Crystal Shawanda - Sing Pretty Blues

Album: Sing Pretty Blues
Size: 119,5 MB
Time: 51:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2025
Styles: Blues/Soul/Roots mix
Art: Front

1. Preaching Blues (4:36)
2. Stop Funkin Me Around (3:48)
3. Would You Know Love (4:40)
4. I Gave Up Everything For You, 'Cept The Blues (4:49)
5. Sing Pretty Blues (4:17)
6. Don't Let Me Be Lonely (4:55)
7. If That's All It Takes (3:33)
8. Waitin For My Lover To Call (3:29)
9. Changes (For Snowflake) (4:54)
10. Honey Bee (3:50)
11. Too Far To Turn Around (4:02)
12. Dirty (For JC) (4:41)

Born and raised in Wikwemikong First Nation, on Manitoulin Island, in Northern Ontario, Crystal Shawanda was introduced to the blues by her eldest brother and to old-time country by her parents. “I was also into other styles of music that led me to the blues,” she says, citing everything from Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog,” written by Big Mama Thornton, to R&B-pop star Monica’s “Misty Blue,” by Dorothy Moore. And yet Crystal’s first foray as a professional singer was in country music, not blues. She was in her early 20s and had immediate success after signing a U.S. record deal with RCA Nashville. 2008’s Dawn of a New Day, featuring the single “You Can Let Go,” reached No. 1 on the Canadian Country Album chart and No. 16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, the highest charting album by a full-blooded Canadian Indigenous country artist (in the SoundScan-era).

The following year she left the label and created her own, New Sun Records. Her first release was the holiday album I’ll Be Home For Christmas. Her next country album was 2010’s Just Like You, which won a 2013 Juno Award for Best Aboriginal Album, before she made the change to the blues with 2014’s The Whole World’s Got The Blues. Two years later, in quick succession, came 2016’s Fish Out of Water and 2017’s Voodoo Woman, then recognition as a bonafide blues talent with 2020’s Church House Blues, which won the 2021 Juno Award for Best Blues album.

Sing Pretty Blues mc
Sing Pretty Blues gofile

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Crystal Shawanda - 3 Albums

Crystal Shawanda - Dawn Of A New Day

Size: 274 MB
Time: 38:16
File: Flac
Released: 2008
Styles: Blues, country, pop, rock
Art: Front

1. Evolution (4:34)
2. My Roots Are Showing (3:33)
3. Tender Side (3:00)
4. Baby You're Back (3:02)
5. Dawn Of A New Day (3:32)
6. You Can Let Go (3:34)
7. I Need A Man (3:26)
8. What Do I Have To Do (3:33)
9. Your Cheatin' Heart (2:57)
10. Try (3:31)
11. You Can't Take It Back (3:30)

Crystal Shawanda grew up on the Wikwemikong reserve on an island in Ontario, Canada, Her parents raised her on Country music, but it was her oldest brother who introduced her to the blues. He would hang out in the basement cranking Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Etta James, and Crystal would sit at the top of the stairs, straining to hear those soulful sounds. She learned early on, by observing her family, that music was like cheap therapy. That’s what the blues is all about: releasing and healing. While she was secretly pining to be a blues mama, out on stage it was Patsy and Loretta. She started performing country at six and started getting paid gigs at 10, relentlessly playing every stage she could. Crystal and her dad started taking frequent trips to Nashville when she was 12. She recorded her first album when she was 13 and moved away from home that same year to attend music school. Crystal got restless however, and dropped out at 16 to move to Nashville. She didn’t know anyone but was determined, so she spent days playing where she could and busking in between. During a chance meeting with a well-respected music executive, Crystal was told, “I just don’t know if Native Americans make sense in country music. I don’t know if fans would be receptive and I wouldn’t even know how to market you.” Crystal tried to take the critique with composure, but would end up moving back home to her reserve and abandoning her dream. Shawanda set out on a dark, self-destructive path, but no matter what, always found herself back in front of the microphone. She finally came to terms with what was bothering her. “If I was out of tune, I could take voice lessons,” she reflects. “If my song was bad, I could write another. But I couldn’t change the colour of my skin.” So Shawanda moved back to Nashville one more time with a mission to prove him wrong. She paid her dues, playing at Tootsies Orchid Lounge six days a week, and managed to build up a buzz and land a production deal with Scott Hendricks. She was later signed to a record deal with RCA Records by Joe Galante, who had heard Crystal cover B.B. King and Janis Joplin. This venture produced a top 20 song on country radio and the highest selling album by a Native American in BDS history. After this, she found herself feeling like a fish out of water. She says, “I so wanted to be what everyone wanted me to be, I lost myself along the way.” So Crystal took some time off and, one day while watching the news and feeling overwhelmed by the headlines, she walked into her music room, picked up her guitar and wrote “The Whole World’s Got the Blues.” This was the start of her first blues album. “The songs just fell out of me and throughout the recording it was like setting my voice free,” she says. “I can’t help but feel like I’m home, no longer holding back.” Crystal’s latest album is a modern take on the blues, but is deeply rooted with heart-wrenching laments and catchy rump-shakers. It’s where the north meets the south and captures the resilience of the human spirit – much like the way Crystal does. Roots and Blues is thrilled to have Crystal Shawanda in the 2016 line-up and along with her solo concerts, she’ll be participating in one of our major theme concerts with Digging Roots and other artists. “Shawanda is a powerful performer on and off the stage. Humble and talented, Shawanda is passionate about her craft. Never giving an audience less than her best.”

