Cynthia Hamar

About

The artist

Cynthia Hamar is a Métis singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer based in the Edmonton area of Alberta. Born in Drayton Valley, she began writing and recording songs in her teens and gradually built an independent catalog of personal folk-pop and Americana. Early albums Fairytale and Acous.ti.cal.ly were followed by The Son & I and the 2022 album Joint & Marrow. Seeking greater control over recording and production, Hamar entered MacEwan University's Bachelor of Music program in Edmonton in 2019 and graduated with distinction in 2023. During that period, she won the 2021 Bent River Records songwriting competition, received the Victor-Osten Performing Arts Award, and recorded Joint & Marrow with collaborators including Paul Johnston, Chris Andrew, and Jamie Cooper. The album charted on Canadian campus and community radio and earned a 2024 Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year. In 2025, Hamar introduced BirdBelly as a new artistic moniker rather than a separate person. The transition allowed her to expand her sound through cinematic Americana, jazz, country, gospel, blues, and deeper connections to Métis identity and prairie landscape. The BirdBelly album The Wind the Wood, Vol. 1 arrived in October 2025, led by Black Horses and created with producer Paul Johnston, bassist and mentor MJ Dandeneau, keyboardist Chris Andrew, drummer Richard Irwin, guitarist Joey Landreth, and mixer Marcus Paquin. Current official pages explicitly connect Cynthia Hamar and BirdBelly, while Apple Music's BirdBelly profile identifies Joint & Marrow as her earlier work. A 2026 Alberta tour, an Alberta Métis Music Showcase appearance, and current reporting continue to identify Hamar as Alberta-based. MusicList therefore preserves Cynthia Hamar as the canonical person-facing profile with BirdBelly recorded as her active artistic name and linked catalog identity.