Press release –
Surrounded by acclaimed writers and fueled by chance encounters during a songwriting trip to Nashville, Logan Staats met musician Patrick Russell in a boot shop. The two quickly connected and began work on his new single, “Empty Hands,” alongside co-writer and dear friend of Staats, Forrest Eaglespeaker of The North Sound. “This new song came together as a reminder of being placed exactly where you’re meant to be,” shares Staats.
Out today with Ishkōdé Records, “Empty Hands” follows Staats’ 2025 single “Medicine Wheel.” Both of the tracks are set to be included on his forthcoming album.
Rooted in a road-dog, Outlaw Americana spirit, “Empty Hands” reflects the reality of life as a working musician: pouring blood, sweat, and tears into the craft, sacrificing time away from family, and chasing something bigger than yourself. Staats explains, “At its heart, ‘Empty Hands’ is about the journey of working so hard not to come home empty-handed. It’s about making the miles, missed moments, and hard work worth it for my family and myself.”
Staats began the year by wrapping up a Canadian co-headline Songs & Stories tour with Julian Taylor. Launched in November, the run brought more than twenty shows to beautiful rooms across the country. He also played a sold-out show alongside Terra Lightfoot as part of the Road to the JUNOs in Hamilton.
Next, he takes the stage at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern on May 6 for the 2026 Departure Festival before heading to New Brunswick to perform at Paddle Fest on May 17.
Currently, he is completing a month at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity as a selected artist-in-residence for the Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation Residency, where he is writing, recording, and collaborating with artists from across the country. Adding to the momentum, he recently signed with Strada Music Agency expanding his representation across the UK and Europe as he builds his international touring presence.
For Logan Staats, music is a healing salve, contemplatively composed and offered to those in need of comfort. In his unvarnished, sometimes painful reflection on great personal struggle, Logan Staats has found himself. After many long years on the road and at the front lines of Indigenous rights movements across Northern Turtle Island, Staats has finally returned home. A voice of peace for his community, this proud Mohawk country and folk songwriter has fought for his people, and for his own peace of mind.
Staats’ music has been recognized with a JUNO Award nomination, multiple Native American Music Awards, and the SOCAN Indigenous Songwriter of the Year award. In September 2024, Staats took the stage at the LA Forum for Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson, performing for 18,000 people alongside legendary artists including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and Eric Church.
What’s The Story about Ishkōdé Records?
Ishōdé Records is an Indigenous women-owned music company founded to ignite and amplify Indigenous voices, songs, and stories. Founded by artists, organizers, and activists Anishinaabekwe ShoShona Kish (Digging Roots) and solo artist Amanda Rheaume (Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario), Ishkōdé approaches the music industry through a lens of artist- and women-led entrepreneurship, rooted in cultural strength and long-standing industry experience.
Launched in 2021 and based in Tkaronto (Toronto), Ishkōdé Records—meaning “fire” in Anishinaabemowin—has quickly become home to a powerful roster of emerging and established Indigenous artists. Founders of the International Indigenous Music Summit, Kish and Rheaume, lead the label in its animating principle to raise resistance to colonial industry structures while building a new, values-driven space for Indigenous creativity to thrive.
In 2025, Kish and Rheaume were featured on The Hollywood Reporter’s second annual Power List, highlighting trailblazers who are fighting back, breaking through and building the future of film, TV and music north of the border. In 2023, Ishkōdé was named Organization of the Year by Women in Music Canada and received CIMA’s “Make It Stronger” Award, affirming its impact across the industry. Ishkōdé Records’ distribution partner is Universal Music Canada.
“Empty Hands” Single Credits
Written by: Logan Staats, Forrest Eaglespeaker, Patrick Russell, Ian Abel
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by: Darren Magierowski
Mastered by: João Carvalho at João Carvalho Mastering
Musicians
Logan Staats (vocals)
Kyler Tapscott (guitar)
Johnny Dymond (bass)
Gary Craig (drums)
Aaron Goldstein (pedal steel)
Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuck (violin)
Layla Staats (background vocals)
Nevada Eaglespeaker (background vocals)
Miles Evans-Branagh (piano)
All tour dates and information can be found at www.loganstaats.ca.
