Crystal Shawanda reconnects with fans and community on cross-country tour
By Rick Garrick
VANCOUVER — Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory’s Crystal Shawanda looks forward to performing at the Tatus Festival in Vancouver on September 5 after performing at Massey Fair on August 29 during her tour across the country.
“This will be our second year playing [the Tatus Festival] and we’re really excited to be back,” Shawanda says. “We always have an amazing crowd because I get a lot of support in Vancouver and I get a lot of support from all of the Indigenous communities in British Columbia, so for that reason, British Columbia is one of my favourite places to play.”
Shawanda says there is always an incredible crowd at the Tatus Festival, which is a two-day festival of Indigenous music, arts, and culture held by Canoe Cultures, an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and advancing Indigenous canoe cultures as living expressions of identity, knowledge, artistry, and community, on September 4-5 in the Festival Park area of the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) Fairgrounds.
“The Canoe Cultures, they come out and do their presentations of their local tribes and their traditions,” Shawanda says. “They sing their songs, they do their dance, and they do teachings. It’s really interesting, it’s educational, it’s spiritual but it’s also great entertainment, so we’re always really proud and honoured to be a part of it.”
Shawanda says she had a difficult time when she switched from country music to blues music in 2014, but the Indigenous communities in British Columbia kept hiring her to perform.
“They really helped me through a difficult time,” Shawanda says. “So, over those visits I’ve learned so much, I had no idea there were so many different tribes in that area. There is so much to learn, and you can never really stop learning — I think it’s beautiful, the culture, the teachings they have with the mask carvings they do and how spirits come out in the masks.”
Shawanda says the tour has been amazing so far, noting that they began in May.
“We’ve had some incredible shows, we’ve played some amazing festivals,” Shawanda says. “We’ve had incredible crowds coming out to our shows, so it’s really special to bring the new music to the fans and it’s always great to catch up with them. So many of our fans through the years have become like family so we’ve been having a great time.”
Shawanda says it is always great to reconnect with local musicians in the Manitoulin Island area who she learned from when she was starting out.
“Last night we played in Massey, which is just a couple of hours down the road from my hometown,” Shawanda says. “One of the guitar players who I used to play with here on my reserve actually came out and watched the show. So, I was happy he was able to make it out and see the show and see how far I’ve come. I always like to reconnect with the ones who were my first teachers, so that’s really how I got my start and having that support gave me the courage to take the next step and leave the reserve and start playing shows out in other communities.”
Shawanda says they also performed in Wiikwemkoong on July 31 during the Wiikwemkoong Arts and Music Festival, which kicked off the Wiikwemkoong Annual Cultural Festival, held August 1-3.
“We played a show with Stella Standingbear, and it was amazing,” Shawanda says. “The kids absolutely loved her. We’ve been a part of helping curate the festival the past few years, so we knew that bring[ing] Stella in would be really exciting for the kids and really inspiring because she sings a lot of songs that have great messages and that helps Indigenous kids feel seen.”
Shawanda says her upcoming album, Homesick Indian Blues, is available on Bandcamp, with the physical release of the album scheduled for September 18. Her previous album, Sing Pretty Blues, topped the Indigenous Music Countdown in 2025 and earned JUNO and Canadian Blues Music Award nominations. Shawanda founded New Sun Records, the first female and Indigenous owned record label in Canada, in 2012.