Kara Golemba has received her first Sask Music Award nomination for Roots/Folk Artist of the Year. The winners will be announced in Regina on Dec. 11.
“I am so honoured to have a little moment of recognition,” the singer-songwriter told Grasslands News. “It’s hard being a musician and juggling it with being a single parent but it’s such an important part of who I am as a person, my heart and soul.”
Golemba was visiting her parents in British Columbia when she received the news about her nomination and that made the moment particularly special.
“They were pretty proud,” she said. “Because they live so far away, they haven’t been able to be a part of the last few years of my musical journey, so it was special to be able to share that part of it.”
Golemba grew up in Kelowna, B.C. and has enjoyed music since her childhood. In her early 20s, she learned guitar and began writing and performing. She currently lives in Regina and works as a payroll administrator, but she spent several years in Indian Head. One of her songs, “Ghost Highway,” was inspired by a drive along Highway 35 north of Qu’Appelle.
Since starting her musical career, Golemba has participated in many Saskatchewan music festivals, made multiple appearances at the Grand Theatre, and performed at the Lilac Room in Grenfell. She received the Spirit of Saskatchewan Songwriting Award in 2016 for “Mason Jar of Memories.” She also released her first EP called “Every Little Light” in 2016 and a single called “Box Labeled You” in 2017.
Fellow Saskatchewan artists have played an important role in Golemba’s life and she feels honoured to be nominated alongside them.
“It’s such a close-knit community in Saskatchewan and I feel it’s an award ceremony that is less competition, more like a mutual celebration of each other,” she commented.
One of the other nominees is Megan Nash who took Golemba on her first tour. More recently, the two musicians worked together on a music video for one of Nash’s songs. They are also both mentors for the “Songs 4 Nature” program at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.
Murray Pulver, another Saskatchewan musician, provided valuable assistance when Golemba was writing a song called, “Name.” She had a concept in mind for part of the song but was unsure how to compose it.
“He understood what I was trying to get to, so he wrote out the bridge for that song,” Golemba explained. “It took the song that I was already proud of to the next level.”
She added that the piece was particularly meaningful since she wrote it when she was struggling to regain a sense of her personal identity. Golemba had not changed her name when she married and that provided her “a thread of identity” that she needed.
“Name” is one of the songs included on Golemba’s first, full-length album called, Keep These Stories Safe, that was released last month. Although she is proud of the result, she said it was difficult to complete the project while navigating a divorce, job changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another song on the album provided Golemba an opportunity to work with her two children, Piper and Griffin. “Sarsaparilla” is a song about Golemba’s childhood experiences fishing with her father and sisters. Her children were involved with recording the song and creating artwork for a music video that Golemba produced with Ava Wild.
“From a creative aspect I really wanted to have the faint sound of a little girl’s voice in there to honour that and Piper was game to do that,” Golemba explained. “When we went into the studio, Griffin came as well so we did some passes with both of them, which was really special. They’re both pretty creative so I like that I can give them opportunities to be part of that with me.”
Golemba hopes that these experiences will inspire her children to pursue their own dreams as well.
With her recently completed album she has no firm plans for another project but said that music is “an integral part of who I am and so there will always be more songs, there will always be more projects.”
