Elexa Dawson gives audiences something to cry about. Her hopeful messages cut through the mundane without sidestepping pain. Deeply connected to land, her songs speak of the earth and community, and celebrate all relationships, from mother and child to friend and lover.

In late 2019, Music is Medicine introduced Elexa as a solo artist, after being long recognized as the lead songwriter for Weda Skirts. Her startup label, Turns Out Records also publishes the works of Heyleon, a trans-apocalyptic pagan bluegrass gospel group with roots in Kansas and New Mexico.

Elexa’s sophomore release Wanderlust, a mindfully experimental collaborative album with Oklahoma-based Stanley Hotel, soared to #11 on the FAI Folk Chart in January before its February 2, 2024 release. Singles “Sweet Sisters” (an anthem for earth lovers) and “Answer” (ancestrally channeled folk rock) showcase the range of texture and mood achieved by this alchemic collection.

Elexa’s Music is Medicine Show (30 minutes – 2 hours, All Ages)

Sultry soul meets rural roots. Elexa Dawson (Potawatomi) invites you into the lodge to hear songs that your heart already knows how to sing. Accessible yet transcendent, Elexa’s captivating red-dirt-honey vocals lay on the listener like a blanket of good feelings, giving the gift of healing through sound.

Music is Medicine names Elexa’s original debut album, and describes the motivation behind sharing story and song. At home in natural environments, and brilliant in theaters, attentive rooms, educational spaces, and cultural venues.

Presentation on Anishinabe Culture (30 minutes, Adaptable to All Ages)

Elexa Dawson comes from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation based near Shawnee, OK. The Potawatomi people originated from the Great Lakes area, and participated in the Anishinabe Three Fires Confederacy, recognizing the Odawa and Ojibwe as brother nations. The Trail of Death brought the Potawatomi to Kansas and later, Oklahoma. The Anishinabe culture is still thriving, with language, food and clothing unique to the Anishinabe people. Learn about this culture and the history of the Potawatomi, with recognition that the Potawatomi are a vibrant and living people with sovereign nations and current relevance in today’s society.

Programs can be combined and adapted to suit specific audiences.

$350 for Performance, Songs and Storytelling:
$100 if sound equipment is provided by the artist
$100 for overnight travel and lodging
$150 for the Presentation on Anishinabe Culture:
$5 per person for Seedsongs. This covers the cost of containers and soil or venue may provide materials. There is no charge for seeds.
$100 for Songwriters – Open Forum

Songwriters – Open Forum (1 hour, High School and Adult)
Elexa Dawson facilitates an open forum between fellow songwriters and those interested in writing music. Encouraging and inspirational.

Seedsongs (10 minutes, All Ages)
Our seeds are our past, and our future. The Anishinabe people have had agreements with plants that have sustained us, even as we have cared for them. Participants will receive a seed and a vessel to plant it in, and a song to sing to their seeds as they grow. As we plant these seeds, we’ll learn about our responsibility to our foods to nurture them as they nourish us.

The Power of the Voice (10 minutes, All Ages)
Anishinabe cosmology teaches us that the world began with sound. Sensing sounds is an exercise in presence, reflection and relaxation. Participants practice using our ears and our voice to interact with the world.

Land-Based Songwriting (1-3 hours, All Ages)
Place is central to our understanding of ourselves as individuals and communities. Discover how the places that made us inform our creativity and worldview.