Falynn Baptiste and Jake Vaadeland. (Submitted/Falynn Baptiste and Jake Vaadeland Facebook)

By Angela Brown

Awarding excellence

Battlefords artists make strides with Sask Music Award wins

Dec 8, 2023 | 3:49 PM

They’re the best!

Among the Saskatchewan Music Awards winners this year are several artists with roots in the Battlefords area.

Falynn Baptiste, who is from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, is still overwhelmed after being honoured with the Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year Award.

The Saskatoon high school teacher, who used to teach at North Battleford Comprehensive High School, was “shocked” to hear she won the award at the recent ceremony at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon.

“I was over the moon that I was nominated,” she said. “I looked at the other nominees in my category and thought they are doing things, they’re great, they’ve got TikTok. I was just going to enjoy the experience. I sat at the far-left side of the theatre, and then my name popped up, and my first thought was: ‘How do I navigate all the way to the front?’ [I was] equally surprised to be nominated, and to have my name called. I am thrilled and humbled. I am so grateful. [I’m] having a hard time accepting the win.”

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Baptiste’s latest release is her album Home which came out last year with songs in Cree as well as English.

“My album [represents] songs that reflect my journey as a Cree woman, and all the relationships I’ve had, and all the moments that have contributed to my life as part of my journey,” she said.

Jake Vaadeland, 20, of Cut Knife picked up the award for Roots or Folk Artist of the Year. The bluegrass musician who plays with his band the Sturgeon River Boys said he was honoured to receive the award. He is currently scheduled to play three sold-out shows coming up at the Bassment in Saskatoon. His latest album is called Everybody But Me.

Vaadeland, who plays the banjo and guitar, explained he developed an interest in bluegrass, old-time music from his Scandinavian roots growing up in Northern Saskatchewan, at Park Valley close to Big River, where many Scandinavian people settled in the early 1900s. His family later moved to Cut Knife around 10 years ago.

“I just want to make sure I’m doing something that’s not the same as what everybody else is doing because everybody seems to be doing the same thing now,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I could make my living doing this, so I have to have something that stands out. But it goes a little deeper than that. The bluegrass music was a big part of the culture in the Scandinavian area where I come from. Even in the old country church I used to go to out there. Instead of playing an organ or the piano, they have banjos, guitars and fiddles. I got in at an early age. We added an electric guitar later on, and it sort of made its own unique sound.”

Vaadeland said next year he is looking forward to a tour in Europe and will put out a new album in the new year as well.

Edmund Bull, of Little Pine First Nation, received the Indigenous Music Achievement Award. The Sask Music Awards Association said he is “known far and wide as the head singer and drumkeeper for the award-winning Red Bull Singers, as well as being an accomplished solo artist in the country genre.”

Elenee of Lloydminster along with Deeper Life of Strasbourg both won in a tie vote, picking up the award for Inspirational or Spiritual Artist of the Year.

The full list of Sask Music Award winners is available here.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsnow