Attawapiskat singer celebrates first-time Juno nod

As singer-songwriter Adrian Sutherland eagerly awaits results of the 2022 Juno Awards in mid-May amidst the first nomination of his decade-long career, he's planning a return to in-person performances after two years of isolation in his remote, far north home town of Attawapiskat.

Sutherland said he is planning live shows this summer but admits that since releasing his debut solo album ‘When the Magic Hits’ last year, he's nervous to play the songs that earned him a Contemporary Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year Juno nomination in front of people.

"When you step away for so long and the recording process sometimes happens so fast, you tend to come back around to it and say, 'I forget how I play that,‘ Sutherland said.

"It's really just the process of relearning and rehearsing and getting playing up to where you feel comfortable and confident to get in front of people."

Sutherland said he's been listening to his album for months, and hasn't grown tired of the emotion and production value that he and his team put into it.

Filled with stories of love, loss, longing, and family, Sutherland said he's proud of the roots-rock record and the attention it has been receiving though he gives much of the credit to the producers, musicians, and fellow songwriters that made it possible.

Grammy and multi-Juno-winning producer and guitarist Colin Linden collaborated on several of the nine songs on the album, and is nominated for a Juno in the blues category for his record ‘BLOW.’

"He had a great deal of emotion that sounded like he wasn't trying to get that. He had kind of a natural soul," said the Toronto-born, Nashville-based musician about what drew him to collaborate with Sutherland.

"It also sounded like he came from a different part of the planet and there was something very interesting. It seemed like it was inherent in who he is, what he said, what he felt like saying."

Linden said he's proud that Sutherland's record is receiving national recognition and is hoping that attending the Junos will give them the chance to make more music together in person with the whole team behind the album collaborating virtually.

Sutherland is hoping that with his increased notoriety, people across the country will appreciate the music he created from a retrofitted shipping container in a locked-down fly-in community.

"It's such an emotional album when you listen to it and the different textures of sounds and colour that were put into it," Sutherland said.

"It's such a beautiful piece of work."