Three Indigenous artists have been nominated for an award with the Music NL, the music industry association for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Summer Bennett, DT Surgeon and Lorna Lovell are nominated in the Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year category. The awards gala takes place on September 7 at the St. John’s Convention Centre.
Summer Bennett
At just 17 years old, Summer Bennett is one of the youngest nominees at MusicNL. Bennett is nominated in the categories of Pop Artist of the Year and Indigenous Artist of the Year. She describes feeling “pure excitement” when she found out about the nominations.
“Being nominated two years in a row so early in my career is exciting. The fact that I am nominated blows my mind,” says Bennett.
Bennett, who primarily explores the pop genre, says she wants to add more dimensions to the genre, specifically through her love of songwriting.
She says her song “Just a Phase,” which has garnered over 65,000 streams on Spotify, is not about love but rather about how toxic the internet and celebrity culture is.
“I know people can look at pop music as mediocre dance music about love, and while it can be just that, I want it to be more by writing stories about family, loss or even some harder topics,” says Bennett.
“I want to share my story and help people relate and let them know they are not alone in these experiences,” she adds.
Bennett says her Mi’kmaw heritage is something she plans on incorporating more of in her music, especially in her next album.
“I just love being able to learn about my past and my ancestors. I’m always making trips and am very close with my family who live in Stephenville, so I always learned from the stories they have shared and try to bring that to my music,” says Bennett.
Bennett also won the Top Teen Award at CBC Music’s Searchlight 2024.
“I have been watching that award show for a few years now, and I never knew that one day I would end up being a winner for it,” says Bennett.
DT Surgeon
Stuart Gallant, DT Surgeon’s lead artist/songwriter, says he is “happy” to be nominated as this is the band’s first time being nominated at MusicNL.
Gallant, who has been nominated multiple times through his other band, STURNE says DT Surgeon is a project that takes his usual instrumental, lyrics and feelings and places those in a rock setting.
Gallant says DT Surgeon was formed when he was experiencing “burnout” in 2016-17 after members from a previous band he was in moved away from their small town.
“I thought to myself someone has to do this, so one day I just picked up the guitar, wrote up 5-6 songs over the course of couple weeks, put a band together and started playing gigs…and now here we are,” Gallant says with a smile.
Gallant says putting himself out there as an Indigenous artist is in itself a statement.
“As a minority, there are social issues that can be brought forward through music, which is happening everywhere but specifically in Indigenous communities,” says Gallant.
He hopes when people listen to his music, they take away their interpretation of things.
“The way I interpret my songs does not have to be the same way you interpret it while listening to it,” says Gallant. “I just hope people go on their own journey while listening to my songs and feel something, period.”
Lorna Lovell
Lorna Lovell says being recognized in the Indigenous Artist of the Year category was “extra special” because her music incorporates stories about heritage and culture.
Lovell, who was not always aware of her Mi’kmaw heritage growing up, says she tries to be involved by attending as many cultural events as possible.
“I made my first ribbon skirt this year, and let me say I am not the one for sewing,” she laughs.
Lovell says her songs like “Island Girl” and “No Country for Women” speak to her experience as a Mi’kmaw woman. She says she loves being in the woods and land as it de-stresses her; however, she says as an Indigenous woman, this can be unsafe or risky.
“No Country for Women is a nod to that; it is an anthem that says you shouldn’t let anything hold you back, especially as an Indigenous woman who loves the outdoors,” says Lovell.
She says being a singer also has its rewarding moments. She talks about singing her original “All Your Dances” during the first dance of a couple she met during an Indigenous led-workshop.
“It was a beautiful moment, knowing a song I wrote will now always be part of the happy memories of their wedding day. I had heard of other couples using the song, but it was the first time I played it live for a wedding,” says Lovell.
Lovell, who is also a mother, was not always making music as a career. She started her music career later in her life, which she says can be seen as “unconventional.”
“I felt like it was a disadvantage to be older and just starting; I used to think, why didn’t I do this when I was younger,” says Lovell.
She says that perception changed when she discovered how many women looked up to her and saw her as an inspiration.
“It doesn’t matter what age you are. You can follow and chase your dream at any age ’cause that’s what happened to me,” says Lovell. “You are never too old to follow your dreams.”
