Artist who came out onstage at Regina Folk Fest in '70s returns to celebrate 50th anniversary

Singer-songwriter Heather Bishop has always found power in words and music. She has been listening since she was a child.

"I was most drawn to the music that not only told a story, but that changed my belief systems," she said.

"As a teenager, instead of listening to The Beatles, I was listening to Nina Simone and I was listening to Buffy Sainte-Marie."

Bishop, who is from Regina,said she was influenced by these musicians who were "telling their real story and really changing the world."

She felt she had to do the same.

Bishop was playing the Regina Folk Fest in the mid-1970s when she decided she was going to come out on stage. She thought it could end her career. She played a Connie Kaldorsong about a lesbian friend.

"That was my first foray into talking to audiences about the gay and lesbian community," she said.

"When I finished my set I got a standing ovation and I nearly fell over."

That reaction gave her faith that she could continue her career and, more importantly, live as herself. Bishop said she has been blessed with a wonderful career, but it hasn't been without its challenges. For certain shows in the States, she would need security because of demonstrations against her.

On one occasion, she said the Winnipeg Sun ran an article about her.

"The headline was something like 'Lesbian folk singer sings to children in a sexy, sultry voice'," she said.

"I was weeping, I was devastated, I was crushed."

Despite the hurt, she said that incident made her realize something. It was worth standing up and taking those shots, because it can empower others to stand up too. She said many people wrote to the newspaper after that article was published.

Bishop said that in her lifetime, there have been great strides toward a more equal life but homophobia is hard to root out because it's internalized as well as coming from outside forces.

"There still is a feeling that exists for lots of folks that there's something wrong with you if you're not going to be the heterosexual norm," she said.

"So, we're still working on belief systems like we do with any issue. But we have come so far."

Bishop is retiring from touring, but when she got the call from Regina Folk Fest, she said she was thrilled.

"What a perfect, perfect bookend to my career," she said.

"I started it here and I'm going to put it to bed here. These are my people."