The inaugural Reverie Music Residency 'creates space' for Indigenous musicians to thrive

The inaugural Reverie Indigenous Music Residency kicked off on Oct. 16, bringing six First Nations, Métis and Inuit musicians to Toronto to make music, gain industry insights and take the next step in their careers. 

The four-week-long residency is co-sponsored by CBC and the SOCAN Foundation, with the goal of offering mentorship and access to state-of-the-art resources to Indigenous musicians from across the country. To ensure the artists can focus on their creative processes and networking opportunities, their travel and accommodation costs have been covered, and they'll also receive honorariums and commission fees. 

During the opening ceremony for the residency, CBC producer Kaitlyn Swan and SOCAN coordinator Charlie Walls-Andrew shared that Reverie aims to "create a space where Indigenous storytellers and artists, who have traditionally been underrepresented, are warmly welcomed into spaces that haven't always been accessible to them." They aim to bring Indigenous ways of knowing and creating to the forefront throughout the residency. 

This year's residency includes Ashley Ghostkeeper (Métis Cree from Red Deer, Alta.), Kalilah Rampanen (Nuu-chah-nulth from Ahousaht First Nation), Raven Reid (Cree from Yellowknife, with ties to Mikisew First Nation), Shelby Sappier (Wolastoqiyik from Tobique First Nation), Logan Staats (Mohawk from Six Nations) and Wiidaaseh (Anishinabek from Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation). They encompass a wide range of musical styles, from folk to hip-hop to blues to country. 

The artists have been commissioned to write and produce two songs during the residency, and have full studio access and support from the CBC Music team to bring their sonic creations to life. 

The residency will culminate with a songwriters' showcase on Nov. 7, 2024, at the TD Allied Music Centre, where the participants will get to perform their new songs to members of the community. Tickets will be free of charge, with more information to come. It will be in partnership with the Tkaronto Music Festival, a three-day celebration of Indigenous musical excellence taking place Nov. 7-9 at TD Music Hall that features artists from across Turtle Island, including the Halluci Nation, Tanya Tagaq, Sebastian Gaskin and more. 

Read on below to discover a bit more about this year's cohort of artists, and what they hope to gain from the Reverie experience.

Ashley Ghostkeeper

Ashley Ghostkeeper is a country artist inspired by the '90s sound of Miranda Lambert, Sara Evans and the Chicks, while adding her own modern flare to her music. She comes from a family of singers and began singing at the age of eight. Ghostkeeper began releasing music in 2021, and her first EP, Future Me, came out in 2023. She was nominated for the Fan's Choice Award and horizon female artist of the year at the 2024 Country Music Alberta Awards. 

"[What] I'm most looking forward to with this residency is probably the other five wonderful artists ... I'm so inspired by their individuality and what they're doing for community and how they're sharing their gifts," Ghostkeeper said. "We're all in this together, and as one rises, we all rise together."

Kalilah Rampanen

Kalilah Rampanen's artist name, Hasaatuk, means "loud, vibrant voice" in Nuu-chah-nulth, and she uses that voice to send a message. Her musical subject matter explores Indigenous, environmental and social horizons, related to her activism and advocacy for the protection and preservation of Indigenous lands and cultures.  

"I'm excited to learn all the back-end stuff, promotion, the right streaming platforms, how to properly make sure your music is licensed and safe," she said. "I hope to go home feeling a lot more confident in next steps and confident moving forward."

Raven Reid

Raven Reid is a self-taught folk singer and musician whose penchant for storytelling began with poetry and short fiction. Eventually, she began setting her stories to music as a way of processing the oppression and racism she faced as an Indigenous person and Sixties Scoop survivor. Her music explores the generational trauma that many Indigenous families grapple with. On Oct. 11, 2024, she released her first EP, Waiting For Change, under her new record label, Merilainen Music. 

"I hope to grow by networking, also learning how to put on showcases, what touring is about, just the next levels to further my music career," she said. "I'm looking forward to that and experiencing the city of Toronto and what it has to offer."

Shelby Sappier

Shelby Sappier, better known as Beaatz, is an East Coast Music Award- and Indigenous Music Award-winning rapper and producer, and a founding member of hip-hop group City Natives. Known for his propulsive beats and brash bars, he has three solo albums under his belt: 2013's Do or Die, 2014's Coming Home and 2017's Love | Hate.

"I think being able to live in a city of Toronto for four weeks is truly an experience in itself, which, mind you, I never thought I'd be doing right now," he said. "Besides the music aspect of things, this is probably what excites me the most, is just being in the city. I'm really just hoping to find some time to take it in, be in the studio, find some inspiration, and continue to create good music."

Logan Staats

Logan Staats' music has run the gamut from rock to folk to soul. He was SOCAN's Indigenous songwriter of the year in 2023, and has been nominated for Juno and Native American Music awards. Things really began for him after the release of his 2015 debut album, Goodbye Goldia, and his win of CTV's The Launch in 2018. Since then, he's toured across North America and Europe and released his sophomore album, A Light in the Attic, in 2023. Staats recently took part in a tribute concert for Robbie Robertson in Inglewod, Calif., sharing the stage with Allison Russell, Julian Taylor, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and more. 

"I'm extremely excited about coming to Toronto and doing this residency, and collaborating with different artists," he said. "There's always a potency that comes from co-writing, you know. So it's super exciting for me to get in the room with different artists, different peers, people that I've never met before, and collectively and creatively come up with something together."

Wiidaaseh

Wiidaaseh is a hip-hop artist who blends powerful storytelling about his cultural history with modern production styles. He began making music over a decade ago and writes, produces, mixes and masters all of his own songs. Wiidaaseh has released two albums: 2018's Super Eight and 2022's Black & Blue. 

"I'm very much looking forward to meeting everyone involved in the studios or in any creative process, whether it be videographers, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, someone who's in charge of live music, stuff like that," he said. "I'm really looking forward to picking their brains a little bit, just on how their career started, how things are going now, what it's like to work with artists. I'm also very much looking forward to mentorship advice."