On October 29th, Kingston singer/songwriter Miss Emily spent the day inside the walls and inside the cells of Kingston Penitentiary.
As you can see by her words below which were posted to Instagram, it was an emotional and surprising experience for the veteran blues and soul singer.
Acclaimed local director Jay Middaugh was given unprecedented access behind the walls of Canada’s most notorious prison.
The resulting visuals are unlike anything seen before and the video for “Hold Back the River”, the third single from In Between, Miss Emily’s fifth studio album, is a passionate and poignant tribute to the #MeToo movement.
This theme resonated with incredible power among the nearly 100 women who participated alongside Miss Emily.
Miss Emily writes, On Monday, October 29th, 2018, I shared an incredible experience with nearly 100 cast and crew at the Kingston Penitentiary. The Pen closed in 2013 and has been open for limited tours in recent years.
When director Jay Middaugh suggested we try and get The Pen for our upcoming Hold Back the River video shoot, I knew that meant I was going to have to actually find the courage to tour the property. It had never interested me before. It is a national historic site and a huge part of the history of Kingston, but the idea of exposing myself to the energy in those buildings on the site made me feel sick. We had two extensive tours of the grounds and buildings before we settled on October 29th as our filming date. When the morning of the video shoot arrived, I felt different about the space. I changed my mind on deciding to not just “get through” the day but to allow it to be an opportunity to bring in an abundance of positive and loving energy to a place that has been filled with negativity since it’s opening in 1835.
I would like to thank the entire group of brave, passionate and positive human beings who committed themselves on October 29th to infiltrating new beautiful energy into a place of darkness. Some of the incredible participants shared their stories with me. Many were very personal and I am grateful they felt that this experience was an opportunity to do some healing and to gather as a group of women passionate about an important movement.
#MeToo #MeTooMovement
The first step to fixing a problem is recognizing there’s a problem.
The truth will set us free.
Miss Emily
