International Indigenous Music Summit

Indigenous Artists for this Event!

• Beatrice Deer Band

  Beatrice Deer Band

  [Inuk/Mohawk]

  Acclaimed Inuindie pop star Beatrice Deer is a singer-songwriter based in Montreal. Half Inuk and half Mohawk, Beatrice was born and raised in Nunavik, Quebec, in the small village of Quaqtaq. She has released six studio albums, including her newest, titled SHIFTING. Her award- winning songs are crafted upon deeply personal lyrics and blend indie rock and modern folk with traditional Inuit stories and throat singing.

  [Inuk/Mohawk]

• Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz

  Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz

  [Blackfoot/Anishinabe/ Maori/Guarani]

  Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz captivate audiences with their funky rhythms, thundering percussion, blasting horns, soulful harmonies with empowering lyrics that gratify your soul. Their highly-engaging performance will make you “bump with the booming blasting blare”, “you’ll be moving your feet like you don‘t care”. You can find Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz latest album Indigifunk that features Juno Award winning Mohawk Bluesman Murray Porter on their single “Turtle Island”. Indigifunk is available on all digital streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple music. In 2020 Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz are developing a new album with super talented Indigenous musician Beaver Thomas and they will highlight news songs at the upcoming 2 Rivers Remix Virtual Feast show.

  [Blackfoot/Anishinabe/ Maori/Guarani]

• Drezus

  Drezus

  [Muskowekwan/Cote]

  Drezus has been a staple in the Indigenous music scene for over a decade. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and from the Muskowekwan and Cote First Nations respectively, Drezus has opened up a new world that combines traditional Anishinaabe and Nehiyaw teachings with hip-hop music and expression. He credits his growth and perseverance through life’s challenges to the creative arts.

  Drezus won five Indigenous Music Awards from 2013-2015, was nominated for a Juno in 2009, and most recently won a MTV Video Music award for “Best Fight Against the System” in 2017 with Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas. In 2019 he appeared on the acclaimed Paramount Network TV series, “Yellowstone” alongside Kevin Costner in Season 2.

  [Muskowekwan/Cote]

• Elisapie

  Elisapie

  [Inuk]

  Singer-songwriter, director, and activist, Elisapie represents the wild and rough beauty of the North. Her next album set to be released in late 2023 is a journey through her childhood memories as she revisits classics of the rock’n’roll canon in Inuktitut, her mother tongue, as an offering to the Inuit.

  URL https://www.elisapie.com/

  [Inuk]

• Fawn Wood

  Fawn Wood

  [Cree]

  Fawn comes from the treaty 6 territory of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, currently has three solo albums released and most recently was the inaugural winner of the Traditional Artist/Group of the Year at the 2022 JUNO Awards. She currently has three solo albums and numerous awards for her releases.

  [Cree]

• Garret T. Willie

  Garret T. Willie

  [Nlaka’pamux/‘Namgis/Kwakwaka’wakw/]

  Garret T. Willie is an old soul masquerading as an uncommonly wise, weathered, witty and world-weary 23-year-old. He’s about to give rock ‘n’ roll a formidable 21st -century kick in the ass with plenty of wild, heartbreaking, and hilarious stories to share in true rock ‘n’ roll form.

  Garret T. Willie hails from Kingcome Inlet, off the coast of British Columbia. He’s been through some serious sh*t and lived through a lot more than most of us have at his age. But while Willie’s back story also gives him more right than most to sing the blues – and at heart, Garret T. Willie is a rock ‘n’ roller – he’d rather that not be the whole story.

  Willie is the personification of an open book in the lyric sheet to his upcoming debut record Same Pain. Through his songs, there’s a helluva lot of raunchy fun going on above and beyond the occasional exorcism of tragedy and trauma. To listen to Same Pain is to get to know him more than you might be aware, but also to find a friendly, sensitive voice with a gift for transmitting universal emotions. Willie gets himself, and in doing so kinda gets all of us. He also knows what makes the blues tick. And, man, can he rip it up on the guitar.

  URL https://youtube.com/channel/UC-0Y3XNZyfi_u8Q69Wg1-Dw

  [Nlaka’pamux/‘Namgis/Kwakwaka’wakw/]

• Miesha and The Spanks

  Miesha and The Spanks

  [Secwépemc]

  If you’ve got a yearning for flashy yet classic hard rock, look no further – this Calgary-based duo has the guitar hero-worshipping, face-melting, whisky-belting sound you’ve been seeking. A beloved fixture on the local scene, frontwoman Miesha Louie is the driving force behind Miesha & The Spanks.A mixed-Secwépemc artist living in Treaty 7 Territory, she’s devoted her entire career to inventing and playing instrumentally brilliant melodies that unleash her passions and her full-throated vocal tones.

  [Secwépemc]

• NIMKII & THE NINIIS

  NIMKII & THE NINIIS

  [Anishinaabeg]

  NIMKII AND THE NINIIS (NATN) is an Indigenous music collective from Central Ontario, lead by Nimkii Osawamick. NATN specializes in traditional Anishinaabeg drumming and choral singing. Their debut EP Nang Giizhigoong was nominated for Juno Awards of 2022, in the Traditional Indigenous Artist of the Year category.

  [Anishinaabeg]

• OMBIIGIZI

  OMBIIGIZI

  [Anishnaabe]

  Pronounced om-BEE-ga-ZAY, meaning this is noisy is a collaboration between Zoon (Daniel Monkman) and Status/Non Status (Adam Sturgeon), Anishnaabe artists who explore their cultural histories through sound. Their debut album “Sewn Back Together” was released in 2022 with wide-spread critical acclaim that included a Polaris Prize Short-Listing.

  [Anishnaabe]

• Quanah Style

  Quanah Style

  [Cree]

  Quanah Style is Canada’s most infamous 2-spirit trans recording artist and house music diva. From coast to coast, there are few dance floors who haven’t felt her presence. After a brilliant run of singles on the Toronto-based LGBTQ+ record label Wet Trax, Quanah became a Pride festival fixture, performing her anthemic hits with vogue dance crew House of La Douche. Music videos for songs such as her debut “Beat of My Heart” and the Storyhive award-recipient “Give Me Life” showcase Quanah’s undeniable star-quality. Her incredible stage presence, signature vocals, and inspirational story led her to become the subject of several documentaries produced by CBC Arts, World of Wonder, APTN and Vice Magazine. She has also opened for Peaches, Bif Naked, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and more.

  URL http://quanahstyle.com/

  [Cree]

• Quique Escamilla

  Quique Escamilla

  JUNO Award winner Quique Escamilla, is a Chiapas-born, Zapatista-influenced and a Pan-American artist influenced by diverse musics of the Americas, such as Mexican huapango, cumbia, folk and rock. His music tells social and political stories of resistance against colonizing powers and is designed to decimate racism, borders and xenophobia.

• Wolf Castle

  Wolf Castle

  [Mikmaq]

  Wolf Castle is a Mikmaq rapper from Pabineau First Nation. Growing up on the reserve with a family of artists, music seemed like the natural choice for Wolf Castle. His music carries an energy and wisdom beyond his years showcasing what it means to be young, indigenous and proud of it.

  [Mikmaq]