Saskatchewan Arts Board

When Kevin Arcand and his mother/manager Dawn Desaulniers learned he was chosen to receive an Indigenous Pathways Initiative grant from the Arts Board, “we laughed and cried for an hour,” she says. “We knew that this was going to open doors for Kevin.”

Arcand used his grant (funded through the 2005 Canada Games Building Dreams and Champions Legacy Fund: Emerging Aboriginal Artists Program) to complete a six-song, self-titled CD, which was recorded at Mosaic Music in Prince Albert with producer Rich McFarlane.

Desaulniers says, “The grant has had a huge impact on Kevin’s career, everything from learning the ins and outs of recording to invaluable networking opportunities.”

The 21-year-old singer/songwriter from Melfort first picked up the guitar when he was six years old. “I never actually had to make the conscious choice to decide whether I was going to be a musician, because music has always been such a huge part of my life,” Arcand says.

In the past two years, he has played more than 150 shows, including the Craven Country Jamboree and Telemiracle. He received the 2009 First Nations Artist and Entertainment Award for Outstanding Achievement, and was nominated for 2010 Aboriginal Artist of the Year by the Saskatchewan Country Music Association. As well, Shaw Cable in Saskatoon is working with Arcand on his second one-hour episode for the program Stripped Down, and he was recently invited to Nashville to participate in networking meetings and songwriting sessions.

Fellow Saskatchewan singer/songwriter Codie Prevost is one of Arcand’s biggest influences. “Codie has been in the music business longer than I have and has shared his experiences and given me priceless opportunities,” he says.

As a successful Indigenous musician, Arcand is aware he is a role model for young people. “If there was one message that I would want to send to today’s Aboriginal youth, it is to believe in yourself and be proud of who you are, and to remember that dreams can come true.”

He sees music as essential to this message: “Music binds us all together, it does not see colour…it speaks a universal language.”

For more on Arcand, visit his pages on MySpace and Facebook.

Photo credit: Karyn Kimerley