Devil Music

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"Devil Music"
Season	15
Episode	1521
Airdate	March 21, 2022
Writer	Andrea Scott
Director	Thyrone Tommy
Guests	Geddy Lee
Recurring	Milo Strange
Previous	Pendrick's Planetary Parlour
Next	Sweet Amelia

"Devil Music" is the twenty-first episode of the fifteenth season of Murdoch Mysteries and the two hundred thirty-sixth episode of the series (not including the three stand-alone holiday specials). It first aired on March 21, 2022.

Summary

Detective Murdoch investigates the murder of a blues saxophonist whose death was seemingly foretold in vivid detail in the lyrics of a song.

After a musician is found murdered in an alley with an array of wounds, Watts tells Murdoch and Hart the crime was documented in a song he heard performed the previous night at Cassiopea Bright's nightclub. But when they speak to blues guitarist Huddie Lead Belly, who sang the telling lyrics of "Five Ways to Kill a Man" and was a close friend of the victim Horatio Colman, he claims they were inspired by a drunken reverie.

Character Revelations

• William Murdoch learns about Mrs. Hart's salon (also known as Cassiopea Bright's nightclub) at the crime scene.
• Julia and William are the proud parents of Susannah Murdoch - named after William's sister.

Continuity

• Watts and Milo Strange attend an evening music event at Mrs. Hart's salon.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1910 – George V is King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
• Huddie William Ledbetter (1888 – 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, is an American folk-blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs in a variety of styles, in conjunction with his notoriously violent life, made him a legend.
• The largest and grandest summer resort in all of Muskoka, the Royal Muskoka Hotel which was built back in 1901 was later destroyed in a fire in 1952.
• George Bernard Shaw recommends "The Complete Baby Book".
• Winston Churchill is referenced by Inspector Brackenreid.
• The Seaview African United Baptist Church was established at Africville in 1849. Africville was a small community located on the shore of Bedford Basin, in Halifax. During the 20th century, the City of Halifax gradually took over this community through municipal amalgamation; Africville was populated almost entirely by Black Nova Scotians from a wide variety of national origins. The defunct community has become an important symbol of Black Canadian identity and the struggle against racism. In 1996, the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada as being representative of Black Canadian settlements in the province and as an enduring symbol of the need for vigilance in defence of their communities and institutions.
• Turner Chapel was an African Methodist Episcopalian Church located at 37 Lakeshore Road West in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1890.
• Cerberus, in Greek mythology, is the monstrous watchdog of the underworld, often called the Hound of Hades, with heads of snakes growing from his back and he had a serpent’s tail, devouring anyone who tried to escape the kingdom of Hades, the lord of the underworld, and refusing entrance to living humans.
• Delilah, also spelled Dalila, in the Old Testament, discovered Samson's strength came from his long hair and cuts it causing him to lose his strength, thus her name has since become synonymous with a voluptuous, treacherous woman and has become popular in works of fiction and music.
• Louisiana's Mardi Gras: By the late 1830s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders to celebrate Mardi Gras. Dazzling gaslight torches, or "flambeaux," lit the way for the krewe's members and an exciting air of romance and festivity which continues today.

Trivia

• This episode harkens back to Winston's Lost Night's investigation methodical: re-trace the events.
• Rush frontman, Geddy Lee explained in a recent promo that he first entertained the Murdoch Mysteries role while mingling with star Yannick Bisson and his wife at a fundraiser. Lee plays the carriage driver transporting William Murdoch and his pregnant wife Julia...

Notable Quote

Julia to William: "I've been shot, buried alive and had rabies – this is worse!."

Errors

• Snow has fallen, everyone is in winter coats, and it has been 10 episodes since Christmas Eve 1909 when Julia told William she is pregnant; Their baby should have arrived in late summer of 1910 at the latest.

Cast

Main Cast

Yannick Bisson as Detective William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree

Recurring Cast

Daniel Maslany as Detective Llewellyn Watts
Shanice Banton as Violet Hart
Samantha Walkes as Cassiopeia Bright
David Andrew Reid as Milo Strange
Mark Sparks as Ezra Steele

Guest Cast

Ricahard Walters as Huddie William Lead Belly
Mark Sparks as Ezra Steele
Virgilia Griffith as Beulah Jacobs
Scott Gormans as Pretzel Vendor
Jenni Burke as Tarot Reader
Lazaros Geronikolos as Hermes Aetos
Shanda Bezic as Charity
Tim Waler as Bartender
Geddy Lee as Tom Sawyer

Non-Credited Cast

Kennedy Bre Hall as Susannah Murdoch
Quinn Rae Hall