The Swinomish, Wa.-based multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul, better known as Black Belt Eagle Scout, is back today with “Don’t Give Up,” her first single since 2019. It’s “a song about mental health awareness and the importance that my connection to the land plays within my own mental health journey,” says Paul, who grew up in the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community on the Puget Sound in Washington.
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“Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture,” Paul adds. “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.”
Paul’s most recent album, At the Party With My Brown Friends, was released in 2019. She will also be featured on the previously announced Sleater-Kinney Dig Me Out covers album, which arrives later this month. Ahead of an early 2023 European tour, Paul will take part in the Indigenous Heritage Day Celebration on Nov. 25 in Seattle.
Black Belt Eagle Scout Tour Dates
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 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique – Witloof Bar
Wed. March 1 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Upstairs
Thu. March 2 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Sat. March 4 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Sun. March 5 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
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