaders, who are professional musicians, who guide the participants in all different aspects of music, like working together, doing fills, communicating onstage with other musicians … It’s endless.”
Even musicians with experience might enjoy taking a workshop in an instrument they have never played before, and Nimigon says the jam sessions can be a confidence booster for younger or newer musicians.
“During the winter, these musicians can go to the jams and open mics in town, to hone their skills, and then they apply to perform at Cook Shacks as emerging artists,” she says. “It kind of balances with the Cook Shack Sessions.”
This past winter, YWIM presented a series of jam sessions and singalongs in retirement homes, in partnership with the Thomson Centre, ElderActive Recreation Association, the Royal Canadian Legion and Queer Yukon.
“It wasn’t limited to seniors,” says Nimigon. “The focus was to make it accessible for seniors. We welcomed all levels and got quite a bit of great feedback from it. Now, there’s actually a legacy program that developed out of it at Normandy [Living]. We aren’t running it, but it came out of doing these jam sessions. Now, it’s independent from YWIM but it’s still going on. We’re really happy to be able to spark these kinds of things in the community.”
Asked why YWIM and its events are important to the Yukon’s community of musicians and music lovers, Nimigon takes a brief pause to think, admitting that it’s a big question to answer.
“Music is so important for our mental health,” she begins. “A big part is sharing cultures and sharing our voices with others. YWIM is not one-hundred percent focused on professional musicians; it is part of what we do, but a big part of why it is important to the community is that it makes music accessible to people who are not professional musicians.
“There is so much talent and beautiful music that comes out of people who are not motivated or not inclined to be professional musicians because they have other parts of their lives, but they still have so much to give and share. Even professional musicians might come to a workshop with brand-new musicians and learn from the new musicians as well. The education goes both ways … you can never learn everything about music and about sharing music with others, so it’s very fulfilling for all levels.”
There’s no experience level too low to participate in a YWIM jam—even tapping a table, snapping one’s fingers or humming along to a melody are ways to contribute, according to Nimigon: “Music is something everyone can participate in, one way or another.”
The final Cook Shack Session of the year takes place Sept. 6 at Twin Lakes Campground. Visit yukonwomeninmusic.com to learn more and to keep up with YWIM.
YWIM thanks the companies that provide them support, such as Yukon Lotteries and the Yukon Arts Fund, as well as PJ Productions and all their local donors. The organization will hold its public AGM in October, at which point they will be open to having new board members join.
“It’s a very exciting group,” says Nimigon. “But it’s a lot of work, the things we do, and it’s a volunteer board, so the more members we have on the board, the more projects we can take care of.”
