Chester Knight is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

."Chester Knight nominated for aboriginal Juno".

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a private, not-for-profit c ...

, February 3, 2000. He is most noted for the 1999 album ''Falling Down'', which won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Best Aboriginal Recording at the

Juno Awards of 2000 The Juno Awards of 2000 were held in Toronto, Canada, during the weekend of March 11–12, 2000. The primary ceremonies were hosted by the family group the Moffatts at the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), on March 12, 2000, and broadcast on CBC ...

."Local band wins Juno: Chester Knight and the Wind claims award". ''

Prince Albert Daily Herald The ''Prince Albert Daily Herald'' is a daily newspaper serving the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada, and the surrounding area. History The ''Herald'' traces its roots to the ''Prince Albert Advocate'', which was begun in 1894 as on ...

'', March 13, 2000.

Background

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

musician originally from the

Muskoday First Nation The Muskoday First Nation (, formerly the John Smith First Nation) is a First Nation band government in Saskatchewan, Canada, composed of Cree and Saulteaux peoples. The First Nation has a registered population of 1,828 people as of September 2 ...

near

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, Knight also worked as an academic counsellor at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, later known as

First Nations University of Canada The First Nations University of Canada (abbreviated as FNUniv) is a post-secondary institution and federated college of the University of Regina, based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. FNUniv operates three campuses within the province, ...

, in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. He is the uncle of musician

Eekwol Lindsay Knight, known by her stage name Eekwol, is a Canadian rapper and activist from the Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan. She is a graduate of the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan (M.A.). Her master's thesis, com ...

Musical career

He was initially active in music as leader of the band Chester Knight and the Wind, in which he was the sole constant member; other supporting musicians over the band's lifetime included his brother Vernon Knight on backing vocals, bass player Darryl Ross, lead guitarists Malcolm Pooyak and Todd Duncan,"Knight, band take L.A. by storm". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. It has been referred to as a "sister newspaper" to the ''Regina Leader-Post, Leader-Post''. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out si ...

'', March 7, 2002. and drummers K.K. Nogada, Robin Turner and Hal Schrenk. In 1996 the band released its debut album ''Freedom'', which was shortlisted for Best Aboriginal Recording at the

Juno Awards of 1997 The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broadc ...

. ''Falling Down'' followed in 1999; in addition to its Juno Award win, the album won a Prairie Music Award and an Aboriginal Music Award. The following year, ''Falling Down'' was reissued in the United States with the alternate title ''Windfall''. Knight released the album ''Standing Strong'' in 2002 as a solo artist, although he still toured under the band name."Loyal to 'the gift': Art at the heart of society". ''

'', May 22, 2004. Guest musicians on the album included

Brandon Friesen Brandon Friesen is an American, Grammy Award nominated and multi-Juno Award winning music producer, audio engineer, mixer, and television producer. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and spent several years living and working in Canada before ...

, Lucie Idlout, Derek Miller and

Paul Carrack Paul Melvyn Carrack (born 22 April 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while '' ...

. The album was again a Juno nominee for Aboriginal Recording at the

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

of 2003, and Knight won Songwriter of the Year for "Cochise Was a Warrior" at the Aboriginal Music Awards. In 2004, his music video for "Love Fades Away" won the award for Best Music Video at the

American Indian Film Festival The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated solely to Native American/First Nations films and prepared the way for the 1979 formati ...

. With his band now consisting of his sons Lancelot and Daniel, a new album was in the planning stages in 2004. The album did not materialize, although Knight continued to perform selected festival tour dates in Western Canada. In 2013, he released "Idle No More (Tomahawk)", a song inspired by the

Idle No More Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis a ...

activist movement which was his first new release since ''Standing Strong''. He followed up in 2015 with the single "Indian Girl"."Don't miss". ''

'', May 7, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Chester Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters First Nations male singers Singers from Saskatchewan Cree writers Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters 20th-century First Nations musicians 21st-century First Nations musicians