Last week, Tia Wood filmed a music video in her hometown at Saddle Lake. The video is for her debut single with Sony Music called “Dirt Roads,” a song about longing for home.
“It just made sense to come film this here,” she says, referring the familiarity of being at home. “It showcases where I come from... the way I grew up.”
She penned the song when she was in Los Angeles, where she says she often felt out of place, missing the culture-filled environment of her upbringing that included open spaces, people riding on horseback, and familiar roads - a contrast to the “concrete jungle” of Los Angeles.
“I was always longing and missing home when I went out there [in L.A.], and kind of felt like a fish out of water,” she says.
Wood left home to pursue a career in music in the United States, where she came up against some challenges.
“I was just feeling so discouraged, and my manager was like, ‘Let’s just do this one more session and if you don’t like it... we can call it quits’,” she recalls.
At the time, she thought, “What am I doing here? I miss home, and I miss my people.” And that’s when the inspiration for the song came about.
“It talks about missing home and the beauty of where I come from,” says Wood.
Last week’s filming included scenes shot on May 16, where she invited the community for a feast and an Indian relay race
She admits feeling anxious prior, wondering how many people would show up.
“But they did. And I'm just feeling so much love. And I'm just feeling very thankful and proud of where I come from and the way that I grew up in the community that raised me,” says Wood.
Looking ahead, Wood says she plans to release more music and an EP. She will also be touring across Canada and the United States, including performances at the Calgary Stampede and the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
She then thanked everyone who supported her and continues to support her, and “all the people that always had encouraging words for me growing up.”
“It's crazy,” she smiled. “I never knew I was going to do it... it was always just a distant dream... always so out of reach.”
But her family and the people around her encouraged her to pursue what she wanted to do – telling her that she could do anything.
“So, I just want to say how proud I am to come from where I come from, to be an Indigenous person... to come from Saddle Lake.”
She also encourages other Indigenous people to do the same.
“You are so capable of doing anything you want. It doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter the deck of cards you get in life... you could do it.”
Wood plans to release the new song on June 21 in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day.
Background
Wood comes from a Plains Cree and Salish background. She also comes from a family of musicians.
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Her father, Earl Wood, is a founding member of the Northern Cree singers, a nine-time Grammy-nominated drumming group. Her mother, Cynthia Jim-Wood was also in an all-girls drumming group as well.
And her sister, Fawn Wood, won the 2022 Juno Award for Traditional Indigenous Artist of the Year.
Tia had a serious car accident when she was 13. She almost lost her life and was told she may never sing or dance again. But she moved to Los Angeles when she was 21 to pursue her career.
In December 2023, she signed with Sony Music.
