The Artist: Nick Sherman
The Community: Swan Lake First Nation, MB

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About Nick Sherman
Nick Sherman’s songs are characterized by an uneasy, yet always fluid transition between unabashed joy and sorrow. This tension between major and minor is rooted in Nick’s distant memories of his grandfather strumming a guitar in a cabin on the trapline or back at home in the community—the comfort of revisiting these moments are intertwined with the knowledge that they will never happen again Hailing from Northwestern Ontario, Nick spent his childhood traveling between his birthplace of Sioux Lookout and the remote, First Nation community of Weagamow Lake and North Caribou Lake trapline. After spending 14 years listening to his family play their favourite songs, Nick bought his first guitar and taught himself how to play—to this day he has never taken formal lessons in guitar or singing. Nick released his full-length, debut album, ‘Drag Your Words Through’, on January 20, 2012. Nick’s earnest and thoughtful lyrics are carried by a contemporary-folk Although he is more likely to be found these days playing in urban coffee houses and cultural centres across Canada, Nick still sings the boreal forest blues..

Hold Fast
No one is howling at the moon
No one is holding back
Everyone stand, wait for the storm to pass
Work for tomorrow, work for everything
If you learn anything, learn to live
This biting wind through my skin
Let everything in, learn to live
If you can taste the storm
You can lead us home
If you can taste the storm
You can lead me
Hold fast, let the wind carry you back
Let your heart be the drum
Wait for the storm to pass
Be strong, learn so this love can last
You can't change the past
But you can build with your own hands
... Build with your own hand