Gaënö'

Melody McArthur, originally from Treaty 8 Territory in Canada, has been establishing a fast paced music career in Edmonton, Alberta. Since 2018 she’s already released 4 full length albums, has had 9 singles appear on the Indigenous Music Countdown and is currently nominated for five awards at this year's Native American Music Awards! This week, Gaënö’ welcomes Melody to discuss her work with music...

Jir Anderson, Cochiti Pueblo, has been making music for most of his life. In addition to being a talented singer songwriter and master bluesman, he’s also the founder of the Native Guitars Tour. What started as humble show in 2007, the NGT has grown into a full scale production, combining music and fashion for a weekend of world class entertainment. Today, we’ll be taking a listen to Jir’s 2016, T...

Paul Steward, Pomo, along with his father Rich, are fast approaching 20 years as the earth quakin’, booty shakin’, award winning blues band Twice as Good. In addition to discussing their latest album, Double Down, Paul joins me this week to discuss his new solo career, upcoming collaborations and the expansion of the Twice as Good name. Enjoy!  https://paul2xg.com https://twiceasgood.org/home http...

Elexa Dawson, Potawatomi, was born and raised in Oklahoma but moved to Kansas in 2006 and has been there ever since. She’s involved with a number of bands including Weda Skirts, and Heyleon; a band described as a “cross pollination of established musicians.” Nominated at this years Native American Music Awards, our conversation ranges from talking about these projects to a shared love of sustainab...

Micki Free’s life is the stuff of legends. As a young teenager, he saw Jimi Hendrix live and immediately knew what he wanted to do in life. Years later, after opening up for Kiss, Gene Simmons declared “you’re gonna be a star.” As a member of Shalamar he scored a Grammy with “Don’t Get Stopped in Beverly Hills (Beverly Hills Cop 1984), which led him to hanging out with Prince as described in a fam...

Bebe Buckskin, Cree/Métis, currently resides in Calgary, Alberta but has big plans for 2022. After recording her debut album, Captain Medicine (2021) at a legendary recording studio in Alabama, she’s gearing up to take her soulful act on the road. Tune in to hear all about Bebe Buckskins journey thus far. Enjoy!  https://bebebuckskin.com Playlist 01- Bebe Buckskin- Alley Cat 02- Bebe Buckskin- Swa...

Krieg Benally (Navajo/San Carlos Apache) has been making music since 2007 but things really started to take off after forming Neon Nativez in 2015. Their video remix of A Tribe Called Red’s, Burn Your Village to the Ground has millions of views on Youtube and helped to forge a path for success in the electronic music scene.  This week, Krieg joins me to discuss his latest album, Rezilience (2022),...

Gaënö’ Ombigiizi  Anishinaabe musicians, Adam Sturgeon and Daniel Monkman have already had tremendous solo success. Monkman with his band Zoon and Sturgeon with Status/Non Status. Together they form the Indigenous supergroup, Ombigiizi. In our chat we discuss indigenous futurisms, how they came to record their album, Sewn Back Together with Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene at the Tragically Hips...

Mimi O’Bonsawin (Abenaki & Francophone) has been releasing music since 2015. She’s a long time friend and returning guest to Gaënö’. Last year, I had her on to discuss her award winning EP, Elle Danse (2020), an album that was also included on many curated playlists, including Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify. Today, I welcome Mimi back to the show to talk about her latest release, a collection...

Wanbli Ceya (Oglala Lakota) is a multi award winning artist who records as JUQ. They have not one, but two mixtapes nominated at this years Native American Music Awards (Nya & Yamni). JUQ, who openly lives a bisexual/polyamorous lifestyle strongly feels that discussions about decolonization shouldn’t be afraid to include the topics of love and sexuality.  So in celebration of Valentines Day, w...

The Vancouver-based marvel-in-the-making is fearless in her lyricism, confronting anti-Indigenous racism and colonial violence alongside other hard subjects like anxiety, grief and heartache.  She released her first album, Heartbreak on the Coast in 2019. Today we discuss her latest album, Damage Control. The album was written and recorded in 2020, a year that caused so many to endure grief and lo...

Sunburnt Stone (Dine) out of Albuquerque, New Mexico are messengers from the rock gods that rock and roll is still very much alive. Founding members Andrew Wilson and Daryl Young started Sunburnt Stone in 2015 but have been playing together in various projects for the last 2 decades. This week is a double feature as we discuss the bands debut album, El Navaho and their brand new release, 5th World...

