How this musician uses the blues as a tool for healing

Dalannah Gail Bowen has many titles — artist, storyteller, singer, performer, musician, activist, elder — but her latest album is a synthesis of her life's journey as an Afro-Canadian Cherokee singer making her way through a challenging world. 

The 74-year-old singer, described as Canada's matriarch of the blues, says her fifth album Looking Back is both a reflection and expression of gratitude. 

"First of all, I never thought I'd last this long," said Bowen, laughing, to host Margaret Gallagher on CBC's Hot Air. 

Reflecting back on what she calls her difficult childhood, Bowen says embracing a life in ceremony in adulthood, where she is closely connected to her Indigenous spiritual traditions, has made all the difference. 

"What it has done for me is allow me to heal from my past, to acknowledge where I have been ... it took me a long time to come to a place where I wasn't living a victim any more."

Bowen grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and started her musical career in an all-female band inspired by Motown's The Supremes, called the Feminine Touch.

"We rehearsed and rehearsed. We ended up opening for the Monkees, doing a train tour all the way to Montreal," she recalled.

"[We were] one of the first all-female bands in Canada."

Moving to Edmonton and then later Vancouver, Bowen's prowess as a singer of both jazz and blues cemented her reputation. A move to Oakland, California, however led Bowen to homelessness, addiction and poor health. She eventually turned her life around, pouring herself into writing. 

The blues, Bowen says, allowed her to tell stories — even painful ones — through song.

"It was the first music I heard where people could tell their story and I just think it's a powerful tool to ... give perspective to things."

Bowen hopes Looking Back can give that perspective during this time. Featuring all new original music as well as covers of classics like Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson's Tryin' Times, the album works as a soundtrack to the protests on the streets. 

"I've talked to other people of my age and generation and they say this is what we have been waiting for," she said, referring to the widespread anti-racism protests that have taken place since late May. 

"There is a resurgence in activism. I am encouraged by the youth who speak their minds because it really is time to speak up."

Bowen, who has long worked in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside as an activist and elder, says this moment is an important time for everyone to self-reflect. 

"If there is going to be a change in the world, there needs to be a change in the consciousness and so we encourage people that are complacent or don't want to think about it, it means they have to step outside of their comfort zone. The world is not in a comfort zone right now."

Listen the full segment on CBC's Hot Air here: