Native Guitars Tour keeps up their busy schedule of performances with the annual signature appearance during the Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, N.M. It is a night Under the Native Stars featuring a diverse musical line-up, a fashion show, and traditional tattoo demonstrations. It’s an annual Native America Calling tradition to get a sampling of what’s in store. The Guitars Tour is coming off a series of dates in Las Vegas. We’ll find out what’s in store for the future.

GUESTS

Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo), founder and executive director of Native Guitars Tour and lead singer for the Jir Project

Cameron Osceola (Seminole and Kiowa), guitarist and singer for the Osceola Brothers

Sheldon Osceola (Seminole and Kiowa), drummer for the Oseceola Brothers

Sage Lacapa (White Mountain Apache), musician

Kirin Lacapa (Jicarilla Apache), musician

Arianna Lauren (Cowichan Tribes), traditional tattooist

Billboard Music: Heartbreaker (song) Sage Lacapa (artist)

Break 1 Music: One To Hold On To (song) The Osceola Brothers (artist) One To Hold On To (album)

Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

Diné hip-hop artist and educator Def-i has been a singular, independent voice in elevating Native hip-hop and championing other Native artists. This year makes 14 years that he has spearheaded the annual two-day competition, Gathering of MCs. Some of the top Native rappers from around the country bring their best beats, bars, and freestyles to vie for cash prizes. This year’s event takes place alongside what organizers say is the final Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, N.M. We’ll speak with Def-i and other performers about the power and importance of Native hip-hop.

GUESTS

Def-i (Diné), hip-hop artist and educator

Illmac (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians), hip-hop artist

She Real, hip-hop artist

Billboard Music: Mmhmm feat. Paul Wall [remix] (song) Stella Standingbear (artist)

Break 1 Music: Small Things (song) Illmac (artist) Small Things (single)

Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

This year’s Juno Awards in Hamilton, Ontario, included historic wins and high-profile performances by Indigenous artists, celebrating their roles as central, defining voices in contemporary Canadian music. Oji-Cree singer-songwriter Aysanabee secured two major honors: Alternative Album of the Year and Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year for his project Edge of the Earth. Veteran powwow group Bear Creek won for Traditional Indigenous Group — their first Juno in a nearly 30-year career. William Prince performed his song For the First Time, and Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq appeared onstage as part of a tribute to Nelly Furtado. We’ll hear more about Indigenous milestones by Indigenous artists at Canada’s biggest celebration of music.

GUESTS

Aysanabee (Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of Sandy Lake First Nation)

Jai King-Green (Mississaugas Anishinaabe), singer from the Manitou Mkwa Singers

Joe Syrette (Ojibwe from Batchewana First Nation), head singer for Bear Creek

Yellow Bear Nakota (Nakoda), Indigenous Sioux singer

Break 1 Music: Further From the Country (song) William Prince (artist) Further From the Country (album)

Break 2 Music: Save the World (song) Tribz (artist) Trimmed (album)

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Cary Morin (Crow/Assiniboine) is back with a new album featuring more of his introspective lyricism, soulful singing and skillful fingerstyle guitar playing. The new album, “Pocket of Time“, captures memories and slices of everyday life on the Crow Reservation in Montana. It is a calm, mellow listen and another refreshing entry in his expansive catalogue that spans folk, blues, reggae, and “Native Americana” genres.

“Big Changes” is the forthcoming album from Status/Non-Status, a Canadian indie-rock band led by Anishinaabe musician Adam Sturgeon. It is the third studio record, following up on 2022’s “Surly Travel”, which was named one of Exclaim! Magazine’s top albums of the year. Beautiful vocals stretch overtop fat guitar chords and incidental sound effects like the unmistakable chime of jingle dress cones. Sturgeon says he never set out to represent all Indigenous musicians, but he feels a responsibility to Indigenize his own music.

Break 1 Music: Everything To Me (song) Cary Morin (artist) Pocket of Time (album)

Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge Singers (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

“Cruel Joke”, the new album by Cherokee singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy, scored celebratory reviews from Rolling Stone and NPR’s World Café among many other outlets. Chickasaw classical composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate puts an Indigenous twist on classical music, teaming up with the Dover Quartet, which BBC Music magazine calls one of the greatest quartets of the last 100 years. And the popular First Nations powwow group Northern Cree released two singles with Juno-award winning blues duo Blue Moon Marquee. They are among the countless talented Native musicians who are mastering their craft and reaching new audiences in 2025. We’ll review some of the notable music from this past year.

GUESTS

Brett Maybee (Seneca), host of “The Mainstream”, “Gaënö’”, and Full Moon Radio; multi-instrumentalist; and singer- songwriter

Larry K (Ho-Chunk), CEO and program host of “Indigenous in Music”

Tory J (Quinault), host of “Sounds of Survivance” on KEXP

Break 1 Music: LUCKY8 (song) Ribbon Skirt (artist) Pensacola

Break 2 Music: Hug Room (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

Seattle-based Indigenous funk/jazz band Khu.éex’ is an ensemble full of storytellers and their stories carry a punch. They are back with another double album titled, “Red Cedar in the Hour of Chaos.” They carry on their unique P Funk-inspired sound and blend it with hip-hop, doom metal and psychedelia, all while drawing from Tlingit, Haida, and other Native roots.

