CRYSTAL SHAWANDA

In every industry you have your share of ups and downs, and in the music business this is no exception. Crystal Shawanda knows this first hand. But, a dream wouldn’t be a dream if you didn’t have to work hard to get there. Crystal Shawanda was born on the Wikwemikong Native Reservation on Canada’s Manitoulin Island in Ontario. She grew up immersed in all styles of music, especially country, being the youngest of three siblings; music has always been a part of who Crystal is. At 12, she accompanied her truck-driver father on a long haul to the southern United States, and visited Nashville for the first time. At 13, she recorded her first album in Nashville, all of which were songs that she wrote. Over the next several years recorded 3 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 famous downtown street, Broadway. There, she met her husband and lead guitarist, Dewayne Strobel, where they shared the stage for six years. She began to work with producer Scott Hendricks (Faith Hill, Brooks and Dunn) and it was then that Nashville music-business legend Joe Galante signed Crystal to RCA Records/ Sony Music Nashville in 2007. “You Can Let Go” was the fastest rising single in Canadian BDS History and reached top 5 in the 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, and sold 400,000 copies that year. 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, deservingly. Also that year, Crystal parted ways with RCA/Sony to explore other avenues. She stated, “Throughout my time with Sony, I learned so much and I will forever be grateful to Joe Galante for giving me the opportunity and freedom to figure out who I am.” 2010 shaped up to be another amazing year for Crystal, beginning with a Cross-Canadian tour with Reba McEntire, which she got to perform every night with the living legend for the duet “Does He Love You”. Crystal launched her record label New Sun Records, and released her 2 hit singles off of her forthcoming album, “Beautiful Day” and “Closer” in Canada. Crystal also appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. As she looks forward to the future, Crystal Shawanda is excited to continue to tour,and share the new songs,from her recently released album "Just Like You" in stores now,or you can order at www.crystalshawanda.co as well as iTunes.ca In this business you can let things get you down, but Crystal has always found a way to bounce back to what really matters. “I love to sing,and the music has always pulled me through"