On Aug. 16th the award winning country music band Emerson Drive will be performing at the Bear Claw Casino as part of their North American tour and like many big name acts a guest artist will open their show. The artist however isn't coming in from another city or town with no connection to White Bear, but this time around the opening act is a White Bear local. Teagan Littlechief, 26, will be performing at the event and she spoke with the Observer expressing her delight at the opportunity to open for the four man band.
"I'm pretty stoked about it, I've been looking for a shot like this and I have it now so I'm going to bring everything I have to it," she said. In 2004 the songbird won the CKRM talent search competition in Regina and worked her way up the musical ladder with several accomplishments. After all the work she has put in, the songstress said her fans can expect a whole new side to her music as she is now tapping into the past.
"I usually play rock ...so now I'm doing a little more country, a softer country. I used to do a lot of country back when I was 15...Now I'm into the whole 60s, 70s, 80s rock music, now I have to go back to my roots," she said.
Littlechief's musical inspiration came from listening to household names like Celine Dion and the late Whitney Houston growing up. But singing has always been deeply rooted in her heart since childhood. Littlechief's musical talent became more apparent at age six after her play school teacher Joan McDonald overheard the toddler singing "Part of Your World" from the Disney film "The Little Mermaid" and encouraged her mother to enrol her in vocal lessons. Those lessons have blossomed into Littlechief winning various competitions like the local Colgate country showdown in Minot, ND in 2007. Her continued work led to her radio debut with "One Woman" and"Vulnerable" from her 2009 album "Rising Above." Her mother Sara Littlechief has watched her daughter's progression over the years and described her achievements as well deserved.
"I just watched her go through all the recitals and she started winning competitions and then she started winning recordings...," she said explaining her daughter's musical progress.
"I'm proud, very proud and I know she's going to be discovered one day, she's very good. I stood behind her from day one - up to today. I know deep in my heart she received a gift and she has to follow through with it and she did."
Sara Littlechief said she is excited for her daughter getting the opportunity to open for such an established band and added that the community of White Bear is equally excited for her upcoming performance.
"I'm always excited, I get the chills and it doesn't matter how many times I hear her sing, the tears in my eyes just well up any time I hear it," she said.
She started a family and got married, and took some time off from music, but in 2011 Teagan Littlechief returned with her international radio single "Help You Cry" which was produced by Bart McKay. The time off she said gave her a new perspective from a musical standpoint. "I started to realize that I'm a mom now, I'm a wife now ...so being a stay at home mom I get to experience a whole other side of music ..." she said. Littlechief said the songs she sings tend to be very personal and hopes to use her music to tell stories. "I pick songs based on me, or people closest to me, the last song I did was 'Help You Cry' and I based that on my husband because he lost his mom and brother," she said.
She is currently working on another single with her band TLC which consists of lead guitarist Dustin Musqua, bass player Alvin Musqua, drummer Kelly Malloy and Otis Young on keyboards. But the singer is eager to see what doors will open once she graces the stage in White Bear and warms the crowd for Emerson Drive on Aug. 16.
