Chester Knight facts for kids

Chester Knight is a talented singer and songwriter from Saskatchewan, Canada. He is known for his folk music. In 1999, his album Falling Down won a big award called the Juno Award for Best Aboriginal Recording. This was a huge achievement in Canadian music!

About Chester Knight

Chester Knight is a Cree musician. He grew up near Prince Albert in the Muskoday First Nation. Besides making music, he also worked as a counsellor at a college for Indigenous students in Saskatoon. This college is now known as the First Nations University of Canada.

Chester Knight is also the uncle of another musician named Eekwol.

His Musical Journey

Starting with a Band

Chester Knight first became known as the leader of a band called Chester Knight and the Wind. He was always the main member of the band. Other musicians joined him over time. These included his brother Vernon Knight, who sang backing vocals. Darryl Ross played bass guitar. Malcolm Pooyak and Todd Duncan were lead guitarists. K.K. Nogada, Robin Turner, and Hal Schrenk played the drums.

First Albums and Awards

In 1996, Chester Knight and the Wind released their first album, Freedom. This album was nominated for Best Aboriginal Recording at the Juno Awards of 1997.

Their next album, Falling Down, came out in 1999. This album was a big success! It won the Juno Award for Best Aboriginal Recording. It also won a Prairie Music Award and an Aboriginal Music Award. The next year, Falling Down was released in the United States with a different name, Windfall.

Solo Work and More Success

In 2002, Chester Knight released an album called Standing Strong. This time, he released it as a solo artist. However, he still toured and performed under his band's name. Many other musicians helped him on this album. These included Brandon Friesen, Lucie Idlout, Derek Miller, and Paul Carrack.

Standing Strong was also nominated for a Juno Award in 2003. Chester Knight won Songwriter of the Year for his song "Cochise Was a Warrior" at the Aboriginal Music Awards. In 2004, his music video for "Love Fades Away" won an award at the American Indian Film Festival.

Later Music

By 2004, Chester Knight's band included his sons, Lancelot and Daniel. They planned to release a new album, but it didn't happen. Still, Chester Knight continued to perform at music festivals in Western Canada.

In 2013, he released a new song called "Idle No More (Tomahawk)". This song was inspired by the Idle No More movement, which is a group that works for the rights of Indigenous people. This was his first new song since Standing Strong. In 2015, he released another single called "Indian Girl".