Ansley Simpson, Anishinaabe, first wowed listeners in 2017 with the release of her excellent debut album, Breakwall. In the years since, she’s refined her songwriting and production skills by releasing more singles and contributing to her sister Leannes album, Theory of Ice. A new full length album, She Fell From the Sky, is slated for release in the spring of 2022 but today we’re discussing her s...

Keith Secola (Ojibwe) is a gentleman and a scholar. He’s a 7 time Native American Music Award winning artist who’s twice performed at the Olympics. Keith’s music has provided the soundtrack for a PBS documentary (Homeland) and he’s collaborated with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and John Densmore of the Doors. This week Brett sits down with Keith and they discuss his newest album, Portals, his...

Khu.éex is an innovative band of musicians, storytellers, activists and artists based out of the pacific northwest featuring members of the Tlingit, Haida and Blackfoot Nations. Formed in 2013 after a chance meeting between Tlingit artist Preston Singletary and the legendary Bernie Worrell (1944-2016), the band continues to expertly weave elements of the traditional and contemporary in new and exc...

2021 was a huge year for Gaënö’, and its all thanks to a lot of great people. First, I’m grateful for all the artists who joined me on the show for its first year of syndication. A special Nya:wëh goes out to Joanne Shenandoah, Silver Wolf Band, PJ Vegas, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Innastate, Sebastian Gaskin, GR Gritt, Jayli Wolf, Ya Tseen, Leela Gilday, Nadjiwan, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Steven Rushin...

Gaënö’ Holiday Extravaganza  Hard to believe it’s already that time of year. However you celebrate this holiday season, may you and your family celebrate with love and laughter. In addition to spinning some of my favorite classics, I was also able to bring on the best NDN Santa my budget could buy: Santee from the North.  You are hereby cordially invited to gather the family ‘round the ole radio f...

Joanne Shenandoah, Wolf Clan, Oneida, stepped off this earth November 22, 2021, following a long illness. She takes her place among the other celestial bodies where she’ll continue her work of connecting the past to present and present to future… After walking away from a prestigious career as a computer programmer, Joanne dedicated her life to educating people around the world about the rich trad...

Joanne Shenandoah, Wolf Clan, Oneida, stepped off this earth November 22, 2021, following a long illness. She takes her place among the other celestial bodies where she’ll continue her work of connecting the past to present and present to future… After walking away from a prestigious career as a computer programmer, Joanne dedicated her life to educating people around the world about the rich trad...

Vince Fontaine, Ojibwe, was already an established, award winning artist with his band, Eagle and Hawk before forming the music collective, Indian City nearly 10 years ago.  Indian City’s new album, Code Red imagines a post covid world…one where we emerge a renewed people. A world where we live in greater balance with each other and our natural environment. Also in our conversation..You heard it h...

Through story and song, Phyllis Sinclair, Cree, has a gift for transporting the listener to a magical place. A place where there’s no separation between the land, culture, people.. the past and the present. You might remember the international headlines (November 4th) about the vibrant light show with the northern lights. That otherworldly display happened a few short hours after we discussed the...

Talon Bazille Ducheneaux, who performs unde  r the name Bazille is Crow Creek and Cheyenne River Sioux in South Dakota. Not only is he a talented songwriter, producer, lyricist, rapper and author, he can also add a degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania to his already impressive resume. He’s released roughly 20 albums including the mind bending trilogy, Traveling the Multiverse w...

This weeks featured artist is Anyma, from the Wendat Nation. Hailing from Wendake in Quebec, Anyma is a new face on the scene with her first EP, Humans. Born of a musician father (who was also a cultural chief of her village) and a dancer/choreographer mother, Anyma, expertly weaves the different aspects of her artistic upbringing in new and exciting ways. Her song, If God Had a Boat has already b...

Like most musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, Diga has been locked away in his studio with his computer and guitar, devoid of a live audience. Stemming from this period of isolation is a unique album that stretches song into ballad and guitar riff into an instrumental exploration. As soon as he was able, he brought the band together, to start recording this Covidian epoch. Diga invites you on...

With Mato Wayuhi (Lakota), music spoke to him at a young age. In 4th grade, he was the kid rapping the morning announcements and lunch menu at school. Traditional culture played a huge role in his upbringing, as did the music of Green Day and Jay Z. While attending the University of Southern California, Mato released his first two albums, Part Time Indian and Scatterbrain. He also graduated with a...