Dawn Of A New Day FLAC

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Crystal Shawanda - Fish Out Of Water

Size: 248 MB
Time: 37:15
File: Flac
Released: 2016
Styles: Blues, country, pop, rock
Art: Front

1. Fish Out Of Water (4:57)
2. Skin Deep (4:46)
3. Trouble (3:54)
4. When You Rise (3:43)
5. Laid Back (4:02)
6. Fire (3:35)
7. On A Beach Somewhere (4:33)
8. Get It On / Come And Get Your... (4:03)
9. Ancestor (3:39)

Fish Out Of Water FLAC

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Crystal Shawanda - Just Like You

Size: 359 MB
Time: 51:21
File: Flac
Released: 2012
Styles: Blues, country, pop, rock
Art: Front

1. Closer (3:19)
2. Someone Who Loves You (2:58)
3. Beautiful Day (3:02)
4. Chains (3:53)
5. Love Enough (3:22)
6. Slippin Away (3:14)
7. Down on Broadway (3:14)
8. Burning This Love Down (3:18)
9. Fight for Me (3:18)
10. The Chance You Take (4:02)
11. My Baby Makes My Day (3:44)
12. This Fever (2:55)
13. Just Like You (3:38)
14. Helpless (4:08)
15. After I'm Gone (3:08)

Just Like You FLAC

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Crystal Shawanda - Midnight Blues

Size: 92.7 MB
Time: 39:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Midnight Blues (4:08)
02. What Kind Of Man Is This (5:32)
03. Rumpshaker (3:23)
04. How Bad Do You Want It (3:50)
05. Why Do I Love You (3:47)
06. Evil (3:57)
07. I Want My Soul Back (3:35)
08. That's Just The Woman In Me (4:22)
09. Hold Me (3:28)
10. Take A Little Walk With The Moon (3:22)

The album is loaded with the high-octane blend of blues, rock, and Americana that has become Shawanda’s calling card. Dewayne Strobel, her husband and frequent collaborator, produced and engineered in Nashville. The set is a mix of original songs and covers of the Howlin’ Wolf classic “Evil” and the Celine Dion hit “That’s Just The Woman In Me.” It’s a wonderful showcase for Shawanda’s raspy vocal tones, strong belt, and creative instincts. She’s one of the top vocal talents Canada has ever produced and Midnight Blues is going to win her scads of new fans.

Born in Wiikwemkoong First Nation, on Manitoulin Island, in Northern Ontario, Crystal was introduced to the blues and old-time country by her family. “I was also into other styles of music that led me to the blues,” she said, naming sounds ranging from Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog,” written by Big Mama Thornton, to R&B/pop star Monica’s “Misty Blue,” written by Dorothy Moore, as important parts of her development.

Shawanda began her professional career as a hit-making country singer before shifting into blues. She hit paydirt in her early 20s after signing a U.S. record deal with RCA Nashville. Her 2008 album Dawn of a New Day, featuring the single “You Can Let Go,” reached Number One on the Canadian Country Album chart and Number 16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, the highest-ever charting album by a full-blooded Canadian First Nations country artist. She moved into the blues in 2014 with the release of her record The Whole World’s Got The Blues. Midnight Blues is her fifth album in the genre.

