Joanne Shenandoah

Roots fans may first have noticed Joanne Shenandoah‘s haunting voice on Robbie Robertson’s “The Code of Handsome Lake,” off Contact From the Underworld of Redboy, Robertson’s musical exploration of his own Mohawk roots. And once you hear Shenandoah’s voice, it’s impossible to forget. A Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy-Oneida Nation, Shenandoah has been around almost as long as Robertson, with twelve albums and a Grammy nomination for “Best Native Recording” in 2001. Shenandoah’s vocals carry the music whether she is accompanied by a single drum, a quiet acoustic guitar or an entire orchestra. That voice, as huge as North America itself, will amaze fans of traditional music and those who’ve known about her all along.