Conrad Bigknife
Hard work and real life, along with a father who loved country music, helped shape Conrad Bigknife’s aesthetic for a no-frills, honest sound.
Hailing from Starblanket First Nation (Saskatchewan, Canada), Bigknife is an innovative and driven creator of music. A self-taught artist, and a vocalist first and foremost, he is also a writer, composer, musician, engineer and producer. Bringing his vision to reality has meant literally thousands of hours recording himself and others. His own singles “Twang”, “Crush”, “Lovin or Leavin”, and most recently “Sunday Morning Slide”, have found considerable success on Indigenous radio stations across Canada.
Quickly becoming recognized as one of Canada’s top up-and-coming Indigenous artists, Bigknife works hard at blending the lines of alternative country music and his cultural background. Like many performers before him who successfully broke down barriers, he continuously challenges what a “typical” country artist looks and sounds like. It’s a challenge he relishes and celebrates, because music is a universal language that brings people together.
Bigknife is always learning, always grinding and forever thriving. He recognizes the power of music and is grateful for the opportunities given him. Bigknife is one of the bright lights on Canada’s vast musical horizon.
Multi-award-winning group Bluedog is back with their latest album featuring 11 brand new songs written by founding members Joni (Weston) and Eric Buffalohead. The LP also features “Look to the Sky”, a song written by Eric, Joni and Alexandra Buffalohead, and Keith Secola. In addition to Secola, the group also welcomed Ted and Angie Vig, Josh Levi, Jan Michael Looking Wolf and Jordan Carlson to collaborate on some recordings.
This new album stays true to the band’s iconic sound: melding blues and rock, and influenced by the life experiences of Indigenous Peoples. “Native people have experienced the blues too,” expressed Joni. “For us it reflects a significant part of life for Native people and our relationship with the US government in the past, present and future. Our music celebrates life, the good and bad.”
Over their near-two-decade career, this blues band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, has released a number of albums, LPs and singles, for which they have received multiple awards and nominations. Their debut album
Directions, released in April of 2005, was nominated for Best Blues and Best Debut Recording at the Native American Music Awards and Best Blues again at the Indian Summer Music Awards.
The albums and singles that followed— such as their 2006 album
Lie and 2010 single “Get Up & Get Out”—continued to bring nominations in Best Blues categories. Then in 2010, just five years after launching their debut album, Bluedog took home the Nammy for Group of the Year.
Bluedog has performed across the United States, appearing on stage at various award shows and vibrant festivals, such as the Native American Music Awards (Hollywood, Florida), Indian Summer Music Awards (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Yakima Tribal Jam (Toppenish, Washington), Indian Summer Music Festival (Minneapolis, Minnesota), The Fargo Blues Festival (Fargo, North Dakota) and Last Ride Blues Festival (Thief River Falls, Minnesota).
The five-member band is made up of founders Joni and Eric, their daughter Alexandra Buffalohead (keyboard), long-time family friend Tom Suess (bass guitar) and 2nd-gen musician Greg Mans (drums).