Crystal opens her record with her moody, mid-tempo title track “Midnight Blues.” Her gravelly vocal tone and expressive style immediately command attention, hypnotizing your ears with late-night, minor key blues goodness. The studio band behind her is supportive and tight, giving Shawanda all she needs to purge herself of the pain she’s feeling. It’s a subtle song but works as the first cut because of Shawanda’s street-level grit and hard emotions.

“What Kind Of Man Is This” picks up the pace and rocks out more. Shawanda gets to display her vocal power here in a more profound way and she dispels all doubts about her ability to sing this kind of music. Her presence on the mic will light up your listening room and make you wish you’d discovered her a long time ago.

The soul/gospel gem “How Bad Do You Want It” introduces us to the smooth side of Shawanda’s gift and it’s just as compelling as her roar. It’s built on a laid-back soul pocket and topped off by Crystal’s performance, some sweet backing vocals, and a handful of fine guitar work. This is the part of her voice that sold country records and Shawanda loses none of her impact by going for a silkier sound.

Howlin’ Wolf’s timeless standard “Evil” finds Crystal digging down into her slow blues self and delivering what could well be her strongest showing of the entire album. She articulates that lowdown, worried feeling of being done wrong extremely well, something everyone can relate to, and throws her entire being into expressing it. The Old Masters would be proud.

Other must-hear cuts on Midnight Blues include “Why Do I Love You,” “I Want My Soul Back,” and the piano-powered soul of “Hold Me.” Shawanda shines brilliantly on each of them and demonstrates that there’s nothing she can’t sing. Don’t sleep on this record or you’re going to miss out on something special. ~Mike O’Cull

Midnight Blues MP3
Midnight Blues FLAC

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Crystal Shawanda - Church House Blues

Size: 94,5 MB
Time: 40:27
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Church House Blues (3:32)
02. Evil Memory (5:56)
03. Move Me (4:56)
04. Rather Be Alone (3:31)
05. When It Comes To Love (4:58)
06. Hey Love (3:23)
07. Blame It On The Sugar (3:18)
08. Bigger Than The Blues (3:58)
09. I Can't Take It (2:52)
10. New Orleans Is Sinking (3:59)

Evoking the spirit and grit of Janis Joplin and the contemporary delivery of Beth Hart, Church House Blues showcases one of most powerful new female voices in the Blues. Crystal Shawanda is an Indigenous musician, who grew up on the Wikwemikong reserve on an island in Ontario, Canada. Her parents taught her to sing and play guitar and encouraged her to play country songs, but she grew up in a home filled with the music her oldest brother loved most: the blues. She was signed as country artist to RCA Records in 2007 producing a Top 20 hit on country radio, sold over 50,000 copies in the US, went Top 20 on Billboard's Country Albums chart, but left Crystal feeling like a fish out of water. While on the road promoting the album, visiting radio stations she wrote "The Whole World's Got the Blues," inspired by the music she loved to overhear in her youth. She told RCA Nashville she wanted to make blues albums, formed her own label and began making the blues music that to Crystal, is her true calling.Now signed to True North Records, Church House Blues is Crystal's fourth blues album. Still consumed by the desire to let the world know just how much she adores and is influenced by some of the most timeless blues songs ever written, Crystal presents updated modern takes on some classic songs, as well as originals written as a love letter to the blues Crystal grew up with.

Church House Blues

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Crystal Shawanda - VooDoo Woman

Year: 2017
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:50
Size: 96,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front

1. Wang Dang Doodle/Smokestack Lightning (6:14)
2. Ball And Chain (4:41)
3. Voodoo Woman (2:54)
4. Hound Dog (3:18)
5. I'd Rather Go Blind (4:54)
6. Trouble (3:52)
7. Misty Blue (3:51)
8. Cry Out For More (3:47)
9. I'll Always Love You (4:35)
10. Blue Train/Smokestack Lightning (Revisited) (3:39)

After the hard rocking Fish Out Of Water last year, Crystal Shawanda returns to the blues with Voodoo Woman. She’s Ojibwe and this time out she’s paying tribute to the blues women she grew up listening to on the Wikwemikong reserve on Manitoulin Island, in sparkling new arrangements. One very important blues woman to her was Koko Taylor.

