Personal experiences find air on songwriter’s third album

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This article was published 06/02/2025 (572 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Inhale, exhale.

The title track of Jade Turner’s new album, Breathe, begins with a moment of grounding before ramping up into waves of panic. Between the crests, the singer-songwriter tries to find her footing, tries to lure her swirling mind back to solid ground.

“I needed a song that was going to feel like you’re in an anxiety attack,” says Turner, 38, who has dealt with anxiety for as long as she can remember.

Breathe, Turner’s third album, is a therapeutic release and an airing of personal stories that once felt like deep, dark secrets. It’s an album she never thought she would write.

“I’m a pretty closed-off person normally; I don’t like people knowing too much about what’s going on in my personal life,” says Turner, who grew up in northern Manitoba and is a member of Misipawistik Cree Nation.

“But I’m at the point in my life where I realize that I’m not the only person going through these things.”

While singing and songwriting have always been a form of therapy, connecting with a “real” therapist has helped her open up personally and musically.

“I’ve never really had a safe place to just let out all the things that are going on in my head,” she says.

Rooted in country twang and driving drum beats, Breathe carries listeners through Turner’s experiences of motherhood, divorce, self-doubt, shame and generational trauma.

“Marion is probably the hardest song on the album to talk about,” the artist says.

What reads like a jilted love song about an interloper named Marion is actually a ballad about the surprise sighting of a relative dealing with addiction and homelessness several years ago on Marion Street in Winnipeg. Turner was unable to stop at the time and cried her way home.

She later put those complicated emotions to song, but held off on releasing Marion — a decision she regrets.

“I did hope one day that they would hear it, but they won’t because they passed away, but hopefully this will help other people going through this,” she says.

And for those without first-hand experience losing a loved one to addiction, Turner hopes the song is a reminder of the nuances of substance abuse.

“It’s not a drug issue, it’s not an addict issue, it’s not a homeless-person issue, it’s a mental health issue,” she says.

Despite the often heavy subject matter, Breathe is still infused with Turner’s signature wit and sense of humour.

Stay Wild Child — a single that earned Turner a finalist spot in SiriusXM Canada’s Top of the Country competition last year — is an ode to her son and a reminder to herself to stay playful and curious.

And Deadweight is a defiant track about schoolyard and online bullying. The song, written with acclaimed Indigenous blues singer Crystal Shawanda, was inspired by misogynistic comments Turner received about her postpartum body on social media.

“Women get so many freaking stupid comments and it pisses me right off. That they have the nerve to even say this stuff is crazy,” she says.

Working with Shawanda was a dream come true for Turner, who first saw the artist from Wiikwemkoong First Nation in northern Ontario perform at Dauphin’s Countryfest years ago.

“I’d never seen anybody that looked like me or my family be portrayed in these spaces,” Turner says.

“She has always been a huge part of my journey.”

Breathe also features collaborations with musical contemporaries Sebastian Gaskin and Rhianna Rae Saj, and Friday’s album release party at the West End Cultural Centre is set to be a friendly celebration with opening performances by Burnstick, Ali Fontaine and Don Amero.

Vendors from Mashkiki Garden Creations, Anishinaabe Girl Designs and Sunshine House will have booths in the venue’s lobby.

Turner is looking forward to sharing the album (out Friday) with listeners, seeing her grandma in the audience and basking in her first-ever headlining performance.

“I have lighting, I have props being built for the stage … I’m having outfit changes,” she says with a laugh. “I really got to have a lot of fun with it.”

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com