Episode 2: Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, Carmelle Pretzlaw & Bryn Besse
Host Belle Plaine
Belle Plaine is the stage name of Melanie Berglund, a singer/songwriter who was raised on her great-grandparents’ homestead near the hamlet of Fosston, SK. She’s part charming folk-singer, part honky tonk front-woman and part grizzled bandmom. Whether you saw her in your local roadhouse or singing with a symphony orchestra, you know Belle is a storyteller who embodies the heart and soul of the prairies.
Featuring Blake Berglund
Blake Berglund is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter from Saskatchewan’s southeast corner. He has recorded and released five studio albums with his sixth set for 2023. Berglund is also a regular contributor to his Substack publication, The Straight & The Narrow, a collection of stories, insights and essays from the artist.
Bryn Besse
Bryn Besse is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer from Regina, SK. An experienced songwriter accompanist, Bryn offers a unique sensibility that draws blues, rock, country, roots, and jazz language together to complement and enhance each song on its own terms and his comfort with many styles and instruments has carried him across Canada, Scotland, and England with Jeffery Straker, Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, Colleen Brown, Danielle Knibbe, The Marwills, and many other artists. In addition to his live performing experience Bryn produced Danielle Knibbe’s 2019 album The Ribcage & The Heart, co-produced The Marwills’ 2018 album A Mother’s Worry, and has a long list of recording session credits.
& Carmelle Pretzlaw
Carmelle Pretzlaw is a section violinist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra who has also performed and recorded with Saskatchewan artists such as Poor Nameless Boy, Jason Plumb, Jeffery Straker, Belle Plaine, Wolf Willow and Indigo Joseph. In addition, she regularly performs with and arranges music for Pile of Bows String Quartet and Latinos en Regina Mariachi Band. Carmelle received her master’s in music in 2007 from the University of Regina where she studied with Eduard Minevich, and she currently teaches violin at Briercrest College and Briercrest Conservatory of the Performing Arts