We start off a storming “Wang Dang Doodle” blended with “Smokestack Lightning”, led by Dewayne Strobel’s roaring slide and Stephen Hanner’s harp. Crystal clearly has learned her lessons well. Janis Joplin’s version of “Ball and Chain” benefits enormously from Danna Robbins’ marvellous sax work and Crystal’s powerful, do-it-her-own-way vocal. Koko’s “Voodoo Woman” is straightahead Chicago blues with Hanner’s harp leading the way. Big Mama Thornton gets another nod with a rocking “Hound Dog”.

Etta James would be no surprise on this list and her “I’d Rather Go Blind” gets a tremendous workout. The bluesiest track on Fish Out Of Water is conveniently repeated here: “Trouble” is a fine, hard rocking original that holds up well in this company and has great horn charts. Dorothy Moore’s famous ballad “Misty Blue” slows the pace down a bit, Robbins’ sax work is a treat and Crystal nails the vocal. “Cry Out For More” is a Shawanda original, a strong slab of R&B.

“Blue Train” was a highlight of The Whole World’s Got The Blues. This tribute to the murdered missing women is a very good song and one that needs to be heard. Crystal Shawanda may have started out in country music and she may well go back there but she is one fine blues singer.

Thanks to Gio.

VooDoo Woman mc
VooDoo Woman zippy

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Crystal Shawanda - The Whole World's Got The Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 41:36
Size: 95.3 MB
Styles: Country blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:58] 1. Im Not Your Baby
[4:08] 2. What You Gonna Do About Me
[4:58] 3. The Whole Worlds Got The Blues
[3:49] 4. Ill Always Love You
[3:44] 5. Cry Out For More
[3:34] 6. Fall From Grace
[4:30] 7. All I Could Do Was Cry
[4:18] 8. Pray Sister Pray
[3:48] 9. Blue Guitar
[4:45] 10. Blue Train

Crystal Shawanda’s country roots run deep. Born Native American, she was automatically country, joined to the land and the real stories of everyday people. To Native Americans, music is everything. It’s their history, their dance, and it is used to remember and to forget. It’s a way to celebrate life and mourn death.

Crystal was born on the Wikwemikong Native Reservation on Canada’s Manitoulin Island in Ontario. She grew up immersed in all styles of music, but country was in her heart. At 12, she accompanied her truck-driver father on a long haul to the southern United States, and visited Nashville for the first time. The very next year, she recorded her first album in Nashville, all of which were songs that she wrote.

Over the following several years, she recorded three more independent albums, traveled back and forth to Nashville, honed her craft, and finally got a full-time gig at the famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Nashville’s world-famous Broadway. There, she met her husband and lead guitarist, Dewayne Strobel, where they shared the stage for six years.

While working at Tootsie’s, Crystal began to work with producer Scott Hendricks (Faith Hill, Brooks and Dunn) and it was then in 2007 that Nashville music-business legend Joe Galante signed Crystal to RCA Records/ Sony Music Nashville. Crystal’s first single, “You Can Let Go” , was the fastest rising single in Canadian BDS history, reaching Top 5 in Canada and Top 20 in the US. Her debut album, “Dawn of a New Day”, was released in 2008, was Billboard’s highest charting album by a Native American in history, and sold over 400,000 copies. A CMT six-part documentary also aired in Canada called “Crystal: Living the Dream”, giving fans an inside look at Crystal’s life in Nashville.

In 2009, after five hit singles in Canada including the title track “Try” and “My Roots Are Showing”, and a massive tour with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, Crystal was named the Canadian Country Music Association’s Female Artist of the Year.

2010 shaped up to be another amazing year for Crystal, beginning with a cross-Canada tour with Reba McEntire, where Crystal was honoured to perform every night with the living legend for the duet “Does He Love You”. Crystal and her husband Dewayne launched their record label New Sun Records, and released two lead singles off of her forthcoming album, “Beautiful Day” and “Fight For Me”, in Canada. She also performed for 55 million people on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Crystal kicked off 2012 by storming up the country radio charts in January with the infectious track “Closer”, the first single from her upcoming album “Just Like You”. The inaugural release from New Sun Records, “Just Like You” was released on April 24th. A provokingly powerful collection of songs, the record showcases Crystal’s lush, rich voice and heartfelt songwriting. Crystal released her next single, “Down On Broadway”, on May 28th, with the accompanying video burning up CMT. Throughout the summer and fall, she has been touring constantly across both Canada and the United States to support the album.
2013 was an amazing year for Crystal, starting with a performance beside the White House on Inauguration Day, and followed by her first Juno Award win for Aboriginal Album of the Year.

The Whole World's Got The Blues

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