This was my first time every being involved in the CCMA Country Crawl week, which was located right in Saskatoon. It changes every year, but this year it was close to home. Throughout the day, I can see myself becoming less nervous but at the start of the day my hands were shaking a little bit and I haven’t been nervous like that in a few years!
THE DRIVE IN
The drive into Saskatoon is about five hours from home, so my dad and I packed up and hit the road the day before. We stopped at this cute pottery place, Freba Pottery, near Wynyard to check it out.
I love seeing these – maps of folks who have visited. On a different wall there was a large map of Sask.
The next morning, I was ready to roll quite early – there are two different showcases on the agenda for today – both thanks to Sask Music for giving me the opportunity!
ACOUSTIC SET IN THE TCU LOBBY
I met a few great musicians here; folks were so friendly and encouraging. I got to learn a lot in a very short time span just by chatting to folks about traveling with instruments and proper care for them. I haven’t played a fully acoustic set since my first ever gig (about 7 years ago) so I was a little worried about my voice being loud enough, but I think it went quite alright. This was also the first time my new cardigan with a deer made it on stage.
A photographer, Melissa Berg, from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix was walking by and she shot some photos of me, that made the cover of the paper. I think this is the first time I’ve been on the cover of a newspaper – and such a big one is awesome.
Afterwards we had some time to kill, so we ventured around the city looking for live music and some local shops.
The afternoon coffee was at Cafe Del-Rey. I had a lavender honey cappuccino, and dad ordered a brown sugar bourbon coffee.
We walked around the river side and found these cool row boats; the photos don’t do them justice but the fins are reflective. People were out paddling up and down the river on paddleboards and kayaks.
Then for lunch we had to go to a unique place, and we picked this restaurant called the Cave. It’s flintstone themed, and super unique. Super kitschy. We didn’t have anything to fancy here, but it was a fun experience.
I needed to grab some music supplies to we headed to a music store; I picked out this book of easy and intermediate solos of Spanish music – which I can’t wait to get home and play these of a classical guitar instead of my steel strings.
SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE AT BOKEHS IN THE PLAZA
I was so excited to play here, it’s a very comfortable bar with prairie items all along the walls in the walkway in, and a cozy decorated place. I got a drink (I want to say something in the name was “slow”), it was purple with hibiscus and lychee topped with egg whites. The bar was so busy that getting videos and photo’s that we’re centered and clear was hard. The sound folks that Sask Music had were so sweet and kind. Overall, this whole day was so welcoming and warm – I was so happy to be a part of it.
My second tour of the Okanagan – hitting a few different towns this time: Kelowna, Salmon Arm, and Sicamous.
KELOWNA
This was my first time being in Kelowna, I have some family in the city, and I got to meet them. We toured around the orchids, ate at a gorgeous lakeside winery, and visited a canyon.
The canyon (we didn’t hike it) but it was pretty to see
I played at the Mission Creamery in Kelowna – a cute ice cream shop tucked into a huge building that is a big boat vending machine.
All of the ice cream was hand made at a different location, but it was perfect, not to sugary. I also loved the garage door that was open. Some folks set up across the street in lawn chair to listen, it was super sweet.
We did more driving the next day and hit the apple orchids. My family was sweet enough to send us on our way with a trunk full of fresh picked fruit.
Dad and I hit a local coffee shop downtown, The Black Rabbit, and I tried an orchid coffee for the first time (I loved it).
SALMON ARM
To start the day Dad and I headed up the mountain top – we were looking for a viewpoint to get some good photos, and we ended up meeting Kasar. He was playing a Pershin drum called a Daf. He played us a song, and I gave him the information for the Salmon Arm show and invited him to come down and play.
Afterwards we headed to a little dairy farm that had open walking tours – we tried different cheeses and walked around the barns. There was a section where you could watch the cheese being made.
I love Salmon Arm, last year I played at a little cafe, and this year I played at a Night Cafe. This place was filled with painting, and they had such good ceasers and cocktails. The Night Cafe was right close to the big trouble clef downtown. Which I didn’t get a picture with last year!
The decor in this place was amazing – bear rugs, hydrangeas, everything was perfect here. I was set up right between a piano and an in the works painting with my drink and set list rested on a painter’s stool. Kasar ended up showing to play with me – check the video out below!
The next morning, we started hitting the markets – I can’t recall which one this was called but they had a petting zoo, so we had to go check out all the animals.
SICAMOUS
The houseboat capital of Canada (we didn’t go on one), we didn’t have much time to spend in Sicamous, but we spent the time right. We started the day setting up at Anvil Collective Coffee – which was a cozy cafe.
My dad’s getting to be quite the good photo taker.
