A conversation with Sass Jordan

After a successful event in 2024 headlined by Helix, Sass Jordan takes the reigns as the top performer in the 2025 version of Ingersoll’s Good for the Soll. (Contributed photo)

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“Because they asked me to!”

That was the response from Sass Jordan when asked why she decided to come to Ingersoll as the headliner for the second Good for the Soll Music Festival.

“They’re paying me to go. They asked me to go. They want to celebrate and enjoy and I’m always up for that.”

Jordan, born in 1962 in England, won a Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1989 and since then she has been nominated three more times for Juno Awards. She said her passion for performing is as strong now as it was decades ago.

“You could not possibly be doing this as long as I have without loving it. I love music and people gathering together, enjoying themselves, and letting go of their daily cares and worries to just celebrate life. I think we need to do more of that. How many opportunities do you have in a day to do that?”

She added someone needs to carry to torch to let society de-stress and get away from social media and the times of instant news 24 hours a day we find ourselves in.

“Someone has to carry the torch and I feel like musicians, in general, that’s our job.”

When it comes to the music on Jordan’s playlist, she said the question was a difficult one to answer because her likes are so varied.

“That’s the hardest question because it depends on the moment. I have a very wide and eclectic palate when it comes to music because I love it so much. I am not a fan of music that is heavily processed. It sounds like robots to me and there has been a tremendous amount of that over the last 20 years.”

Jordan said Cher’s 1998 hit song "Believe" was the start of what she called hell in the music industry. The song went on to become one of her biggest hits, topping charts worldwide and popularizing the heavy use of what’s knows as Auto-Tune in mainstream pop.

“It split every corner everywhere. There is some stuff I like that has come out over the last 20 years, but so much less. I particularly like something called low-fi chill hop instrumental.

That genre is loosely defined as the soundtrack to relaxing while pretending to be productive. Low-fi means the sound isn’t perfectly polished as it often has a bit of vinyl crackle, tape hiss, or imperfect recording quality on purpose. Chill hop is a blend of chill-out music with hip-hop beats.

“I also listen to world music, especially when they aren’t singing in English because the second I understand what they are saying I have to pay attention,” she quipped.

The very first band Jordan saw live was the Partridge Family and tens of years ago she was into the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The music that influenced her depended on the decade.

“That was back in the early days. There were the Chambers Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, the list is somewhat endless. Little Feat, The Eagles, the list goes on and on. I had so many influences and I love Bach while we’re at it.”

While Jordan doesn’t have a favourite song she has performed, she did say she normally likes the most recent one. She added every time she performs a song live it sounds slightly different each time.

“Music, to me, is never just me and the band. It’s me, the band, and the people listening because their energy is getting integrated into it and that’s what fuels the whole thing.”

In 1992, Jordan recorded the duet Trust in Me with Joe Cocker for the motion picture The Bodyguard after star Kevin Costner heard Jordan on his car radio. The album for The Bodyguard would sell in excess of 45 million copies worldwide.

When asked what concertgoers can expect in Ingersoll, Jordan said each of her live shows is to a large degree spontaneous, aside from the playlist she and her band decides on.

“We will know what songs we’re playing because we had to rehearse them to make sure we are bringing them to you fully cooked to the degree we can cook them. Sometimes the oven is a little off but that just makes it more exciting!”

Jordan, not one to be timid in any way during the interview, asked the Echo what she can expect from the people of Ingersoll and area.

“It’s just a good small-town atmosphere, and it’s great.” I replied. “There will be a few thousand people looking to have a great time with great music which is something you can deliver.”

She added playing a concert in small town Ontario is right up her alley.

“I’ve lived in a small village for the past 30 years. I am definitely not a big city lover. A day or two max, then get me the heck out of here. As far as small towns, that’s my jam.”

Jordan first started touring in 1978 at the age of 16 years old but played in Montreal bars even before that. While she can’t put a finger on the exact number of performances, one in particular does stand out.

“It’s been a long, long time. I have literally thousands of shows I have done. But there were about 450,000 people at SARSFest and the Rolling Stones were there.

The event, officially called Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, was a massive benefit concert held on July 30, 2003, at Downsview Park in Toronto. Other performers included AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake, despite being pelted with water bottles from rock and roll fans, carried on, despite the abuse.

Good for the Soll is a free concert set for Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. at Ingersoll’s Memorial Park. Proceeds from the event will go to charitable causes in the town and donations for the Ingersoll Multi-Use Recreation Centre will be accepted.