A Famously Unknown ‘Outsider’ That Sings About Canada
If someone says the name B.J. Snowden, do you know who they’re talking about?
I accidentally stumbled across B.J. Snowden on YouTube or one of those other platforms a few years back, and I didn’t know what to make of her at first. Admittedly, I giggled a little. It was unlike anything I have ever heard.
But when I learned B.J. (Jeanne) is considered somewhat of a folk hero in Canada, I quickly regained my composure.
Aside from working as a teacher, she has released two albums, the first in 1996. Since then she has attracted the attention of industry veterans like Fred Schneider of the B-52’s, who produced some work for her.
Her own website discusses how she got her start in the music biz:
In a strange but true tale that has taken the status of underground music legend, the staff of a now-defunct East Village record store “discovered” B.J. when they decided to play one of her demo tapes (an item that had been lying around the store for years and was destined for a “bargain bag” of hard-to-move cassettes). The usually jaded staff was mesmerized by what they heard.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who was “mesmerized” by her sound. Schneider of B-52’s fame reportedly was a frequent shopper at this store, and when he heard her, he decided she needed to be heard by the masses.
Snowden doesn’t have any Billboard hits that I’m aware of, but she has quite a library of music, including several songs entirely about Canada and how nice/beautiful we are.
She is an American—an American with an interesting history.
According to her Wikipedia page, her ancestors “were the first black family to purchase land in Billerica, Massachusetts, where she grew up.” She later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, “the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world.”
An ‘outsider’ looking in
Snowden’s synthesizer-heavy music is anything but mainstream. For example, I can’t imagine this song sandwiched between Nirvana and Pearl Jam on a radio station:
The comments on this video from her YouTube channel are nothing short of praise, including this strong endorsement:
I’m Canadian and I think needs to be our new national anthem.
While reading more about Snowden, I learned she is the unofficial queen of “outsider” music, which I did not know existed until now. From what I can gather, “outsider” music is usually made by self-taught musicians who lack training.
An overview of the musical genre from Google adds it has “a childlike quality, and sometimes, the presence of intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses.”
Having actually studied music, it’s no surprise that Snowden initially wasn’t happy about this label. She warmed up to it after getting some press, even being compared to Yoko Ono by the Boston Globe — although I can’t find direct evidence of this.
What I can find, however, are promos for her shows in Canada and elsewhere. She apparently is still active, performing in July 2024 at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, population 63K or so.
The venue’s site claims “outsider music superstar” Snowden has been featured on MTV’s Oddville, as well as Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (does this suggest her music is seen as satirical?). She also performed “her breakout single” New Brunswick on Jimmy Kimmel Live — where a certain Canadian mayor also made an appearance.
The same source says Snowden wrote her own piano music by age three, graduating from Berklee with a degree in applied music. That sounds more like a virtuoso’s story, not from an “outsider” as she has been labelled by the music industry.
Her own site notes:
[Snowden] has earned her living as a school teacher teaching music in school systems from Boston to Philadelphia. As nightfall beckons however, she dons a sequined outfit, ascends the stage, and singlehandedly performs all of the original music that she has composed.
That included a show at the now-defunct but legendary CBGB’s in NYC, where punk legends including The Ramones got their start. Snowden is her own brand of punk rock, and my partner said her style also reminds her a little of iconic singer Billie Holiday — unfiltered, expressive, and honest.
While classified as an “outsider,” Snowden’s original music cannot be placed in any particular box. It is a breath of fresh air, a person whose pure joy from performing is obvious.
Her Canadian heart still holds a beat
All this buzz, and I never hear her name mentioned in Canadian circles to this day. After watching more of her clips, I think she absolutely should be talked about as part of our culture.
Canadian artist/writer Rupert Bottenberg had this to say about her in an article posted on Snowden’s page:
Snowden’s lyrics are likewise plainspoken as she ponders love, family, her teaching life, America — and Canada! She sure loves Canada, as her album title In Memory of My Father & My Life in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces suggests.
Unique and strangely uplifting, the American of Canadian descent (Bottenberg writes that her great-grandparents are from the Antigonish area of Nova Scotia, where I once ate at the locally-famous Mother Webb’s restaurant) is something to behold.
According to this article from the Lowell Sun, her great-grandmother was head cook at a private military school for boys, while her great-grandfather worked as a night watchman at a glue factory. (There’s more info behind a paywall if you’re curious.)
They left Canada more than 100 years ago, but it’s obvious the family’s ties to this country are still strong through B.J.
Her site notes she still lives in Massachusetts, “always chauffeured to her gigs by her starlet of a mother, and is usually accompanied by her guitar virtuoso son, Andres.”
I don’t see any info about upcoming shows near me, unfortunately. Looks like I missed her latest performance during the recent Canada Day (July 1) in Toronto at the Eyesore Cinema. If only I had written this a few weeks earlier, I might’ve went, and had my own footage to show.
Instead, I’ll leave with another of her creations, showing her dual allegiance to the States:
Please help me spread the word about this truly fascinating individual!