This cafe was filled with cool maps – a lot of old train routes. I found the happiest looking yellow coffee mug that that to come one with me.
Afterwards we spent the day driving up an active logging road to this sketchy viewpoint although it was too foggy to see much. The platform was a direct drop off to the edge of the mountain and all the reviews online said it was seriously unstable. I don’t think I had ever been that far up in the clouds on a mountain so that was pretty cool to see.
We headed to Enderby to eat at the Small Axe Bar that we discovered on our last trip out here – then called it a night.
KELOWNA
We had a day before we had to fly out and I had one thing in mind – the Kangaroo enclosure and coffee. We hit a cafe called Pulp Fiction Coffee House, it was filled with vintage books and little antiques.
Then onto the Kangaroo farm – there was lots to see here.
The emus were giving out hugs and nestling into our necks
Capybaras – these guys felt like straw almost and were super relaxed.
An up-close shot
Despite the number of animals here the porcupine was the coolest to me – pokey and friendly and I got to feed her some celery right out of my hand.
A snake!
An albino kangaroo – these guys were smaller than I thought they would be, and a lot more relaxed
Heading Home
This weekend tour was a lot more relaxed than any other I’ve been on so far, which made it a lot better. This was my guitar case before we left and to keep the tradition, I got a few more stickers to add.
This tour came together perfectly, originally three shows in three days, then a lucky forth added on.
Day one: Carberry & Sprucewoods
Carberry is a smaller town, with an old timey feel, right off the highway of the number one, east of Brandon. I learnt a few things from the folks who came to watch my show about Carberry.
Carberry is right near the Manitoba desert (we did not get to drive through, but it’s on the list to do).
Manitoba has mudpuppies, a type of salamanders. Although they are rare to see.
Carberry is filled with potato farmers.
The show was set to be at the Gingerbread House. The house was built by James White in the early 1900’s. The last brick gingerbread looking house in Western Canada. Which is now a part of the Carberry Plains Museum.
There were only three houses designed and built this way, and Carberry’s is the last standing.
The members of the Carberry museum were all super sweet, and it was a warm and welcoming show.
Originally, I was supposed to be singing on this little porch part, but since our sound system required power, we had to switch locations.
Of course, leaving the gingerbread house, the members of the museum board had sent dad and I home with homemade cookies.
After I had finished the show, we packed up and hit the road to the town we we’re going to sleep in, halfway between Brandon and Carberry, off of the highway a bit, Sprucewoods. We arrived late at night and woke up early in the morning to leave so there wasn’t that much time to sight see, but we did find a few cool things.
Sprucewoods is a little town just north of the military base in Manitoba, Shilo. It also is located just on the edge of the Spruce Woods Provincial Park, and we didn’t get to see much, but we got to see some good Scots Pines.
Day two: Douglas, Brandon & Ninette
We started the day at the Reptile Garden, right outside of Douglas, MB. I hadn’t been here since I was a kid, and dad had never been here at all. When I was kid, I had boughten a stuffed snake toy that was super long, and that’s all I really remembered. There was such a variety of creatures. The crocodiles and alligators were my favorite to see.
Feeding the turtles was fun too. The food looked like smaller cat food, and the turtles loved it. These were Western Painted Turtles, which are actually wild in Manitoba, but these guys were all rescues.
The owner was super excited about her new iguana chair, so we of course had to take a picture with it. The owner also shared how this wildlife sanctuary started as a few pet reptiles in her house as her husband’s hobby, and it’s grown from there.
Afterwards we headed into Brandon, had a quick bite, then headed to Lady of the Lake. I played here last year, and it was a great little show. The stage set up (whether inside or outside) is always gorgeous and the best for photos.
There wasn’t a lot of time to do much shopping in the storefront, but there were some seriously cute things there.
My set list was nestled into the plants as I sang.
The merch trunk filled for the weekend.
We packed up the sound system and hit the road again. We wanted to be in Killarney that night. On the two-hour drive towards Killarney we stopped in the little town of Ninette – there was a huge boat perched with a for sale sign on the main street. The boat wasn’t typical for these Manitoba lakes; it looked more like a boat you’d see out west. We took the right turn and ended up at the Pelican Yacht Club.
Sailboats in Manitoba, I never would have thought. Some folks from the club came and chatted with us as we were driving through. A very welcoming community.
I also tried out these cute cat clips that I found online (I LOVE them)
Day three: Killarney
Killarney reminded me a lot of Eastern Sask – everyone had opened arms, and you could chat with anyone off the street, it was so nice. This town had a lot of shamrocks scattered – from imprints in the cement to the lights hanging on main street. We happened to be in town of the town wide garage sale, so we took our time stopping at the sales and meeting the locals.
