Métis singer-songwriter Sandra Sutter is making a big splash with her new album Cluster Stars.
The album was chosen as the best Americana recording at the Native American Music Awards in Seneca, New York last week.
Sutter says it is certainly an exciting time in the Indigenous arts.
“I think for me, being recognized for my song writing, and the fact this album is a bridge between mainstream music, pop music, folk music and traditional cultural sounds is so rewarding,” she says. “It makes me grateful to my elders for pushing me to do this.”
Sutter, who now makes her home in Calgary, grew up in a non-Indigenous home in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan.
This experience and other Indigenous topics, such as the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, play prominent roles in her music.
“It is hard to put some of it out there for public consumption,” Sutter says. “But when people listen to something and come back with a story about how that song and message impacted them or a story about their life that they can share that is similar that the song reminds them of, it’s so rewarding and it makes you feel like a part of this huge community.”
The Métis musician now plans to embark on a short tour of Western Canada to promote the album.
(PHOTO: Sandra Sutter. Photo courtesy of www.sandrasutter.com.)