Crystal Shawanda: Homesick Indian Blues
By Ken Wallis | The Sound Cafe Journal
Photo Credit: Ken Wallis.
From an interview on BluesSource Canada with Ken Wallis
Over the years, Crystal Shawanda has explored different genres and brought her own unique interpretations to cover songs. That has been part of her appeal. Her new album, Homesick Indian Blues, is a personal testament from a powerful vocalist who has always been willing to explore the many possibilities of music while continuing to search for her true identity.
From Manitoulin to Nashville
Crystal grew up on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada, where music was a family tradition.
“My parents and my grandparents listened to the Grand Ole Opry once a week. They’d gather around the radio and the wood stove,” she recalls.
Listening to that music captivated the young Crystal.
Her father, a truck driver, travelled roads that took him through Nashville, and Crystal would often ride along with him. By the age of 12, she was singing in Nashville venues during school breaks. At 13, she had recorded her first album there, and by 16, she had moved to the city. Nashville is known as Music City, and Crystal felt she belonged.
Country Stardom Without Really Wanting It
Her big break came at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, where she met her future husband and producer, Dewayne Strobel. She began singing in the back room, which was basically a “dead zone” because nobody quite knew what to do with her.
Crystal sang the way she wanted to, belting out songs that left country music fans perplexed. She sang Hank Williams Sr. with a bluesy voice and Johnny Cash with punk-rock bluster, while also drawing inspiration from B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Tina Turner and Janis Joplin. Crystal sang the music that felt right to her, and she was one of the few people in Nashville who dared to do things that way.
Her dynamic vocals soon caught the attention of major record labels. She signed a country music deal, feeling it was an offer she couldn’t resist. But reality soon crept in, and she began to feel boxed in.
Crystal recalls being told: “I was told to tone it down, don’t get too crazy, reel in your rasp… We don’t want to scare away the country music fans.”
Her breakout hit, You Can Let Go, made her a country star, but when she stepped onto festival stages, she couldn’t resist unleashing her bluesy fire. Audiences were confused, and Crystal was, too.
By her second album, she felt she was “selling [her] soul.” The third album changed everything. She and Dewayne wrote Whole World’s Got the Blues, and that song helped lead her towards the blues.
“It felt like letting a bird out of a cage.”
It was a turning point. Crystal Shawanda had found a musical home in the blues, and she felt right where she belonged.
The Meaning Behind Homesick Indian Blues
The title of the new album carries a deeply personal and emotional meaning.
“It’s about finding our way back to who we truly are… unbecoming all the things the world told us to be.”
Leaving home wasn’t easy for Crystal. She speaks candidly about missing her community in Wiikwemkoong every day and reflects on the changing labels used to describe Indigenous identity.
She points out that official documents still use the term Indian Status, while the sign in her community still reads unceded Indian reservation. Over time, terminology has shifted from Indian to Native American and then to Indigenous. Crystal uses her music to explore the history, meaning and sometimes confusing nature of these labels, while searching for a deeper understanding of identity and belonging.
A Tribute Through Song: “Come On To Me”
One of the album’s most emotional moments is Crystal’s cover of the Mavericks’ “Come On To Me.”
Raul Malo, the band’s iconic vocalist, used to slip quietly into the back room at Tootsies to watch Crystal perform. His continued support inspired her to keep going.
Following Malo’s passing, Crystal hesitated to record the song until Dewayne suggested it would make the perfect tribute. Eddie Perez of the Mavericks joined the session, contributing guitar and background vocals while sharing stories about life on the road with Raul.
“You’re different. So just play on it, celebrate it,” Perez told her in the studio.
The track became a celebration of Raul’s support and the lasting impact he had on Crystal.
Taking the Blues Wherever She Feels Comfortable
The album blends original material with some standout covers, including Albert King’s I’ll Play the Blues for You, a song Crystal has been performing for more than a decade.
“I love Albert King… I’ve actually been performing this song for like 10 years.”
Her version is electrifying, with a spoken-word section that reflects her own relationship with her fans rather than simply following Albert King’s original approach.
The record also features a song by Hank Williams Sr. and one by Mark Knopfler, demonstrating Crystal’s ability to bridge her country roots with the soul of the blues. It is this willingness to move between musical worlds that makes her such an engaging performer.
Dewayne’s Professional Perfectionism
Crystal is quick to credit her husband and producer, Dewayne Strobel, whose guitar work and perfectionism have influenced every track on the album.
“He’s like a mad scientist… even after we loaded it up, he was still changing mixes… He respects the music so much.”
Their home studio has become a creative laboratory, and their partnership is the driving force behind much of what they do musically.
Their nine-year-old daughter even sings background vocals on several tracks, making Homesick Indian Blues a genuine family affair. It seems talent runs in the family.
A Voice That Found the Blues
Crystal Shawanda’s journey has been remarkable, marked by determination and a desire to find her own voice and identity. It all comes together on Homesick Indian Blues.
Whatever you choose to call it, blues, blues-rock, blues-soul or blues-country, there is one unmistakable way to describe this album: damn good music with a story to tell.
The album is available digitally on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp, with physical copies coming soon at crystalshawandamusic.com.
Crystal sings, “I’ve seen too many storm clouds in my life.” But those storm clouds helped lead her to the blues, and we’re all grateful for that!
The Sound Cafe Journal
Where the story behind the music matters.
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