Crystal Shawanda shares her soaring shift from country music to midnight blues

peterpressmanMay 19, 2022

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When Crystal Shawanda decided to switch from country music to blues, it didn’t go very well with a few fans.

“Some people have become really personal about it,” she says laughing from her home in Nashville. She says, “In fact, people get the message,’I’m not singing country music, so I’m not going to listen or buy an album anymore.'” I just thought, “Well, that’s perfectly fine for me.” “

A 38-year-old singer-songwriter from Wikwemikong, Ontario, isn’t particularly obsessed with currying hearty listeners. That’s one of the reasons she made the shift at The Whole World’s Got the Blues in 2014, when she sank into the music she sang at her home when no one was listening. I replaced it with 12 bars. A few years later, this decision paid off when she picked up Junho at the 2020 Churchhouse Blues. This is the first victory in the blues category for indigenous artists.

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catch? The album was released in the very early stages of the pandemic, and her victory in 2021 happened when she could do almost nothing about it.

“But I was very fortunate to have TrueNorth Records as a label,” she says. “I couldn’t see my record, but the label supported the recording I was doing for follow-up. Instead of pushing us, they said,” I made it great. Let’s do it. ” Take your time to breathe the music. “

The new album, which Shawanda calls Midnight Blues, will be released this fall. The extra time allotted to it from not touring has had some beneficial effects on the Shawanda family. In particular, her 5-year-old daughter is currently listed as a co-author in one of the songs.

“It’s a song called Take a Little Walk with the Moon,” she says. “Every week there were 20,000 things like COVIDs in Nashville, so it was our outdoor getaway. We couldn’t get out safely during the day. So the moon came out. I went for a walk at night. That was our shelter. “

Shawanda has been in Nashville for nearly 20 years, during which time the city has shifted from being the exclusive home of country music to a much more diverse sound. Not only blues, which has always been a staple in Tennessee’s capital, but also pop, rock and hip-hop. This is suitable for Shawanda, who does not pretend to be loyal to any genre of music.

“It’s in full bloom here,” she exclaims. “Everyone, not just country musicians, is here for recording. The best songwriters and musicians from LA and New York are flocking to Nashville. It’s fun and exciting to see. Older models advance. I think it’s sad to see, but at the same time, it’s thrilling to see the city really open. “

Aside from all the questions in the genre, Shawanda just wants to play what’s in her mind.

“When you book a show, you may be asked to play a little bit of everything on every album, from country to blues,” she says. “I’m happy to be able to do that. Anyway, it’s all Crystal Shawanda music, so I’m happy that people who listened to my country album will come and give me a chance for my new music.”

yegarts@postmeda.com