Catch Jully’s performance in Saskatoon on March 8th at the Broadway Theatre.

July Black is, without a doubt, a Canadian icon. As a 30-year veteran in the entertainment industry, she’s got accolades and experience to spare. From Juno Awards and  Gemini Awards to being hand selected to sing for the Queen of England, she’s done it all. The platinum selling recording artist, dubbed ‘Canada’s Queen of R&B Soul’, is a powerhouse. 

As a songwriter, Black has touched the hearts of her countless fans through her music, but her reach expands beyond that. As an artist, person, and philanthropist, Black has dedicated her life to community and to uplifting the people around her. She’s been around the world, championing important causes for decades, using her career as a megaphone to amplify and celebrate the greatness she believes exists in everyone. 

After 16 years, she has finally returned to the national stage, touring across the country this spring featuring support from artist Melafrique. With powerful vocals and stories to tell, she’s back and better than ever. 

Q: For people who aren’t familiar with you and your music, would you care to introduce yourself and the kind of music you make?

A: “Well, my name is Julie Black. I am a 30 year pioneer of R&B and soul music born and raised in Canada, for the world. I come from a hip hop, R&B, soul, and reggae background. I love the Motown sound. But I’m Canadian, so of course, I still grew up on blue rodeo and Tom Cochran, Tragically Hip, and you know, all the rest of them. That’s what makes Canadian artists as a whole so unique. Our palette is so broad.”

Q: It’s been over 16 years since you’ve gone on a full headline tour across the country. Was there any particular reason you chose this year to make your return?

A: “After what happened with the Canadian National Anthem and singing it at the NBA (NBA All-Star Game, 2023), and that moment in history, I realized that just that two minute acapella anthem was meaningful, and it did so much for the world to have a conversation, for Indigenous folks to be seen, even for a moment (…). I realized that my voice was needed and my courage was needed. But we also knew it was going to take some time to re-establish myself as Julie, ‘the touring artist,’ because I do a lot of television and film, public speaking and acting in theater. But music is my number one love. So I also was considering [that] I hadn’t toured. I haven’t done a tour since my mom passed away, and that’s really different. Not looking out there and seeing her, not being able to call her, tell her how it was I’m doing. But I knew I needed to honor her legacy, so that was the main deciding factor.” 

Q: The tour is titled “Songs and Stories”. What inspired you to make that the title of your comeback to performing nationally?

A: “Well, it’s interesting, because every song starts and ends with a story, it’s just a story with music behind it. And so I really wanted to share partially where the songwriting came from, but more so be able to represent the voice of the voiceless. My story is someone else’s story, and someone else’s story is also my story. And I wanted to inspire people, especially my generation to unpark your dreams beyond music. It could be that you want to go back to university. It could be that you want to go to school in general. It could be that you want to get a trade. Could be that you want to finally take agency over your health and wellness. Whatever it is, just take that step. It’s to tell that story of resilience, perseverance, of doing it even if you’re afraid of asking for help—that’s really what was important to me.”

Q:  So far, is there anything that stands out to you about this tour that makes it special? How has it felt to connect with both old and new fans across the country?

A: “Especially right now, with what’s going on in the world in real time, for me to be out there and looking people in the face, Black, White, Asian, South Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic, all nations, coming to these shows and be able to say ‘guess what? Put that Maple Leaf stamp on. Walk with your chest out.’ It’s time to really come together. We are made in Canada. It doesn’t matter if you’re first generation, second generation, you’re an immigrant, or born here, we celebrate that we’re better together. What makes this tour so special is that every day, be it in the airport, be it at the shows, be it at the hotels, just walking in the streets, you could tell that there’s a pride and there’s a unity that is unmatched. It’s unmatched, Laila, it’s unmatched.”

Q: How has this tour felt for you and felt for your audience? If you could sum it up in three words, how would you describe it so far?

A: “I would say empowering. I would say radical love. I know those are two words, but I put those two together like there’s a sense of radical love … and community building.”

Q: You’ve made a really conscious effort to include local indie artists as your opening acts on this tour. Why is it so important to you to provide these opportunities and build this community as an artist?

A: “I think it’s really important to acknowledge that there are people in each city that are putting in that work and know the community and know the city even better, and may not be getting the attention, or the respect, or are able to have the light put on them. And so for me to come in and have an opportunity to have them step on the stage and shine. Shine on their own. We are peers. We’re sharing the stage, right? I come out and I watch. I clap, I take part as a fan. I’m not just sitting at the back waiting for my turn.”

Q: Do you have any advice for indie artists who might be struggling to find opportunities or kind of break into the industry?

