Born and raised in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Crystal Shawanda grew up surrounded by music. Introduced to the blues by her eldest brother and to old‑time country by her parents, she developed a deep curiosity for the roots of every song she heard. “I was one of those kids who read the liner notes,” she says. “I wanted to know who the originators were — the mothers of invention, the masters like Etta James, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy.” That early passion shaped her into the powerhouse blues vocalist she is today.

Crystal’s professional career began in country music, where she quickly made history. After signing with RCA Nashville in her early twenties, her debut album Dawn of a New Day (2008) became the highest‑charting album by a full‑blooded Canadian Indigenous country artist in the SoundScan era. Her breakout single “You Can Let Go” became one of the fastest‑rising hits on the Canadian Country Singles Chart, reaching Top 10 in just five weeks and climbing to #2 on the U.S. Mediabase chart. She went on to become the first Indigenous woman to win the Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year (2009).

After releasing Just Like You (2010), which earned the 2013 JUNO Award for Best Aboriginal Album, Crystal shifted fully into the blues — the genre that had always called to her. Her blues debut, The Whole World’s Got the Blues (2014), was followed by Fish Out of Water (2016), Voodoo Woman (2017), the JUNO‑winning Church House Blues (2020), which earned the 2021 JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year. In 2022, her album Midnight Blues made Crystal the first Indigenous woman to debut in the Billboard Blues Chart Top 10.

Crystal’s latest album, Sing Pretty Blues, marks another major milestone in her career. Released in 2025, the album reached #5 on the Best Albums of 2025 Big Blues Chart in the US, #2 on the Canadian Blues Radio Chart, and #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown. It also earned nominations for the Canadian Blues Music Awards (Best Album, Best Female Vocalist) and the JUNO Awards (Best Blues Album), solidifying her place as one of the most powerful and respected voices in contemporary blues.

Whether performing her own songs or reinterpreting classics, Crystal brings raw emotion, technical mastery, and deep cultural grounding to every note. She continues to honour her Anishinaabe/ Ojibwe-Potawatomi roots while carving out a singular place in the blues world — a place defined by authenticity, passion, and a voice that refuses to be restrained. In 2012, Crystal launched her own record label New Sun Records, which is the first female and Indigenous-owned record label in Canada. She continues to head the label, mentoring, producing and releasing new music by Indigenous emerging artists from across Canada.

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