Missy Knott: from the recording studio to radio

By Brian Wright-McLeod

TORONTO— Award-winning singer/songwriter from Curve Lake First Nation, Missy Knott, is back on the air. She recently made her debut on Toronto’s new Indigenous radio station 106.5 ELMNT FM each Saturday at noon. July 27 marked her first foray into a major radio market.

“The people at the station are great. Everybody is so approachable and supportive. And Toronto is such a great hub to bring artists together,” she said.

No stranger to the medium, in 2016 she hosted the Stages show on EXTRA 90.5 FM in Peterborough.

“The segment featured various local artists. And Peterborough is a big hockey community, so I was also assigned to help some of them put their hockey anthems to music. It was very cool,” she said.

Knott made her initial mark in the Indigenous music scene in 2009 with her debut EP For No Reason At All that sparked a wave of recognition throughout that year. She received a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Pop Album; won the Indian Summer Music Award for Best Pop Song; nominated for three Indigenous Music Awards (formerly the Aboriginal Peoples’ Choice Music Awards) for Best new Artist, and Best Pop CD & Single of the Year for “Erica’s Song.”

She also won the Peterborough Folk Festival Emerging Artist Award (previous winners include Serena Ryder). Two years later, she released another four song EP Runaway.

In 2014, she studied at Coalition Music in Toronto and also released two official music videos “My Sisters Heart” and “One Last Touch.”

An active supporter of the youth in her home community, she shared her expertise and mentored audio/video workshops and songwriting circles.

After a couple of years of touring and opening for such acts as Sass Jordan and Tomson Highway, she traveled to Nashville to write and record with Juno Award artist Crystal Shawanda in 2017.

“She was my mentor and we co-wrote and released three songs in nine months,” she said. “Crystal’s partner helped do the arrangements and put my lyrics to music. Later on, Crystal and I exchanged ideas and material by email to compete the project.”

She looks forward to getting back into the studio even though her live performances had been varied.

“I’ve been doing a lot of gigs and hosting various music nights and different venues while growing my career.”

While she still maintains her attention to music, her main objective remains to be on radio.

“I’m focusing on ELMNT FM but still putting lyrics to paper,” she said. “The radio station is so awesome. It’s great for everyone to have a platform like this that features so many Indigenous artists. There’s nothing else like it.”

She is thrilled to see such a vehicle that supports Indigenous music.

“I wish I had that when I first started out. But I want to be a part of it and help build something that benefits us all. It’s a great opportunity for everybody to have our people up with mainstream music, and to have so many listeners hear all of this material.”

Her new career path holds promise for her music as well by playing more often in the country’s largest live music market.

“My band is here in Toronto, so it’s going to be easier to do local shows,” she said.

The support from her fan base has been encouraging as she begins a new adventure.

“More and more people are hearing about the station and I’m getting a lot of e-mails about it, so it’s really encouraging,” she said.

Through talent and determination, she has found a place where she can excel in new and creative ways.