Black Belt Eagle Scout – real name Katherine Paul – has returned with her first new music since 2019’s At The Party With My Brown Friends. The new single is called “Don’t Give Up” and is Paul’s mental health awareness anthem. She expands:
“‘Don’t Give Up’ is a song about mental health awareness and the importance that my connection to the land plays within my own mental health journey. Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture. It helps heal my spirit and is the form of self-care that helps me the most. The lyrics ‘I don’t give up’ mean staying alive. I wrote this song for me but also for my community and anyone who deals with challenging mental health issues to remind us just how much of a role our connection to the environment plays within our healing process. At the end of the song when I sing ‘the land, the water, the sky,’ I wanted to sing it like my late grandfather Alexander Paul Sr. sang in our family’s big drum group – from the heart.“
The song was written over two years, including two spells at a songwriting residency in Coast Salish territory in early 2020 and November 2021. The results of that long gestation period speak for themselves.
Watch the visualizer for “Don’t Give Up” below or find it on streaming platforms.
“Don’t Give Up” is out on Saddle Creek. You can find Black Belt Eagle Scout on Bandcamp, Instagram and Facebook.
She’s also got this European tour booked for 2023:
Fri. Feb. 24 – Manchester, UK @ Night & Day
Sat. Feb. 25 – London, UK @ Moth Club
Mon. Feb. 27 – Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up
Tue. Feb. 28 – Belgium, BE @ Botanique – Witloof Bar
Wed. March 1 – Netherlands, NL @ Paradiso Upstairs
Thu. March 2 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Sat. March 4 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Sun. March 5 – Germany, DE @ Badehaus
