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Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
Mercedes Brown, a Wet'suwet'en and Tsimshian singer/songwriter living in Red Deer, Alta., has debuted her first single “Playing With Fire” from her debut four-song EP Light the Fire.
The 15-year-old’s passion for music began when she was just a toddler, she said. She enjoyed listening to her family play music, and she developed her own love for poetry, drawing and playing instruments.
The story behind “Playing With Fire” begins with a school poetry assignment about her own desire to take back control of her life, her thoughts and her spiritual needs while she battled with depression.
Her 1990s alternative rock sound is credited to her parents’ taste in music and the sounds of her childhood.
“Some songs are more like pop, so I feel like they’re influenced by rock and pop. It’s got that ‘90s kind of alternative rock feeling to it,” Brown said of her work.
Many of her family members are part of the entertainment industry, and they’ve embraced Brown’s passion and are proud to help her reach her goals, she said.
“My dad kind of influenced my music taste a lot because he would play his ‘90s rock music and I fell in love with it immediately,” Brown explained. She said one of her favorite bands is the Smashing Pumpkins.
As her musical tastes developed, Brown picked up a guitar at seven years old and, under her uncle’s guidance, began learning how to play.
“For my eighth birthday he got me a guitar,” Brown said, adding it was then she became really interested in writing songs. “I like music, in general, and I wanted to create my own.”
However, at this point she was still shy about sharing her songs in front of an audience.
Then one day, as she was playing around in her room, Brown’s mom recorded her singing and playing guitar and then blasted it through their home stereo.
“She kind of gave me that confidence,” said Brown.
It was then she decided she was ready to really commit to creating her own music and sharing it with others.
She flew to her uncle Brent Halfyard’s home on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and together they worked through her sound, lyrics and style.
“We started working together a couple of years ago when she was around 13, and she was writing songs,” said Halfyard. “Her and I have been close since she was a baby. Something about us drawing pictures together and just mucking about… We’ve always been really close the two of us.”
Halfyard is the owner and producer at Ukee Sound, a studio nestled in the rainforest of Ucluelet, B.C. since 2022. This is where Brown tracked all of her vocals. Halfyard and his wife also own the record label Small Frog Records, formerly Ukee Sound Records.
“Playing With Fire” was produced by Halfyard, who also plays bass and guitars on the track alongside guitarists Peter Esquivel and Jon Roper. Timmy Proznick is on drums. Mixing and mastering were handled by Chris Potter.
“She’s got a knack for telling stories, putting the lyrics together, and she doesn’t always have to rhyme. I do like her style. It’s atypical,” Halfyard said.
“Like a lot of the ‘90s songs, if you were to study some of the music like a songwriter or as a performer, you would go, ‘this is really weird and interesting’.”
During Brown’s stay in Ucluelet, she and Halfyard decided to learn about their ancestors and the language of their people. Her connection to the Wet'suwet'en language and culture are woven through Brown’s music in order to ground her. She uses it as a source of creative energy.
“I’ve been trying to learn some of my language, and my uncle, when we were recording, he had this dream about this song and we just knew we had to include the language because it kind of seems like divine intervention to bring this song to life because we were really working on learning the culture when I was in B.C.,” she said. “Then we were looking up all the words, and we built a whole story about land and the connection with it.”
Halfyard said he had a dream that “was so profound” he woke up and had to write the lyrics he heard in it.
He said the inspiration was that “wherever you go, if you’re in a long journey, you’ve been away from your family, you’ve had a separation, your home is always there,” said Halfyard. “Just a really simple message,” he said about the song titled “Kwin nedïhk'ayh (Home Awaits You)”.
These lyrics and the launch of Mercedes Brown’s Light the Fire EP, which includes“Playing With Fire”, and songs “So What?”, “No Tomorrow” and “Kwin nedïhk'ayh (Home Awaits You)” are available on all streaming platforms or on her website Music | Mercedes Brown Music
This summer Brown will travel back to Ucluelet and other areas of B.C. to perform at gigs with her uncle by her side.
“I’m playing with Mercedes until I can find somebody younger and better looking,” Halfyard joked. “I’m going to be the bass player on stage. I like it because I like putting her out front and me just a couple of steps behind, just making sure she knows that I’m kind of the foundation and she can soar and have fun. That’s my goal.”
Brown hopes her upcoming performances will inspire other youth to follow their passions and to believe in themselves. If they find they are in a dark place, there is always tomorrow and to recognize that change comes from within.
She will perform at the Army and Navy club in Ucluelet July 15 and July 16, at the Ukee Sunday Market on July 19, Concerts in the Park in Terrace, B.C. on Aug. 1, and at 2 Rivers Remix Moveable Feast 2026 also in Ucluelet Sept. 26. For more information visit Tour | Mercedes Brown Music.
“I think that’ll be really good for her, see some other artists, meet some of her peers and just find out more about their touring and different aspects of the industry,” said Halfyard. “I’m getting interested in synchronization, getting some licensing deals. There’s a lot to do, more songs to write and get ready for the next album.”