The poster that I made for this show at the Owl & Oak Cafe – I was super proud of. My graphic design skills are getting better by every poster.
This cafe, I have amazing things to say about. It’s connected to an art gallery (ran by the same owners) which had such a variety of broad styles. We even found a print of a photo from Inglis, MB.
This style of art reminds me of Montreal – there was so many art galleries which were filled with this bright style – I love it.
The plant wall was my favorite part of the cafe, besides the coffee.
The little merch set up for this gig.
As Killarney is a shamrock filled town, there was this fella near the door in the cafe. Now he didn’t exactly fit the rest of the owl-and-oak theme, so I had to ask about him.
The owner told me that there is a woman in town that leaves this leprechaun at local businesses she likes – she doesn’t announce she’s leaving it, and she doesn’t say when she’s going to collect him. I love the idea of this.
I never asked if he had a name.
Day four: Winnipeg
The morning was filled with driving – we had to stop in Portage for a few errands, then continued as we went. We stopped in a town (I want to say it was named Holland) to take this picture:
I always see the huge windmill fan blades being hauled on trains through my little village – so it was cool to see an older much smaller one.
We then headed straight for the Assiniboia Downs – the horsetrack. This was my first time at a racetrack, and my first time playing at the Manitoba Night Market (which I was so honored the Purple Room picked my application to play here). The market was three floors, indoor and outdoor – the top floor was filled with tattoo artists, and the rest with little crafts and small businesses.
I don’t have very many pictures / videos of this gig – but I did end up buying a few things (a bracelet for me, and a new hot sauce for my boyfriend), but there were a lot of vendors that I could have easier bought from.
The outside market.
Dad and I were pretty beat by the end of this trip, so we got out of the city pretty quick.
As the spring slowly makes its way to Saskatchewan – I wanted to share what I’ve been not so busy with this winter. This winter has been filled with so many good things, one being there was so many bright vibrant northern lights.
Discovered one of my favorite meals to make is fried potatoes and turkey bacon. Low effort.
The winter was filled with tattoos, here’s a little tea kettle on my arm (a last-minute decision). Funny enough, I ended up getting my first non-electric kettle for Christmas a few weeks after I got this tattooed.
My half-done bat tattoo (which is now done – colour and all but I don’t have any great pictures of it).
Playing at the Fox & Barrell (Inglis, Manitoba)
Mid-November I played a little wing night tucked into a corner of the Fox & Barrell.
The Saw
This started and finished pretty quick, but it was cool to do. Just managing to get sound out of it was hard to do.
First Session of Writing Workshops with the Youth
Thanks to Huddle Manitoba, I was able to come to a youth center three times this winter to do writing workshops with some students. These were a new experience for me, but they ended amazingly. A lot of good chats and each student was so thoughtful with their sharing of their writing. It was really an open vulnerable environment.
The Huddle journals that the students got.
Some of the decor.
My first poster for the writing workshops (feels like when I saw my first poster for my music, such a good feeling).
Jethro’s Bites & Brew (Binscarth, MB)
This was a little valentine’s day supper that I sang it; was super fun and Jethro’s is a cute place (that has espresso martinis).
New Guild Guitar
2026 is coming with a new sound, new songs, and new setlist. I am so happy that after trial and error we found a good sound (waiting on a few more pieces of the puzzle to be delivered but overall, we have it pretty good).
Of course, with an electric guitar. this opened up the world of guitar pedals to me (and it’s a slippery slope from one to multiple). Interestingly I somehow ended up with two older Flanger pedals (they make a very niche interesting sound that doesn’t suit my music, so not for me, but somehow there’s two there)
I have so much to learn about all of this but the set up so far is a newer amp, all type of sound altering pedals, and of course the Guild guitar.
This little bear pedal, I did not buy, but it’s what of my favorite ones that I’ve seen so far.
Writing
Of course, I spent most of this winter writing – there is so much I cannot wait to share with everyone, from poems to proses to songs.
The other is a little book of poems and prose called “I Swear to the Garden” which is nature-based poetry I’ve written this winter, while waiting for spring. One poem, Grandmother / Grandfather is available as a spoken word with some guitar in the background on youtube.
I Swear to the Garden, I received the printed copies a few weeks ago, and I am finally putting them out into the world. This little poem book has really encouraged me to keep writing in forms that I typically would not.
I’ve been recording lots of music and trying to improve the quality (well my boyfriend is learning everything so technically he is the one improving things).
Cork and Bone Bistro (Moosomin, SK)
I was close to home playing this little bistro, I loved it. It’s such an intimate show, with folks who stop and listen to you for a while. So sweet.
