It’s not a stretch to say Canadian country vocalist Crystal Shawanda was born country. Raised on the Wikwemikong Native Reservation of Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Shawanda grew up with a connection to the land solidified in music.
For Shawanda music was everything: a way to mourn, a method of preservation and storytelling, and a joyous tool of celebration.
"Music was my way of relating to the world, my way of connecting to it," she says. "Country music was what I grew up with so it led me to Nashville and the stories of the legends."
Shawanda accompanied her truck driving father on a long haul to Nashville at the age of 12. The following year she recorded her first album there – a full track list of self-written songs.
"I couldn’t wait to jump in and be a part of [the music industry] – once I started I couldn’t stop!" she exclaims.
The next years saw young Shawanda record three more independent albums over several trips back and forth from Nashville. The strenuous travel, practice and dedication to her craft finally awarded the teenage songstress a fulltime gig at the renowned Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Nashville’s Broadway.
It was there, in that hot world of country legends, that she met her husband and lead guitarist Dewayne Strobel. The two musicians shared the stage at Tootsie’s for six years.
"Playing for tips in Nashville, paying my dues on Broadway, helped me realize how much I love to sing," she recalls. "I dug my heels in and just worked on being the best I could be."
The hard work came not without its struggles.
"There was one day I thought about giving up after one too many jerks (a slow day in the tip jug)," she begins. "Then I walked downstairs and saw Jimmy Snyder, who’s in his 70’s, singing his butt off still after all this time, with all his heart!"
"Then suddenly I thought, can you imagine having the privilege to play music, to do what you love for a living your whole life? From that moment on I thought, if I should be as lucky it’s been a good life."
Soon Shawanda began working with Faith Hill and Brooks and Dunn producer Scott Hendricks, which landed her a contract via Joe Galante with RCA Records and Sony Music Nashville in 2007. Her first single, "You Can Let Go" was the fastest rising single in BDS Canada history, hitting top 5 in Canada and top 20 in the United States.
Dawn of a New Day
, her debut album, was released the following year, selling over 400,000 copies and claiming title as the highest charted album released by a Native American in history.
"Now giving up is not an option. I’m a singer – that’s what I do and I’ll never give up!" she says. "Life inspires me to write; I write what I know, what I’ve been through, and what goes on around me."
"It’s always been like cheap therapy for me!"
Shawanda released five hit singles off that first album, landing her the Canadian Country Music Association’s Female Artist of the Year award in 2009.
In 2010 Shawanda and Strobel created their own label, New Sun Records, and on it their inaugural release, Just Like You.
"The experience was very overwhelming and satisfying all at the same time," she describes of the process of taking her recording career by the horns. "I had to wear a lot of different hats, so I was always consumed, and yet the creative freedom gave me the opportunity to peel back more layers."
Her first single off the album, "Closer", has received warm media accolades and a lot of country radio play. The track showcases her throaty Mellissa Ethridge-like vocals and head-bobbing melodic capabilities.
"[Creating a label] was a secret life-long passion of mine. To see it come to life has been incredible," she says.
Shawanda says the support and advice she received from industry peers gave her the confidence to embrace the what ifs she faced in the process of taking the scary leap from the safe bounds of recording within a known label.
"I put everything back into the business," she says. "In the words of Ruth Brown, ’you better love it, cuz it ain’t always gonna love you’."
Shawanda has been touring the new album extensively since April with recent dates in Grande Prairie and Strathmore, and a homecoming event in Manitoulin Island. On August 5 she will be playing at the Lac La Biche Festival in Alberta before heading back to Ontario and hitting Saskatoon September 9th to perform at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
In October, Shawanda returns to Alberta for tour dates in Lloydminster, Bonneyville, Peace River, and Leduc October 20th.
"I love to tour; I love the music – to be out there with my fans," she says. "I love jamming with musicians and being on the stage every night, always moving, always on the go, somewhere different all the time."
Shawanda says having her husband on tour with her makes her love of the road that much more profound, but spending off-road downtime with her step kids is equally important.
"They are my whole world and my best friends," she says. "We teach them that it is possible to raise a family and live your dreams."