A: “What I would say is being an independent artist doesn’t mean you have to be alone, and sometimes the word independence can create isolation. I’ve never said this before, so I’m happy you asked me that question, because it’s really helping me to even say this to myself. Go perform wherever you can, if you play an instrument, see if hotels have a happy hour, or if they’re looking for a lounge singer or someone to play piano,  just get out there. Technology has people really isolated. Everybody can do something online and post it, but nothing beats the real thing. AI is not going to replace the live concert. Yeah, they might replace the recorded artists, but it’ll never replace them in person. So, groom your chops.”

Q: You mentioned earlier how important community building is to you, between artists and fans. How do you envision building and sustaining this community, not through just this tour, but throughout your career?

A: “I think that it’s time for me to activate my inner Kanye West and Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson and the rest and really become a mega household name, because my heart is for community. So in order for me to have that influence, that impact, like Michael Jackson, thinking about Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder, ‘we are the world’ like that is my mission. To become larger than life so I can impact as many lives as possible.”

Q: And speaking about impact, you’ve always been really outspoken about the impact that your mom has had on your life and career. You even dedicated this tour to her. If it’s not too much to ask, would you be able to tell me a little bit more of what that means to you?

A: “Thank you for asking. In 2005 we recorded a video for my song ‘I traveled,’ and I put my mom in the video. And she was healthy, she was younger, all things. And I knew at that time, I was like, You know what? I’m gonna start archiving my mom. I’m gonna start videotaping her. I’m gonna record our conversations and so up until 2017 I kept recording my mom. Now I’ve been able to use her recordings as part of my concert. So not only are there my stories, you’re hearing my mom tell stories. I said to my manager, ‘even though we don’t have the video wall this time, I’m still gonna do it.’ You know, my mom loved getting dressed up, so like three costume changes, you know, and just really telling some of the wisdom that she left for me intimately. I’m now sharing that with everybody, so it means a lot. That’s a legacy that I’m excited to continue to build and preserve.” 

Q: Has her passing affected the way that you approach your art? Are there any key lessons or stories from your mother’s life that you want to share with your audience during this tour?

A: “What I often say is, I’m not fearless, but I fear just a little less. I was her caregiver before she passed, so being able to be with her and experience her getting ready to transition, I never thought it’d be something I could witness. I never thought it’d be something I didn’t have. That I’d be able to move through. It’s informed my art in a way that lets me have extreme gratitude, and my storytelling comes from a place of like radical acceptance. I’m just walking through life, just accepting everything right away. When it comes to mortality, you know, that’s out of our control. And that’s helped me on days when, like I may not feel like I have enough, I realized I actually have lots more life in me. So let me go and sing that verse one more time. It informs the physicality of the art. All the things, everything else.” 

Q: You have this incredibly powerful concept of turning grief into greatness and pain into purpose. How have you been channeling that into your music and your performances during this tour?

A: “Being able to allow whatever is to come, emotionally, to come without trying to suppress it. That’s the whole thing about turning grief into greatness. Being able to share some very intimate, personal moments, like surviving child sexual abuse as an early teen, being able to get the courage to tell my mom. To have looked at her and told her what happened, and her to have loved me and hugged me and wished I told her when I was younger. And we’re just breaking a lot of stigmas around mental health, around being able to have that type of relationship. and so, you know, hurting pain at the purpose it all of us have an opportunity to do that doesn’t have to be loss of life, with loss of identity, loss of position, right? Loss of relationship. So just understanding, hey, it doesn’t matter how you’re feeling, you can’t have sunshine without the rain. You can’t appreciate the sun without the overcast. So it’s really not to waste any of your experiences, but to know they’re here to serve us and serve others.”

Q: I know you’re on vocal rest, so this is gonna be my last question for you. Since this tour is happening before the release of your new music, what can fans expect to hear from you? Is it something familiar or something entirely different? Are you planning to give fans any sneak peeks of what the future might look like for you? 

A: “Oh, it’s all of the above. New and old. It’s the whole journey, and then some. I know I’m also inspired by this tour. So we finished the album two weeks before the tour started, but now I feel like writing again. This tour, this experience is helping me trust my life, and it’s all so different. You know, I’m getting married four weeks after the tour ends. And you know, my fiancé’s last name is Valentine, I’m going to be Julie Valentine legally, and so I’m even considering changing my stage name to Julie Valentine. There’s just been so much inspiration. Love is everywhere. It’s just nice to be immersed in it.”

Tickets are still available for Jully’s performance this weekend on March 8th, 8pm at the Broadway Theatre. 
Click here for tickets and more information!