The pretty set up – I love the lights
Forgot about the crocs here! Well, the green shoes I like.
New Song – Rollin’ with the Big Dogs
I have so much I want to say about this song, but to start the artwork was painted by Luis Gabriel.
There’s a whole different post coming on this one.
There are already some stickers made of this beautiful painting, and some more new merch to come.
Finally, and most recently, I stumbled upon this Fender classical guitar from the 70’s that has a case with bright yellow interior and plays beautifully that I had to call mine. It has an interesting story but found it’s home with me.
Little journal of the tour, plus everything else we did with a weekend in the Okanagan.
Day one: Kamloops
When we landed in Kamloops I did not sleep a wink the night before – it was a rough day. We got our rental car and ran around the city finding equipment for the tour. We grabbed some supper and checked into our little cute motel.
Cute motel we stayed at.
Once we were settled in a little (we had to run back to the music store a few times because the system wasn’t working – every touring musician I’ve talked to has told me you’ll always have one mini heart attack on your first tour. I’m so happy I got mine out of the way on the first day). We met up with a photographer (@threevixonsphotography) and hit a little park to take some pictures. The photographer took us to a little natural sound thing, where if you stood in a certain spot and clapped, the sound would come back as a squeak. It was so cool. We headed back to our motel – it was a very early night for me.
Day Two: Kamloops shows & traveling to Salmon Arm
The day started early with two little busy cafe shows. The first show was at a cafe called The Art We Are. The walls were covered in art and there were raw wood tables all over. It was a very welcoming vibe. We had coconut curry and a breakfast wrap which was delicious. We came out a little early but I found the most gorgeous pair of earrings I had to buy.
The earrings I boughtLittle cafeMy little poster
The second show in Kamloops was down the street at He Brews Havanas. The vibe of this cafe was a lot more modern and spacious. We snuck into a few shops looking for souvenirs.
Downtown KamloopsPhoto after I finished playing
We packed up everything and started to hit the road to Salmon Arm. The drive there was so gorgeous. We passed by cliffs and Shushab lake.
When we arrived at Salmon Arm we checked into our hotel right away and went for a little walk. We hit the longest wharf in Canada, and did some hefty birdwatching. We came at the right time to see werbes and some cliff sparrows. It was another early and relaxed night.
Day three: Salmon Arm show and mountain drives.
The show in Salmon Arm was very special, my aunt drove from the other side of BC to come see me play, the cafe was so welcoming, and one of the waitresses came up and sang a song with me. The cafe was Sweet Magnolias, and I was the first musician to play there (which was so cool!!). This is where the “Live In British Columbia” album cover was taken.
My little merch set up for the weekend.
Afterwards we drove around town looking for something to do, we found a wall with a pretty mosaic on it so we stopped and took some pictures.
We wanted to go for a drive and see some more nature, so we decided to drive down to Enderby. It was a gorgeous little town and we hit a retro restaurant that served caesars made with pineapple juice (10/10). Afterwards we ended up taking a very off road drive through the mountains following the hydro lines. It was definitely unexpected.
Day four: Canooligans Show & Hiking day
We started the day early and headed to Margaret Falls, it’s a short hike the falls and definitely a must hit. We walked all along the beach for a few hours and chatted with a lot of locals.
We realized we lost track of time and rushed back to our hotel to get ready for the show. Canoe, BC is right on the water so when we got there we walked all along the dock. Canooligans is such a unique little bar. The stages backdrop was my favourite, all old record covers.
By the docksFound this “Mayor of Canoe” painting in a gas station. Onstage
Day five: The long way to Monte Creek and my first winery experience
We started the day with about a two hour drive from Salmon Arm to Falkland. We stopped at a few little towns along the way for coffee and hit little shops where we could. Falkland was my favourite small little town we hit, the towns famous for the largest Canadian flag. We stopped at a cute shop and bought some fudge from a sweet lady selling it, I found a little spoon ring with a blue heron that I needed to take home.
We had to hustle to the Monte Creek Winery, because I had plans to try to wine before I got there. We did sound check in front of mountains – which the manager pointed out to me it’s shaped like a lion head. The Monte Creek Winery treated us so good, we had lunch and did a wine tasting (I had never done one before). The winery had amazing views. We ended up buying a bottle of blueberry wine – which are all grown in BC. Definitely one of the best wines I’ve had.
The view from the wine tasting tableThe view around the vineyards Two wine glasses in front of the lilacs Blueberry wineLion face in the mountains
Afterwards we headed back to Kamloops and checked into a different little motel. There was a couple drinking outside that we hung out with for a while, while dad and I had some blueberry wine. We called it an early night and flew out the next morning.
