Phyllis Sinclair is a Cree, Canadian folk singer-songwriter. A socially conscious balladeer, UK's Maverick Magazine [1] coined her "The Lady of Conviction". Sinclair's writing is rich in imagery, a continuation of the story-telling tradition of her Cree culture. Her songs are highly influenced by her experience being raised in Winnipeg's inner city in a working-class family.
Phyllis Virginia Sinclair was born and raised in Churchill, Manitoba. The eldest of three children, she was raised by her Cree grandmother and mother. Her love for music was developed as a child through singing in the church and elementary school choirs, but none more than singing and jigging and at local gatherings where spoons and toe-tapping were often the only available instrument. Legends of Wisakedjak, and her grandmother's haunting high pitched vocalizations at bedtime fired her imagination and her love of story-telling. At the age of 10, her family moved to Winnipeg's inner city where she picked up the guitar and began her first foray into songwriting. As an escape from street life, she sang as soloist, and often with her younger sister and mother at churches, gatherings and local coffee houses. After spending much of her life working as a journalist across Canada, and in the northern British Columbia commercial fishing industry, Sinclair attained her Master of Business Administration degree while starting a solo career in folk music. She quickly made a name for himself after being featured in Canada's Penguin Eggs Magazine [2] for her a cappella sea shanty, North Coast Fisher Wife's Prayer.
In 2006 she released Fence Posts and Stones, an album that planted Phyllis' music firmly on the Canadian folk music scene. From this album her song Hard Time Hannah went to No. 1 on the National Aboriginal Top 30 Countdown. [3] Her second album, Fathomless Tales from Leviathan's Hole, earned her a 2008 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award nomination for Best Folk Acoustic album, and a selection by American music philanthropic music organization Musicians for a Cause [4] to be included in their music awareness campaign to fight Alzheimer's Disease. Her song "The Manicure" was selected out of 350,000 entries world wide. In 2011, Phyllis earned a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Folk Acoustic Album [5] for her album Dreams of the Washerwomen. This album was chosen by a CBC Radio Canada International [6] as a Best New Recording by a Canadian Artist, and earned her a nomination for Female Artist of the Year by the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. [7] Phyllis Sinclair launched her first international tour in Australia in 2010. This tour was followed by her Dreams of the Washerwomen UK Tour in 2011. She has also toured across Canada and parts of the US.
Indigenous music of Canada encompasses a wide variety of musical genres created by Aboriginal Canadians. Before European settlers came to what is now Canada, the region was occupied by many First Nations, including the West Coast Salish and Haida, the centrally located Iroquois, Blackfoot and Huron, the Dene to the North, and the Innu and Mi'kmaq in the East and the Cree in the North. Each of the indigenous communities had their own unique musical traditions. Chanting – singing is widely popular and most use a variety of musical instruments.
Goanna is an Australian rock band which formed in 1977 in Geelong as The Goanna Band with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist. The group integrated social protest with popular music and reached the Top 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with "Solid Rock" (1982) and "Let the Franklin Flow". Their debut album, Spirit of Place, peaked at No. 2 on the related albums chart. They disbanded in 1987 and briefly reformed in 1998.
Alida Kinnie Starr is a Canadian multidisciplinary recording artist.
Carrie Newcomer is an American singer, songwriter and author. She has produced 19 solo CDs and has received numerous awards for her music and related charitable activities. She has collaborated with numerous authors, academics, philosophers and musicians. In 2009 and 2011 she traveled to India as a cultural ambassador, including musical performances organized by the US State Department. In 2012 she made a similar trip to Kenya on behalf of the Interfaith Hunger Initiative. Her range of causes, activities, collaborations and philosophies significantly influences her music. Newcomer was called "a prairie mystic" by the Boston Globe.
Sofia Talvik is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter. Her music can be described as Folk and Americana with Nordic influences. She plays the guitar and piano. Her album productions also include musicians who play other acoustic instruments, including violins, cellos, accordion and mandolin.
Carol Morin is a media personality, writer and artist from Saskatchewan.
Lights Valerie Anne Poxleitner-Bokan, known mononymously as Lights, is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. Her debut album, The Listening (2009), included the singles "Drive My Soul" and "Saviour". Her second album, Siberia, which featured the single "Toes", was released in 2011. Her work has earned multiple Canadian Independent Music Awards, and Juno Awards including Pop Album of the Year for her third album Little Machines, which included the single "Up We Go", and fourth album Skin & Earth, in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Lights' fifth studio album, PEP, was released in 2022.
Chris While is an English songwriter, singer and musician, known particularly for her vocals and live performances. She has worked as a solo artist, a songwriter and as a member of a number of duos and groups. Her music is often classified as English folk, but contains strong American influences.
Krista Detor is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Bloomington, Indiana whose music has been featured on NPR and with Mike Harding on the BBC.
Catherine MacLellan is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, based in Prince Edward Island.
Victoria Davitt, better known by stage name Victoria Vox, is a singer, songwriter and musician specialising in the ukulele. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Vox now resides in Costa Mesa, California when not on tour.
Matt Epp is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has released several albums and collaborated with artists like Eliza Gilkyson, Rose Cousins, Serena Ryder and Amelia Curran, among others.
Joseph Laplante, stage name Joey Stylez, is a First Nations-Métis Canadian singer and rapper/pop artist.
Janet Panic is a Métis singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has released a number of albums of original music as a member of the band Phew (1994–1995), 10 Ft. Henry (1996–1997) and under her own name. Panic is best known for the 10 Ft. Henry songs, "I Can't Get Enough", "Shove It" and "Fish" which received considerable Canadian college radio airplay and the song "Blink" from 2001's The Girl Who Passed for Normal, which has also received regular Canadian airplay. She has also been active in First Nations media, both as a producer and as a broadcast journalist.
The Indigenous Music Awards, formerly called the Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards, is an annual Canadian music award, given out to Indigenous people who are in the music industry.
Arlette Alcock is a Métis-Canadian folk musician, songwriter and social activist. Arlette is best known for performing her outspoken songs which detail the past and current challenges facing Metis and Aboriginal Canadians. Since 1997 she has released two full-length albums of original music under the mononym Arlette. Both albums have received extensive Aboriginal Radio airplay in Canada and the United States. Arlette has been nominated for a variety of Aboriginal music awards in North America and won the Songwriter of the Year award at the Native-E Music Awards in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2008.
Burnstick is a Canadian folk music group, consisting of married couple Jason Burnstick and Nadia Gaudet. They are most noted for their albums Dream Big, Little One / Fais de beaux rêves, petit ange (2015), for which they received a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2016, and Kîyânaw (2019), for which they were nominated for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2020.
Little Miss Higgins is the stage name of Jolene Yvonne Higgins, a Canadian folk and acoustic blues singer-songwriter who has performed both as a solo artist and as the lead singer of Little Miss Higgins and the Winnipeg Five.
Vern Cheechoo is a Cree folk and country singer-songwriter from Canada. He is most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Best Aboriginal Recording, receiving nods at the Juno Awards of 2000 for his solo album Touch the Earth and Sky, and at the Juno Awards of 2003 for The Right Combination, an album recorded as a duo with Lawrence Martin.
Kym Gouchie is a prominent indigenous Canadian musician and visual artist. She plays the acoustic guitar and traditional hand drum, sings, composes songs, and tells stories. Her music often deals with First Nations, women's and environmental issues and promotes reconciliation and community building.