Earth Surface People (Photo: Cheyenne Weston/@greezy.lens)

Another band, this one from the Southwest, weaves Diné stories and concepts into their just-released album filled with neo-soul and jazz influences. “Yáágo Dootliźh” is the second album from the Indigenous soul collective Earth Surface People.

We’ll talk with members of both these groups about the power of Native storytelling through music.

GUESTS

Preston Singletary (Tlingit), co-founder of Khu.éex’, musician, and glass artist

Sondra Segundo (Haida), lead female vocalist for Khu.éex’, author, and educator

Dakota Yazzie (Diné), leader of Earth Surface People

Break 1 Music: We Pray (song) Khu.eex (artist), Red Cedar in the Hour of Chaos (album)

Break 2 Music: Seeing Two (song) Deerlady (band) Greatest Hits (album)

Two musicians with Diné roots give audiences distinctly different takes on their desert Southwest origins. The Phoenix-based band Mogley and the Zoniez have built their sound playing for years in the Southwest café and bar circuit. The melodic and energetic indie-alt sound and distinctive vocals have become a favorite for a growing number of fans. They have a new EP to add to their set list, Better Late Than Never. We’ll hear from lead singer Quenton Oney about how they reach their audience and what’s next.

Hataałii’s new album, “I’ll Be Around“, is an affirming and beautifully dark low-fi project. He ditched the professional studio route for a DIY production in a shed in Albuquerque. The result is a personal and intimate set of songs sure to find far-reaching resonance.

GUESTS

Quenton Oney aka Mogley from Mogley and The Zoniez (Diné and Inuit), lead singer and guitar player for Mogley and The Zoniez

Hitaałiinez Wheeler (Diné), singer and songwriter

Break 1 Music: Love Is Over (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

Break 2 Music: Crow Push Dance Song (song) Authentic Native American Music (artist) Authentic Native American Music (album)

Punk rock’s rebellious anger aimed at the forces of economic and political oppression and its low-fi, DIY aesthetic are among the reasons the genre took hold with some Indigenous musicians. It’s a connection that continues to resonate with both players and audiences. Kristen Martinez (Yaqui and Mexican) is both a punk performer and a graduate student researching the history of the Indigenous contributions to the legacy of punk, one short, loud, and angry song at a time. She is building an archive of Indigenous punk musicians, posters, and performances on social media. We’ll hear from Martinez about her growing archive of Indigenous punk history and what the art form has to offer to today’s listeners.

GUESTS

Kristen Martinez (Yaqui and Mexican), archivist for the Indigenous Punk Archive and graduate student in musicology at UCLA

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe), visual artist and lead vocalist of the Dead Pioneers

Toni Heartless (Diné, Choctaw, Filipino), artist and front man for Heart Museum

Break 1 Music: Prisoners of Existence (song) Iconoclast (artist) Domination or Destruction (album)

Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

The Faces backstage at a concert, 1975. Bobby Daniels, left, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, and Jesse Ed Davis. (Photo: Patti Daley / Patti Daley Collection; courtesy The Bob Dylan Center)

Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (Kiowa) was an in-demand session player starting in the mid 1960s, appearing on dozens of recordings with artists such as Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Jackson Browne. He appears on solo albums by three of the four Beatles. Davis toured with The Faces, alongside Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., is mounting an exhibition celebrating Davis’ life and work along with a tribute concert featuring Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, and Joy Harjo. We’ll hear from some of the people who knew and worked with the man Bonnie Raitt called “one of the most original, and soulful, and cool guitar players.” We hear about Davis and the exhibition honoring him in this encore show (we won’t be taking live telephone calls from listeners).

GUESTS

Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, musician, playwright, and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition

Chebon Tiger (Seminole and Mvskoke), musician

Douglas Miller, author of Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition

Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center

Break 1 Music: Beauty in a Fade (song) John Trudell (artist) Graffiti Man (album)

Break 2 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

Two new albums feature Native languages front and center, incorporating traditional storytelling and themes of resilience. Nuxalk Radio is celebrating ten years on the air with compilation of original songs entirely in the Nuxalk language. Nusximta is the result of a call to community members to write songs rooted in cultural tradition and to inspire language revitalization. Indigenous jazz/funk/rock band Khu.éex’ references federal Native relocation programs and other historical issues in their new album, Siyáadlan. We’ll speak with artists about their respective projects.

GUESTS

Preston Singletary (Tlingit), co-founder of Khu.éex’, musician, and glass artist

Captain Raab (Siksika Nation), guitarist and composer for Khu.éex’

Qwaxw (Nuxalk), co-founder and tech manager of Nuxalk Radio

Nuskmata (Nuxalk), artist on the album Nusximta by Nuxalk Radio

Break 1 Music: Angry Bear (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) The Wilderness Within (album)

Break 2 Music: Starlight (song) The Zoniez (artist)