Presented by SaskMusic, with support from the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), Creative Saskatchewan and guidance from SaskMusic’s Indigenous Advisory.
SaskMusic is delighted to announce the speakers for this year’s Indigenous Songwriters Retreat happening August 15-17, 2025, in Saskatoon and Wanuskewin.
This year, Indigenous music industry representatives and speakers/presenters include Logan Staats, Matt Maw, and Nigel Irwin with artist mentors Dale Mac and Lindsay “Eekwol” Knight!
Over the course of a weekend—set in the sacred site and gathering place of Wanuskewin—24 Indigenous songwriters will develop stronger songwriting skills, gain co-writing experience, learn music industry tips, build a network of peers to potentially collaborate with in the future, and gain valuable inspiration to apply to the musicians’ musical career and artistic work.
SaskMusic in partnership with Imagiin Lab and SOCAN respectively, will be also be hosting two FREE open-to-the public workshops on Friday, August 15 at the Delta Hotel in Saskatoon and on Sunday, August 17 at Wanuskewin to complement the programming offered through the Indigenous Songwriters Retreat.
For more information about the upcoming workshops, visit our website here, and here!
Artist biographies:
Dale McArthur (aka Dale Mac) is a rock-roots songwriter and studio producer from the White Bear First Nations. He has firsthand and life experience as an Indigenous Artist of over 24 years. Dale has spent time as a liaison and Indigenous voice on different Arts boards, Arts Juries, festival committees, radio programming, and Indigenous Advisories.
Dale is a strong supporter of local music and local arts agencies and art galleries, live venues, local festivals, and local radio stations. Dale has been a cofounder with the current SaskMusic Indigenous Advisory while continuing to produce his new music and offer guidance to emerging artists.
Lindsay "Eekwol" Knight is half nehiyaw (a status member of Muskoday First Nation) and half immigrant (Russian/Polish) with a lived experience as an urban Indigenous person in Treaty Six Territory. She/her is an award-winning hip-hop performing artist and activist who has dedicated years to the culture and craft of hip-hop to create something unique and astounding to give back to the community. Eekwol uses her music and words to spread messages of resistance and revolution and keep Indigenous language, land, and culture alive for the next generations. Through her original sound, she displays her activist roots by living and creating as a supporter of hip-hop and Indigenous culture and rights. Eekwol has just released her 10th album titled, TMRWS.
Logan Staats hails from Six Nations of the Grand River, and has earned a reputation as one of Turtle Island's cultural tastemakers, a land defender and one of our premiere storytellers. As an artist, he pairs gritty and compelling songwriting with raw, authentic and high energy performances that electrify the audience. Weaving his way through the sounds of Folk, Rock, Roots and Americana music, Staats powerful voice has become a fan favorite across the country, and around the world.
Matt Maw (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation) is the President & Lead Artist Manager at Red Music Rising. Matt brings well over a decade of multi-faceted music industry experience to RMR, along with a passion for artist development and a mission to amplify Canada's Indigenous artists on the global stage. Throughout his career, Matt has worked with some of Canada's most celebrated artists, Indigenous and otherwise, and now oversees a label and management roster including Sebastian Gaskin, Boogey The Beat, Nimkish, Wolf Saga, Reuben & The Bullhorn Singers, Drives The Common Man and LOR.
A graduate of the Harris Institute for the Arts, Matt currently sits on the board of Music Managers Forum Canada and the BreakOut West Indigenous Advisory Committee. Matt has worked alongside organizations including Warner Music Group Canada, Universal Music Canada, Arts & Crafts Productions, Six Shooter Records, Collective Concerts, Field Trip, and Minoshkite.
Nigel Irwin is a Cree/Canadian composer and musical artist from Toronto, Ont. As Creative Director of Nagamo, Irwin has helped build the first production-music library created entirely by Indigenous artists. He works closely with a growing network of Indigenous singers and musicians worldwide. In addition, Irwin also provides original musical scores for film and television projects.
Some credits include Crave Original Thunder Bay, CTV’s Acting Good, BBC Foodspiracy, The Nature of Things, and CBC Podcasts. He also provided the music for a VR Experience produced by the NFB called This Is Not A Ceremony which made Official Selection at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Through his own artist music, Irwin became the 2019 recipient of the Bullseye Music Award through imagineNATIVE and Slaight Music. He will soon be releasing his first FACTOR-funded, full-length LP, Caught In A Dream, which blends pop songwriting with an indie-rock energy and Indigenous flare.
Since releasing songs in 2014, Irwin’s music has appeared on CBC, SiriusXM, ElementFM, and Zoomer Radio. As a writer, Irwin’s work has excelled outside of music creation. Irwin has been published in VICE, The Nation, Two Row Times, and the Niagara Falls Review, covering a wide range of Indigenous stories.
