Remembrance Day used to lack something local Canadian Armed Forces veteran Graham Trude: celebration.
Very often, November 11 marks a somber day for many Canadians, as they pay tribute to those who have served in the Canadian military with solemn observances, services, and reflection.
After being deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, and later a lengthy policing career, addiction recovery, and battling the trauma of a life of keeping the peace, Trude used music and songwriting as a way to cope.
He eventually started worked on organizing the Sound of Remembrance tribute concert. The third edition of the event was held Saturday at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The aptly-named show provide guests a powerful night of reflection and storytelling throughout a moving evening that celebrates Canadian troops and first responders.
"I thought there would be nothing better for me and a lot of my brothers and sisters to get together at least once a year to be able to put on our uniforms and to be able to share some camaraderie commitment, talk about our previous experiences and also just enjoy some great music which is an important thing in a lot of communities in relation to healing," Trude said, reflecting on the event's beginnings.
It was all for a good cause, too. Proceeds from the event went to the True Patriot Love Foundation, which provided inspiration to organizers due to its partnership with the Invictus Games.
"With the amount of impact that True Patriot Love gives our wounded veterans and people coming into civilian life it was just a no-brainer."
Already looking forward to the 2026 edition, Trude says the recipient charity will be the Homes for Heroes Foundation.
The concert featured a Nashville-style songwriters' round featuring Trude and fellow Canadian country singers Jason Blaine, Patricia Conroy, and Jamie Warren. Between songs the artists gave background to their songs, and what it means to them.
Country is a prime genre for storytelling, which is key to the celebration and unity of the event, as well as the healing process. Trude himself has many songs in his catalogue that speak to military life and trauma.
"Similar to our beautiful country of Canada, music is extremely diverse, so everybody can understand," he says. "I don't have to understand the lyrics of music, but I can understand the feeling of music."
"Art is very subjective. It can go as far as cooking a nice meal and making it for yourself—that is a beautiful, artistic thing to do. It's very similar to writing a song."
Playing at the War Museum is something Trude describes as the "moneymaker," amplifying the message and power of the evening.
Among the incredible Canadian military artifacts in the LeBreton Gallery, where the concert takes place, there's even a tank, visible from the stage that Trude drove during his tour in Afghanistan.
"That's a really cool thing for me to be able to go, 'wow, I have a memory and that artifact that is right in front of me.'"
Headlining the show was Canadian country music group The Good Brothers, according to Trude, carry values that deeply resonate with the mission of the night. The group even gave him his nickname, "the singing solder," years ago when the two acts would play together.
While he performs at the event, organizing it actually means more to Trude.
"Observing and seeing what you have created in regards to unity and in regards to camaraderie is kind of the ultimate treasure," he explains. "Playing the music is like the little sprinkle on top, but the cake is in the community altogether."
That community is misrepresented and "have the cards stacked against them," according to Trude.
"There are so many members of Canada that are still under the impression that the police are bad people and that the military are bad people, but we are all human beings. We need exactly what you need too: commitment, love, respect...it goes both ways."
He hopes that events like Saturday's, and more efforts to come, will flip the narrative and renew conversations for both the public and those associated with the military and first responders
"We love this country more than anything in the world. That's why we fought for it. That's why we protect the community of it."
