Crystal Shawanda is a Juno Award‑winning singer-songwriter from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Rooted in country and blues, she moved to Nashville as a teenager—recording her first album at age 13 and later signing with RCA Nashville. Her debut album, Dawn of a New Day, made history as one of the highest-charting albums by an Indigenous country artist in the SoundScan era. Transitioning back to the blues, she released powerful, soul‑driven albums on her own label, New Sun Records. With a voice that blends raw emotion and technical precision, Crystal has emerged as one of Canada’s most respected and trail‑blazing Indigenous artists.

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Key Achievements:

• Dawn of a New Day debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard Country Albums chart

• Juno Award – Aboriginal Album of the Year (2013, Just Like You)

• Juno Award – Blues Album of the Year (2021, Church House Blues)

• CCMA Award – Female Artist of the Year (2009)

• Nominated for CCMA Single of the Year (“You Can Let Go”)

• Founder of New Sun Records, an independent label supporting Indigenous and roots artists