On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Rozsa Center welcomed country music singer Crystal Shawanda. Shawanda, an Ojibwe native of Canada, impressed the crowd with her distinctive style.
During the concert, Shawanda performed several songs from her album, Dawn of a New Day, whose title is the approximate English meaning of her last name. Among the songs she performed were her first Top 20 single, “You Can Let Go,” as well as “Try” and “I Need a Man.” She also performed a few original songs to be released on her next studio album, such as “Love Enough for the Both of Us” and “Someone Who Loves You,” the latter of which she described as a song about “When you love someone who takes you for granted.” Mixed in with Shawanda’s own work were a few covers of artists such as Chris Isaac, Aretha Franklin and Johnny Cash. She told the audience, “We like to mix it up so you don’t know what to expect from us.”
For Shawanda, her music reflects her own experiences. When she was growing up, she had a lot of exposure to country music, as expected. However, as she told the audience, “I had older brothers, and they exposed me to a lot of different styles of music.” Shawanda lists among her influences such diverse people and groups as Johnny Cash and AC/DC, and it shows in her music, which varies from close to straight country to heavily hybrid. “Everyone on this stage has a little bit of influence from everywhere, and we believe if it speaks to your heart, it can’t be that bad.”
The concert was well received by the audience. One member of the audience, Ben Roskoskey, told the Lode, “I really enjoyed how she did some of her old music, some of her new music… I liked the variety.” He added that he liked the fact that the concert was only an hour and a half long, appreciating that it did not drag out. Overall, most of the audience seemed satisfied with the concert.